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5 Good Things: This Grandma Went From Beginner Swimmer to Record Breaker
CNN 5 Things
Nov 1, 2025
Meet the blind athletes calling balls and strikes — and pushing to make baseball a Paralympic sport. In Texas, one man’s costume giveaway is helping families in need dress up for Halloween. A US Air Force sergeant reunites with her beloved K-9 partner. In Minnesota, a young girl makes a miraculous recovery just in time for her 13th birthday. Plus, an 80-year-old triathlete made history.
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Host/Producer: Krista Bo Polanco
Producer: Eryn Mathewson
Showrunner: Faiz Jamil
Senior Producer: Felicia Patinkin
Editorial Support: Randi Kaye, Nicole Bozorgmir, Deborah Brunswick, Madeline Stix
Episode Transcript
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:01
Hey there, welcome. I'm Krista Bo Palanco, and this is CNN Five Good Things. This serial thrifter in Austin, Texas keeps the Halloween spirit alive all year round.
Christophe Wagonner
00:00:11
Seeing the kids laughing and having a great time. Every parent wants their kids to feel just as special as anybody else.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:19
'Than a seventh-grader's homecoming that doctors once said would take a miracle. A four-legged veteran hangs up her vest and finds a very familiar forever home.
Natalie Grabow
00:00:29
A lot of my friends were entering triathlons and they looked like a lot of fun, but I was a little embarrassed that I had never learned to swim.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:37
A grandmother from New Jersey shows it's never too late to dive into something new, literally, and break a world record while you're at it. When we come back, a baseball game you'll have to hear to believe.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:00:57
This isn't your typical baseball game. The players are blindfolded. The ball jingles and beeps, and the crowd has to hold its applause, at least until the play's over.
Game Announcer
00:01:09
That's a lead off double. This is United States Blind Baseball Association's final game of the 2025 season.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:17
'The U.S. Blind Baseball Association gives visually impaired athletes a chance to play the game they love. Two weeks ago, their season wrapped with the White Cane Classic, kind of like the MLB Subway Series, where two New York teams squared off in Queens - the Lighthouse Guild Lightning and the Harlem Jazz. CNN's Randi Kaye met with the players and coaches for a documentary on CNN's brand new All Access streaming service.
Kiana Glanton
00:01:41
When that crack happens, it's the most gratifying feeling ever for a blind person because somebody told you you couldn't play, that this game wasn't designed for you.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:01:53
'Kiana Glanton is team captain for the Lightning, who led her team to a 6-3 win. Kiana has Uveitis, which is inflammation of the eye, that she says is a result of a larger autoimmune disease. She's now blind in her left eye and has low vision in her right. And she says blind baseball helped her to embrace her new normal.
Kiana Glanton
00:02:11
It immediately gave me identity. One of the biggest things in the blind community is identity. Who are we now? When you can't see your skin color or your hair color, who are you? And so in that moment, on that first practice, I told myself I was an athlete.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:29
Kiana says she was recruited by Ed Plumacher, who launched the league in New York in 2015. He's got retinitis pigmentosa, which is a progressive degenerative eye disease, and he says the game is all about sound.
Ed Plumacher
00:02:43
We wear blindfolds to level the playing field. We hit the ball out of our own hands, which is no easy task when you're blind, visually impaired, or blindfolded.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:02:52
And the ball is the size of a normal baseball, but with some modifications.
Ed Plumacher
00:02:57
Drilled to have these two chimes in it so because it's an audible game, everything makes sounds. When you make contact with the ball that makes a sound goes beep beep beep. Somebody is there with a fob initiates the sounding device and it goes off.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:12
The beeps also help the players find first base, so that's why the fans have to keep quiet during plays.
Ed Plumacher
00:03:18
There's a coach at second base and the minute you start rounding first base, that base is going to get turned off and he starts clapping to guide you into second base. So you start running full speed into second base and the closer you get, the faster he claps.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:35
Ed loves to win, but says the ultimate goal is to include blind baseball in the 2032 or 2036 Paralympics.
Ed Plumacher
00:03:43
So we are making progress to that goal and part of that goal is achieved by having more countries take on the sport, more teams getting involved, and a larger pool of blind athletes that are raising the bar so that we have truly competitive games across the board.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:03:59
I highly recommend you check out the full story streaming now on CNN All Access. The link to subscribe is in our show notes.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:09
'It's Hallow-weekend, and maybe you're headed to one more costume party or taking your kids trick-or-treating again. But be honest, are those costumes and decorations just gonna collect dust in your closet? If the answer's yes, Christophe Wagonner in Austin, Texas will take them.
Christophe Wagonner
00:04:26
I love the costumes and the decorating and everything like that. So, October's Child is a program to make sure that anybody that doesn't have a costume has an opportunity to get one.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:04:41
This year, the National Retail Federation reports Americans spent a record $13.1 billion on Halloween. That's about $114 per person on average. So every fall for the last nine years, October's child has been giving out thousands of costumes, props, and decorations to families for free. Kids, adults, even pets, no questions asked.
Christophe Wagonner
00:05:03
We have one tent of 10 by 30 that has wigs only, and then three tents of costumes, and then one tent of decorations. And then outside the tents, we have rows and rows of hats and masks.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:20
The big giveaway happens every year in late September, and this year he gave away over 1,800 costumes. But Christophe never really stops. Preparation for next year is already in full swing. Most of the pieces come from donations or thrift stores. He'll shop at places like Goodwill two to three times a week, hunting for costumes or anything bright, furry or sparkly that he can turn into something brand new.
Christophe Wagonner
00:05:43
I've been sewing since I was 12, so not everything is a costume that I pick up.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:05:48
'The 62-year-old still works full-time. Christophe says he spends about $7,500 a year of his own money on storage and supplies to keep the operation running. But to him, every dollar is worth it.
Christophe Wagonner
00:06:00
Seeing the kids laughing and having a great time, not having to see if they can afford it. You see the smiles on the parents too, because this is possibly giving them the opportunity to give their kids something that they may not have been able to give.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:17
If you're looking for a place to send your gently used costumes, masks, wigs, and Halloween decor, check out octoberschild.com for details on how to donate.
Tara Cummins (field recording)
00:06:29
Is that my chicken? Hi baby! Hi! Oh there it is!
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:35
That's the moment U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Tara Cummins finally got to hug her old partner again, a retired canine named Erika.
Tara Cummins
00:06:43
She's my little princess, and she knows that. Super sweet, just super loving. Out of the six dogs I've worked, the biggest personality. I couldn't have a bad day when I was working with her.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:06:53
'Tara and her canine counterpart, also affectionately known as her "chicken," spent two years together in a war zone and all over the world on explosive detection missions. But back in July, Sergeant Cummins got a new assignment in San Antonio, Texas, meaning she had to leave the eight-year-old Belgian Malinois behind.
Tara Cummins
00:07:10
Biggest thing that I dreaded was leaving her. So about the last year or so that I was on Erika, as she was getting older, I started making it very clear to everybody that I'm getting this dog.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:21
So she called Erika's first handler, the one who originally trained her, to ask if he wanted first dibs on adopting her someday.
Tara Cummins
00:07:29
I think out of all the handlers that she had, he would have been the only one that'd be like, okay, that makes sense. Like, I can accept that. And so I gave him a call and I was like, hey, listen, I'm obsessed with her. I've loved her since day one. If it's okay with you, can I adopt her? So on the phone he, ooh, I am gonna get choked up already.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:07:48
It turns out Erika retired a month after Tara got reassigned for developing spinal and joint issues. So with help from the American Humane Society, the pup boarded a flight from New Jersey to San Antonio in September for the reunion Tara has been dreaming about.
Tara Cummins
00:08:03
Yeah, I get to get you! I know, you're so excited!
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:08
After seven years of service, Erica's finally home, right where she belongs.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:08:14
Doctors once said it'd be a miracle if she'd ever wake up. But last week, Sophia Forchas walked out of the hospital in Minneapolis to cheers and balloons days before her 13th birthday. Last Thursday, CNN affiliate WCCO captured the heartwarming moment she left after spending 57 days fighting for her life. On August 27th, Sophia was shot in the head at Annunciation Catholic School during the first week of classes. The shooting left two children dead and 20 others injured. Back in September, Sophia's neurosurgeon, Dr. Walt Galicich spoke about her inspiring recovery.
Dr. Walt Galicich
00:08:53
If you had told me at this juncture 10 days later that we'd be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:02
Now, after brain surgery and almost two months of intense rehab, Sophia is home and ready to continue the long journey ahead to recovery. And the city went all out to celebrate the homecoming. She rode in a white limo and was escorted around the city by motorcade, where she was met with balloons, signs, and a birthday cake. A GoFundMe for Sophia has raised more than $1.1 million. And her family issued a statement saying how grateful they are for the medical professionals who treated her and for the people who prayed for her. They were also thrilled to report her speeches improving daily, and she walks, swims, and even dribbles a basketball.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:45
Up next.
Natalie Grabow
00:09:46
It was a great feeling. And if you can, try to challenge yourself a little bit, you know, to get out there. Never too late. A record for the ages.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:09:55
We'll be right back, stick around.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:02
While runners in New York are stretching for this weekend's marathon, one grandmother from New Jersey already has her feet up. After completing a race that makes running 26.2 miles look like a warmup.
IRONMAN Announcer
00:10:13
Natalie Grabow [cheers]
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:19
My name is Natalie Grabow and I just completed the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii at the age of 80.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:10:28
That makes her the oldest woman ever to finish the IRONMAN World Championship. A 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a full marathon. By the way, this wasn't her first IRONMAN and she didn't even know how to swim until she was 59.
Natalie Grabow
00:10:44
A lot of my friends were entering triathlons and they looked like a lot of fun but I was a little embarrassed that I had never learned to swim so I got a lot of help from my friends and I watched videos and read books and I'm still learning. I'm trying to get better at that particular sport.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:11:04
Well, it sounds like she's doing pretty great because on October 11th, she crossed the finish line in Hawaii in 16 hours, 45 minutes, and 26 seconds.
Natalie Grabow
00:11:13
It was a great feeling and Cherie Gruenfeld, who had the previous record, she was there to greet me and give me a hug and stuff, so that was fun.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:11:24
This was her 11th IRONMAN race, and she's already signed up for more races next year, proving that age isn't a finish line, it's just another starting point.
Natalie Grabow
00:11:32
I think movement is so important and the earlier you can do that and be consistent with it, the better it is. It gives you a lot of confidence in general to feel strong. So it might not be triathlon, it might be any of those parts. It might be golf, or walking, or pickleball, or whatever. But if you can, try to challenge yourself a little bit, you know, to get out there never too late.
Krista Bo Polanco
00:12:05
'All right, that's all for now. Thank you so much for listening, but now we wanna listen to you. Give us a call at 404-981-2293. We'd love to hear what you think of the show and if you have a positive story you think we should cover on the podcast, let us know. Keep the good vibes going by checking out the Five Good Things newsletter. The link to subscribe is in our show notes. And be sure to join us tomorrow for CNN One Thing wherever you get your podcasts. They head to New Jersey, where voters will choose their next governor on Tuesday, in a race that could foreshadow the midterms. Have a great day, take care. Till next time.
