That does it. I'm turning over a new leaf, whatever that means.

No more negative stories for me, no sirree. I'm Mister Feel Good from now on. Give me a car accident or a war or the deficit, and I'll find some "positive" angle in there somewhere, even if I have to make something up.

"Thanks for writing that story. We need more of the positive human interest (stories) in the news."— a reader

I've received a lot of e-mails like this lately. I don't know what got into me, but through coincidence or fate or whatever, I've written a lot of — how do I put this — feel-good stories recently.

There was one about Brad Hintze, the Utah State grad who has cerebral palsy and provides so much inspiration for fellow students; Mandie Rudd, who doesn't let cystic fibrosis stop her from living a full life; Burgon Jensen, the Hillcrest High senior who leads an active, happy life despite (or maybe, in her case, because of) the challenges of blindness and deafness; and Shaky Smithson, the polite and grateful University of Utah football player who shared his good fortune by rescuing his young brother from the Baltimore ghetto by becoming his legal guardian and moving him to Utah.

Their stories and their outlook on life elicited e-mails such as this one:

It is good to look at the news and finally see something that is good with the world. All too often the media only reports on what bad things are going on, so it is good to see someone seeking to tell an encouraging story.

If you want to give yourself a lift, read the comments on the Internet forums following these stories. Normally they're filled with venom but not for these people's stories.

Thanks for bringing these heart-warming, truly heroic and inspirational stories to us in what, these days, is the daily reportage of so much depressing and often tragic fare.

People are always ripping the media for telling so many ugly and discouraging stories. On the other hand, we didn't create the deficit or start the wars or give that idiot Kanye West a stage (sorry for the lapse into negativity there). We're only the messengers. But maybe we just have to look harder to find happier stuff.

It was such a pleasure to read something other than murder, rape, robbery, etc. Would love to read more "success stories" and less about crime and ugliness.

Well, the customer is always right, so here are some happy, "positive" updates on the subjects of those four stories: