Metro Police officer serves in a unique way: 'I loved doing it; the pleasure was all mine'

Hello, friends. Thanks for reading the second installment of The Good News with Brad Schmitt.

I hope you're OK in this nasty heat wave. My doggie, LeeLee, and I have been laying on our backs on the bed with the ceiling fan on high, her fur flying around in the breeze. Heavenly.

Here are some feel-good stories to help you through the heat.

In 93-degree heat, police officer mows lawn for elderly woman

He got a call July 4 about a house alarm going off in the Green Hills area. When Metro Police Officer Sekou Samassi arrived, he discovered a 75-year-old widow sitting outside in a soaked shirt.

The woman, Mary Catherine, was taking a break from cutting her grass. They both checked the house alarm, and there were no intruders or anything wrong inside.

Samassi started to leave, but stopped when he saw the lawnmower sitting on the grass.

"Hey, sorry to bother you," he told Mary Catherine, "but I'd really like to cut the rest of your yard for you, if you don't mind. It'd make me happy."

She resisted for a few moments, but then agreed to accept his offer.

Mary Catherine was so moved that she took a picture of him cutting the grass and sent a thank-you email to the police chief.

"I am writing to let you know about my encounter with a Metro police officer yesterday. It was delightful," she wrote.

"His visit and concern on an otherwise lonely and bleak holiday was the highlight of my week. ... What a pleasant encounter with a Metro police officer this was. I thought you should know. He is a terrific ambassador for the police department."

Samassi, 31, a five-year veteran on the police department, said he was moved by the email.

"It kind of made me blush, actually," he said, laughing. "But I loved doing it. The pleasure was all mine." Hear directly from Samassi in this teaser video I posted on Twitter.

Couple drops 300 pounds in four years

Yep, you read that right — Julie and Jerry Nidiffer of Bellevue have dropped a total of 300 pounds since 2018.

Depressed, morbidly obese and at times suicidal, Julie said she wanted to do something different. And, she told The Tennessean four years ago, she started playing pickleball to peel away the pounds. About 90 of 'em in a year.

Well, since then, Julie, 54, has been on a fitness tear. She and her husband took up running and lost even more weight — and started having more fun.

When Jerry, once 344 pounds, dropped below the maximum weight for skydiving, the Bellevue couple jumped out of an airplane together.

Then they decided to do what they once thought was impossible for them as adults: run a marathon.

They trained and trained, and the first three marathons they signed up for were canceled because of the pandemic.

This spring, though, Jerry and Julie finally ran one, right here in Nashville. They finished just 10 minutes under the six-hour time limit.

"It was a squeaker," Julie said.

But finishing made them feel as if they'd won the whole shebang.

"It felt unreal," Julie said. "There were tears and big grins."

Julie is now looking to compete in some extreme races, any races from 43 to 100 miles long. Jerry said he's fine with keeping it to marathons.

That first marathon, though, thrilled and moved them both.

"It's made my whole life brighter and easier," Jerry said. "I feel like I'm living a second life."

Julie agrees.

"It makes me feel like you can come back from anything. I really feel like I did," Julie said. "It saved my life."

Video of the week: Zoey the rescue dog beats out the purebreds!

She's the little shelter dog that could.

As a pup, Zoey, a super-cute Australian Cattle Dog and Jack Russel Terrier mix, got rescued by a Nashville woman who wanted to try her hand at doggie agility training.

The woman, Anjie Crow, loved watching the Westminster competitions. When she saw Zoey on an animal rescue website, something told her that was her dog, reporter Kirsten Fiscus writes.

Thing is, most agility champion dogs are bred for it, and they start as 8-week-old pups. And most work with experienced trainers.

Neither Anjie nor Zoey were deterred, though. They've rocked the competition world! Check out the full story here.

And, from Tennessean photojournalist Nicole Hester, here's the flippin' cutest video of the cutest winning mutt ever!

Thank you — and let me hear from you!

Hope you enjoyed the second Good News with Brad Schmitt as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for signing up for it! And please encourage your friends to do to the same. They can do that here.

Also, please tell me about your good news. I'm at brad@tennessean.com.

Have a friend who started a really awesome program at your church? Know someone who delivered food to a family having a hard time? Did you neighbor just start teaching English lessons for refugees who've fled to Nashville?

Please let me know.

And thank you for reading The Tennessean. 😊

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Metro police officer did what for the 75-year-old widow?