Sunday Smiles

David Strom 2:00 PM | October 12, 2025
Stromboli

My wife occasionally sends me memes, videos, and nice stories for Sunday Smiles. 

More of the former than the latter, because "nice" and "stories" don't go together that often. The human brain seems wired to respond more strongly to bad news than good, probably due to some evolutionary adaptation tied to the fact that the good things we are attracted to are nice to know about, but the bad things we need to know about could possibly end our lives, and hence our ability to use those nice tidbits of knowledge. 

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Still, we do love cuteness, and our brains are also wired to smile at babies, kittens, and puppies, too, and a good "cat saved" story will catch most people's attention. Most of us have climbed the pyramid of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, so we can afford to appreciate the story of Francine the Lowes cat. 

Francine, the Lowe's store mascot for the West Broad Street store in Richmond, Virginia, disappeared one day.  What followed was a multi-state hunt for her and an eventual reunion with her unofficial caretakers.

Several weeks of desperate searching. Thermal drones. Professional trackers. Video surveillance.

The teams at Loweโ€™s West Broad Street store in Richmond, Virginia, Loweโ€™s regional distribution center in Garysburg, North Carolina and leaders across Loweโ€™s corporate office did everything they possibly could to locate their missing cat, Francine, in partnership with the Richmond community.

And on Monday, Oct. 6, when she jumped into the waiting arms of associate Wayne Schneider, that initial reunion said it all.

โ€œShe looked at us,โ€ Schneider said, โ€œand gave this big meow like, โ€˜What took you so long?โ€™ โ€

Oh, Francine.

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Francine wanders the Lowe's in Richmond, and as an explorer, she decided to check out a truck. A truck, after all, is just a big box on wheels, and cats find boxes irresistible. 

Francine has been described as โ€œa beacon of the community,โ€ and customers often visit the West Broad Street store to simply pay her a visit.

So this search quickly grew into a community-wide effort.

In addition to the 246 cameras already monitoring the distribution center, Loweโ€™s brought in thermal drones to scan the area. Loweโ€™s  asset protection team monitored every lead, while operations continued safely and smoothly.

Days passed, and reports of possible sightings trickled in, but nothing could be confirmed. The community took notice, and Loweโ€™s reached out to experts to support its efforts.  

Then, on the evening of Oct. 4, a familiar face appeared on camera near the distribution center.

It was Francine.

Once Francine was found, she was captured and returned home to a Blue Carpet welcome. She's back to wandering the Richmond Lowe's and entertaining the shoppers. 

There's a reason why most "news" you read or watch is bad--if it bleeds, it leads--but there's also a reason why stories such as Francine's grab our attention. Paying attention to bad news can save our lives by stimulating us to avoid danger. But burbling babies, kitten and puppy videos, and feel-good stories like the one about Francine remind us that for all its dangers, God is good and life should be savored while we have it. 

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THIS WEEK'S MEMES:






















































BEST OF THE BABYLON BEE:


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BEST OF THE REST:


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AND FINALLY:



Editorโ€™s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.

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