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CNN 5 Good Things
How about a break — for your ears? At CNN, we know the news can be a lot to take in. So each week, 5 Good Things offers you a respite from the heavy headlines and intense news cycle. Treat yourself to something fun and uplifting every Saturday as we share the bright side of life from all over the globe.
The Sweetest First Day: A Tulsa High School’s ‘Kiss Goodbye’ Tradition
CNN 5 Good Things
Sep 6, 2025
We start with a back-to-school tradition that might make you want to kiss your mom. Kids with chronic illnesses took charge on a special day, thanks to 16 different law enforcement agencies. This nonprofit helps thousands of injured and neglected animals find forever homes. A teen gets the quinceañera of a lifetime, with a little help from the internet. Plus, the celebrity engagement of the summer sparked some sweet inspiration. Sign up for the CNN 5 Good Things newsletter here. Host/Producer: Eryn Mathewson Producers: Ifeoma Dike and Leying Tang Showrunners: Faiz Jamil & Felicia Patinkin Special Thanks: Christie O’Reilly
Episode Transcript
Eryn Mathewson
00:00:00
What's good everyone? My colleagues and I spend the week looking for stories that might make you smile. Here's what we found.
Tim Woodward
00:00:10
I've loved animals since I was a child, but adopting my first dog as an adult really changed everything.
Eryn Mathewson
00:00:17
We tell you how a man in Washington, D.C., ended up rescuing thousands of neglected animals around the world. And how 16 different law enforcement agencies in Western Washington honored kids with chronic illnesses.
TikTok Post
00:00:30
Yay, Kansas City! Woo, Kansas city! I mean, now we have Taylor Swift, who's going to be here forever now.
Eryn Mathewson
00:00:36
The owners of a bakery in Kansas City are cooking up something special for a celebrity engagement. From CNN, I'm Eryn Mathewson, and this is 5 Good Things. We'll be right back.
Eryn Mathewson
00:00:53
Well, summer's over, and kids are back to school. And for freshmen and seniors at Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the first day of school is quite the bonding experience.
Bishop Kelley Students (video recording)
00:01:03
Kiss your mom goodbye!
Eryn Mathewson
00:01:13
What you're hearing is more than 200 seniors run up to a car with freshmen and scream.
Bishop Kelley Students (video recording)
00:01:20
Kiss your mom! Kiss your Mom!
Eryn Mathewson
00:01:23
Cameron Gabel was one of those new freshmen arriving at school, and she says the experience was pretty awesome.
Cameron Gabel
00:01:30
I kissed my dad and they like cheered and then I got in the car and then when I kissed my mom they like went nuts and it was super cool and then they walked out of kind of where the line was and I took a picture with my mom.
Eryn Mathewson
00:01:41
Cameron says the whole ordeal lasted about two minutes, unless someone tried to refuse to kiss their parents.
Cameron Gabel
00:01:47
Then that's when they get like super like, you have to do it and it takes a little longer. It's the whole point of the event.
Eryn Mathewson
00:01:54
Macy Gerkin is senior class president at Bishop Kelley this year. She helped organize the seniors for the event and even held a sign that said: Get Kiss Cam Ready!
Macy Gerkin
00:02:03
I grab our signs and then I get a speaker out, I have a playlist and we just start pumping those tunes. It was great. It went by too fast and we were all excited to start the school year.
Eryn Mathewson
00:02:13
The school's president, Sister Mary Hanah Doak, says the parents get a kick out of it too.
Sister Mary Hanah Doak, RSM
00:02:18
It's priceless. They're enjoying it more than anyone else.
'Bishop Kelley Students + Parents (video recording)
00:02:22
Kiss her! Kiss her!
Sister Mary Hanah Doak, RSM
00:02:25
The grins on the mother's faces and usually dad's in the backseat recording. So that's great.
Eryn Mathewson
00:02:31
And she adds the ritual is also kind of a rite of passage.
Sister Mary Hanah Doak, RSM
00:02:35
I feel like it allows the seniors to bond together. It allows the freshmen to bond as a shared experience.
Eryn Mathewson
00:02:47
'Bagpipes, a motorcade, and local residents were all part of a big celebration near Seattle, Washington, last week. This special occasion, 16 children were being sworn in as police chiefs, for a day. CNN affiliate KING 5 Seattle was there when 16 law enforcement agencies across Western Washington came together for the big event. And the leaders for the day were pretty special themselves. All kids diagnosed with chronic and life-threatening diseases. The parade was to honor their strength and resilience. Adult officers saluted each kid as they wore custom uniforms representing their hometown law enforcement agency. And for kids like Andy Morgan, the best part was seeing some pretty cool law enforcement gear.
Andy Morgan
00:03:37
Bomb squad robots, but I like loud stuff.
Eryn Mathewson
00:03:41
He also liked his police badge.
Andy Morgan
00:03:43
Because I feel like I have power.
Eryn Mathewson
00:03:45
Annabel Stevens had some reservations about being a police chief at first. Her mom says it's because her dad is part of the Tacoma Fire Department.
Emily Stevens
00:03:54
So there was a little bit of convincing when we first presented this tour.
Eryn Mathewson
00:03:59
'The ceremony was extra special for adult officer Franky Ramos. He participated in this very event 15 years ago when he was just 10-years-old. Now he's the keynote speaker.
Franky Ramos
00:04:11
I just remember so many people coming together trying to make it a memorable event. There was SWAT vehicles from a bunch of different agencies, free food everywhere, so I hope they keep doing it and more agencies get involved and more kids can get to have this experience.
Eryn Mathewson
00:04:29
When Tim Woodward left a career managing internet startups to work in animal protection, he wasn't just making a career pivot, he was answering a calling.
Tim Woodward
00:04:38
I've loved animals since I was a child, but adopting my first dog as an adult really changed everything and made me start thinking about the ways that I could personally work with animals and improve the condition of animals that were in need.
Eryn Mathewson
00:04:55
'Tim is now the executive director of the Animal Rescue Corps. It's a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. That works to end animal suffering. And the work he's done there for nearly 15 years is why he's being honored as a CNN hero.
Tim Woodward
00:05:08
Your average shelter is used to taking animals in one or two at a time. We, on the other hand, pull in large numbers of animals from a crisis situation to address their needs.
Eryn Mathewson
00:05:22
'More than 250,000 animals across the US live in crisis-level conditions. And Tim says law enforcement agencies don't always have the resources to conduct large-scale rescues of animals that have been seriously injured or neglected. So he and his team of volunteers and vets work with those agencies to fill in the gaps.
Tim Woodward
00:05:44
They will designate us as an agent of law enforcement to go onto the scene to seize those animals.
Tim Woodward (field recording)
00:05:50
And get you all fixed up.
Eryn Mathewson
00:05:52
Tim says ARC has rescued over 10,000 animals across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Cayman Islands. They mainly find dogs and cats, but there have been some barnyard and exotic animals, too, like flying squirrels, monkeys, and even lemurs. And the goal is to keep them healthy enough to thrive in forever homes.
Tim Woodward (field recording)
00:06:13
You're Ok! See!Look at that smile. Yeah!
Tim Woodward
00:06:18
The change in the animals is always remarkable, and watching that animal learn to trust and come out of his shell, it's incredible.
Eryn Mathewson
00:06:28
To learn more about the Animal Rescue Corps, go to animalrescuecorps.org. The link is also in our show notes.
Eryn Mathewson
00:06:39
'The Quinceañera. It's more than a birthday party. The coming-of-age tradition for 15-year-old girls across Latin America is also a vibe. So when it was time for Isela Anahí Santiago Morales' quinceñera, her parents stretched their savings to throw her a nice party in the small central Mexican town of Axtla de Terrazas. But after all the planning and preparation, only a few people showed up. And Isela was crushed .
Isela Morales
00:07:09
My parents made a small meal at my house. I invited some friends and some didn't show up. And then my dad said that we would waste the food and posted on Facebook that there was enough food leftover for 40 people.
Eryn Mathewson
00:07:22
Well, that post went viral and changed her life. Local businesses and individuals made donations. The local government offered the town stadium as a venue and more than a dozen musicians and a DJ performed, all of it for free. And according to the Associated Press, about 2,000 people attended, mostly from Mexico, but some even came from Texas.
Isela Morales
00:07:43
I didn't think it would be so big.
Party goer
00:07:47
It became national news, when we saw it on TV at home, we got excited and decided to come.
Eryn Mathewson
00:07:53
Instead of gifts, Isela, who was dressed in a beautiful pink gown, asked her guests to donate toys to children in need.
Isela Morales
00:08:01
Thanks so much for coming to my party and bringing the toys for me to give away.
Eryn Mathewson
00:08:06
But that didn't stop the gifts for Isela from rolling in. The local government gave her a scholarship, and someone else gifted her a plot of land in her hometown. And that party lasted until dawn.
Eryn Mathewson
00:08:21
'Coming up -
Robert Duensing
00:08:22
You know, you have the grumpy old men that don't care about entertainment, but they're finding commonality with their wives and their daughters and their kids that they can both enjoy something.
Eryn Mathewson
00:08:33
We'll tell you why the owners of a bakery near Kansas City say Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement is good for building business and joy.
TikTok Post
00:08:48
Hey guys, did you hear Travis and got Taylor are engaged? What?
TikTok Post
00:08:53
I can't believe it, because they're so in love. Like, oh my god.
TikTok Post
00:08:56
Yay, Kansas City. Woo, Kansas city. I mean, now we have Taylor Swift, who's gonna be here forever now.
Eryn Mathewson
00:09:01
'So, now that we know, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are engaged, I couldn't help but notice how much joy so many people expressed since the news broke last week. Robert Duensing is one of those people. He's the co-owner of the Best Regards Bakery and Cafe near Kansas City, which, as you may know, is also where Kelce plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Robert Duensing
00:09:25
So I found out about before my wife did, because I was listening to sports talk radio, which is like talk about ironic, they announced it there first. And so immediately I called her and told her what was going on.
Eryn Mathewson
00:09:36
Robert and his wife Sherry commemorated the big news with a line of celebratory cookies. And their first batch was baked and ready for customers in just three hours.
Robert Duensing
00:09:45
So our sugar cookies are like big, thick, soft shortbread cookies. Not too sweet, you taste the European butter and you taste everything else.
Eryn Mathewson
00:09:53
'A heart-shaped cookie with the words KC love story written in frosting on them. The Travis look-a-like cookies have heart-shape eyes, mustaches, and kisses on the cheeks. And of course, there are football cookies with 87 + 13 written on them for Travis' jersey number and Taylor's favorite number.
Robert Duensing
00:10:12
So we had one with a direct quote of, hey fans, you know, your gym teacher and English teacher are getting married.
Eryn Mathewson
00:10:18
Robert and Sheri even used a 3D printer to create special cookie cutters to make them. And it's a good thing they did, because word spread fast.
Robert Duensing
00:10:27
We were probably averaging, I think, about 300 a day for the first five days.
Eryn Mathewson
00:10:32
'So far, the cookies have been selling out, and the couple says they have more plans for their Tay-vis cookies. See what I did there? And they say they'll be ready with even more cookies to commemorate the wedding, football games, and even future albums.
Robert Duensing
00:10:44
There's a lot of stress in the world and a lot of uncertainty in the word. And a lot of us try to focus on things that are positive. You know, when you have a really good friend that falls in love and is marrying a good person, you're happy for them. You're happy for everybody. It's like, okay, good things do happen.
Eryn Mathewson
00:11:05
All right, that's all for now. If you like the show, please rate us and review us on Apple podcasts. And if you want to get good news on the regular, consider signing up for the CNN 5 Good Things newsletter. The link is in our show notes. And I want to take a moment to wish my colleague Krista Bo a very happy birthday. That's why she's not here this week. And thank you so much for listening. Take care, till next time.
