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 September 9, 2023

We all have those feelings that are so specific, so potent, that we wish we could bottle them up and save them for the occasional, life-affirming hit. Back-to-school is definitely one of those feelings. A new year, maybe a new backpack or favorite school supply. Freshly decorated classrooms, teachers who seemed to have gotten at least a little rest, oh it was a high like none other! (Except for school book fairs, which were equally intoxicating). Of course, once you become an adult, you can't replicate that feeling. You know too much. As time passes, especially if you are an Adult Without Children like me, the rhythm of the school year fades away until one day you drive to pick up something you forgot at church and get caught in the school's afternoon carpool line (you have also forgotten there is a school attached to the church, because you have no reason to remember school) and within minutes your truck is so boxed in you literally have to call an Uber to drive you the three miles back home. These are the things you don't consider when you are young, and the notebook you just opened is crisp and unsullied, and a new year of school feels like a new chance at life. Hopefully, it's all worth that long carpool line. I know it is. 

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Our favorites this week

Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week

Take a load off
We have a lot of cool sports stories this week, but let's start out with the best sport there is: Lying down and doing absolutely nothing. A "laziest citizen" contest in Montenegro has been going strong for more than three weeks now, and the remaining handful of contestants are still lounging happily on mats, reading, scrolling on their phones and generally avoiding responsibility or worry. "All of us feel good, excellent, there are no health problems, they are pampering us, all we have to do is to remain lying down,” said 2021 champion Dubravka Aksic, 38. The contest was launched in the tiny Adriatic country 12 years ago to mock a popular myth that labels Montenegrins as lazy, said Radonja Blagojevic, the organizer and owner of the resort where the contest is held (because of course, it's held at a resort). 

Read the whole story here. 

The perks of coffee and community
Africa is widely considered the birthplace of coffee, and that beloved brew is now helping seed new growth in the East African country of Mozambique. The country just joined the International Coffee Organization, and its rising status in the coffee world is in part thanks to the Gorongosa Coffee Project. Founded in 2013, the project began with the aim of reforesting Gorongosa National Park, a 1,500-square-mile area in the center of the country. The area is home to around 200,000 people, as well as iconic African elephants and lions. Now, the coffee is also providing an extra source of income for the communities living there. Through the project, residents in the park were incentivized to grow coffee and taught how to cultivate and harvest the crop in their fields. They were also given indigenous tree seedlings to plant alongside the crop, offering shade and windbreak to the coffee, while also helping to reforest the park. The project started with only 10 families but has now grown to about 1,000 working as farmers, roasters, pickers and tasters. 

Read the whole story here. 

The best baseball story you'll hear today
If you don't know about Jim Abbott, this is going to be a treat. On September 4th, 1993, Abbott, then a pitcher with the California Angels, threw a no-hitter against the then Cleveland Indians. A no-hitter is a sure way to hit the baseball history books, but Abbott added to the badassery of it all by doing it one-handed. Abbott was born without a right hand, with an arm ending at the wrist. Throughout his ten-year MLB career, he adjusted his pitching and playing style to accommodate his limbs. CNN's "World Sport" anchor Don Riddell wrote a wonderful yarn about Abbott's historic career and his cultural influence. After his remarkable no-hitter, Abbott says he was blown away by the recognition, and not just from cars cheerfully honking at him or people stopping him in the street. He said, wherever he went, kids with disabilities and their families regarded him as a special type of hero. “I wouldn’t be able to guess the numbers, they’re sort of staggering," he told CNN. "But I think of the kids a lot, and the look in their parents’ eyes.”

You gotta see this

Hey, if dogs wanna watch golf and rock out at concerts, who are we to stop them? (That is a joke. They definitely should be stopped ... usually.) When Irish golfer Pádraig Harrington arrived at a Pro-Am event ahead of his home tournament at the DP World (European) Tour’s Irish Open, he brought his two Bernese Mountain Dogs along for the fun. Wilson and Setanta seemed to enjoy the beautiful day, and of course, were afforded all the privileges of being in the entourage of a three-time major champion and six-time PGA Tour winner. They even wore security passes around their necks, complete with their pictures and their credentials as “good boy” and "good dog." 

Read the whole story here. 

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles-area dog with an admirable taste in music recently snuck into a Metallica concert. Photos show Storm seeming to really enjoy herself before fellow concertgoers took her to a nearby shelter, where she was reunited with her family. Even Metallica themselves were tickled by their guest. "“She had a great time listening to her favorite songs," the band posted on social media,  "including ‘Barx Æterna,’ ‘Master of Puppies,’ and ‘The Mailman That Never Comes.’” They stressed that people definitely shouldn't bring their own canine friends to the show. "But this dog sure did have her day," they added. 

Read the whole story here. 

Wanna get away?

It's leaf-peeping season, (Please tell me other people call it that, right? My mom didn't just make it up?) and from sea to shining sea, there are abundant opportunities to see all of fall's beauty. CNN Travel has lined up the best fall foliage road trips. Head through the South, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, for lush and hazy mountain views. New England and Great Lakes destinations may hold surprises in the form of quaint covered bridges or historic cranberry bogs. Out West, the changing colors combine with more rugged terrain. Above is  a scene from a leaf-peeping destination I knew well in childhood: Skyline Drive, a 105-mile National Scenic Byway that curves through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. 

Read the whole story here. 

Hear, hear!

"At first, I used to think negative things, like why is there so much pressure? why is this so hard? ... I realized in a way it's pressure but it's not. I mean, there are people struggling to feed their families, people who don't know where their next meal is going to come from, people who have to pay their bills. That's real pressure, that's real hardship, that's real life. I'm in a very privileged position, I'm getting paid to do what I love and getting support to do what I love. That's something that I don't take for granted ... I have a lucky life, and so I should enjoy it." 

- Tennis star Coco Gauff, who at only 19 years old delivered some eloquent words on how she handles pressure and challenges on the world stage. Because yes, pressure is real even if one is also privileged to be there! As Gauff says, gratitude helps her keep a healthy perspective. 

Rec of the week

Brought to you by CNN Underscored

Shameless animal video

There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.

To my knowledge, this marmot looks to be well cared-for and not in any distress. Yet, the faraway look in its eyes makes me wonder what it has seen. Worlds beyond this, perhaps? Memories from a past life? Visions from an ancient god? It's being very chill, all things considered. (Click here to view)

Made with love by CNN's 5 Things team. 

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