Hey there.
I'm Shanelle Kaul, and
this is The Uplift.
We have a great show for you
with a great cast of characters.
A woman who found herself
living in a graveyard,
and the real life angel
who found her a home.
A group of New Yorkers
spreading sunshine even
during the coldest
winter in many years.
And two other New
Yorkers who combined
forces to bring a classic
New York food to Florida.
Plus, we continue to celebrate
US A to Z. This week's story
starts with a D,
and I'll give you
a hint it can be
greasy in a good way.
And David Begnaud
meets a mother son duo
who use a chat they had almost
a decade ago to inspire others.
All of that and more
heartwarming news.
You're watching The Uplift.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Welcome to The Uplift, the show
that lifts you up for at least
the next 30 minutes.
We begin with a story
about a woman who
had to live in an unlikely
place, a graveyard.
It was there that she
met a real life angel.
Here's CBS's Steve Hartman.
A few weeks ago, police
officers in Syracuse, New York,
were surprised to find someone
living amongst the dead.
Where do you live
right now, dear?
This is your-- you
don't have a home?
The story of how 55-year-old
Rhea Holmes came to live
in a cemetery starts with
the death of her husband.
She and Eddie had been
married 26 glorious years
and were planning to finally
buy their dream house.
And this was the home that
we were going to purchase.
It wasn't grand, but it
would have been theirs.
So the offer got accepted?
The offer got accepted.
And that same day
your husband died?
Yes.
So Rhea took the down payment
and spent it on a cemetery plot
instead, with a bench
for reminiscing.
I'll lay here
anytime with you.
Unfortunately,
living in the past
took a real toll on her present.
Left with little
money and little left
to live for, Rhea slipped
into depression, lost her job,
and got evicted.
She was too proud to
move into a shelter,
so Ria took up residence at the
only place she felt she owned,
her husband's grave.
This is what I purchased.
So you slept right here?
Right here.
And she lived there.
Under the stars.
From last May all the
way through last month.
You could have died there.
Yes, I assumed that I
was going to die there.
And then along comes an angel.
[LAUGHING] Along
comes an angel.
Officer Jamie
Pastorello is the angel
who took Rhea under his wing
after hearing about her plight.
Well, it was just
the right thing to do
and I wasn't going to let
Rhea sleep outside again.
Complete turnaround--
in 20 days she
went from sleeping on the
cold, hard ground in a cemetery
to her own home.
What Jamie did was start
a crowdfunding campaign
and then connected Rhea
with a nonprofit called
Tiny Homes for Good.
Today, she still lives
with her husband.
Hey, Lovey.
Just now, more figuratively.
I miss you so much.
Obviously, nothing
will ever replace Eddie.
Jamie!
But, we got a sense
from this reunion
and the multiple
hugs she bestowed
upon Officer Pastorello.
Jamie.
That this new
friendship will keep Rhea
from moving back to that
cemetery anytime soon.
Steve Hartman on the
road in Syracuse.
Coming up, how the
owners of an Italian deli
and a Jewish bagel shop
combined to take their New York
staples to the Sunshine State.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, like much of the
country, New York City
has been dealing with frigid
cold and lots of snow,
but even in the
worst of conditions,
we found a flurry of hope.
Here's Hannah Kliger
from CBS New York.
75-year-old Gail Muhammad has
been living here for more than
20 years.
Shoveling snow at her
age can be daunting
and sometimes dangerous.
As a property owner, you're
always afraid of lawsuits
if you're not cleaning up.
So when she was connected to
a volunteer who came both Sunday
and Monday to help clean--
It was a relief, both
financially and mentally,
to know that someone was
going to come and do that.
it's a new program called Snow
Patrol, organized by Council
Member Crystal Hudson's office.
We heard from about over
30 people who volunteered
to shovel for their neighbors.
Councilmember
Hudson says her office
put out a call to seniors who
may need the help in advance
of the storm and match them to
volunteers based on location.
One of those volunteers
was Andrew Adamietz
from Clinton Hill.
I've really been
looking for more ways
to actually feel like
I'm in a community.
Who helped clear
the properties
of two elderly neighbors.
One of them had shared with
me that he had a heart attack.
Hudson says the idea
resonated across the city.
We've heard amazing
stories of community building
and connection,
people coming inside
after shoveling their neighbors'
snow, for soup and hot coffee.
And four other
elected officials
contacted her to set it
up in their district,
including Council
Member Susan Zhuang who
is now working on legislation to
create a winter youth program.
We should have generational
integration help each other,
have youth to help seniors
to clean up their sidewalk,
sometimes bring the
food to their home.
All it took was one storm.
I have no doubt that for any
impending weather from here
on out, that I'll be
messaging my new friends.
For Adam, it's to create
a neighborly connection
he hopes will last.
In Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Hannah Kliger, CBS
News, New York.
Well, it's even been icy
cold in parts of Florida.
But winter weather isn't the
only thing making its way
from the North to the South.
CBS News Miami's Anna
McAllister introduces us
to two New Yorkers bringing
a taste of this city
to the Sunshine State.
How you guys doing?
When you walk into A&S Deli
Bakery in Goldberg's Famous
Bagels, you're
treated like family.
They're serving up Italian deli
food and traditional Jewish New
York bagels all in one shop.
Like matzo balls
and meatballs.
Mark Goldberg and
Nick Maltese grew up
in their family businesses,
and it's their passion.
We started here in Florida
in 1971 on Bayview drive.
It was called Rotini's Italian
Deli, and my dad was young.
He would make a fresh
mozzarella, making super salads.
He had a deli, and
I used to help him.
Both sides of the
shop pride themselves
on the freshness
of their products,
like the homemade
mozzarella on the A&S side.
You ain't getting
fresher than that.
Oh my God, it's so good.
The cheese is made fresh
every day, along with the rolls
for every sandwich.
And on Goldberg's side,
every bagel is made in-house.
Warm, toasted bagel.
My favorite thing from
Goldberg's, I would say,
is the bagels in the morning.
We used to come
here, get our bagels.
And then from A&S, I
really like the number
6, the Nicky's Favorite.
So it has fresh mozzarella,
tomato, prosciutto,
and balsamic glaze.
Of course, we
couldn't come in here
without trying some of
their specialty items.
This is a toasted
sesame bagel.
Vegetable cream cheese,
fresh-sliced lox, tomato,
red onion, and capers.
And this South Bronx
chicken cutlet sandwich.
I created a sandwich.
It's a chicken cutlet, breaded
chicken cutlet, fresh vodka
sauce.
It's got fresh
Prosciutto di Parma,
it's got sliced fresh
mozzarella in-house,
with fresh semolina bread.
And every single
thing we tried here,
from the bagel sandwiches, the
soups, and the specialty deli
creations was outstanding.
I would say that my favorite
thing about this place
is that, come in and you
feel like you're home.
We make everybody
feel that way.
Coming up, Jackie and
Shadow, the famous bald eagles
in Big Bear, California,
are expecting again.
We take you right
inside their nest
as the parents await the arrival
of a new clutch of chicks.
Plus, we continue to celebrate
the United States all the way
from A to Z. So
which American thing
are we celebrating this week?
Well, this one got its start
in Rhode Island 150 years ago.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The bald Eagle is, of
course, our national bird,
and Jackie and Shadow
are the Eagle couple
that continue to
live up to their job,
showing strength
and bringing hope.
The famous birds are now
expecting more eaglets
and many fans are anxiously
waiting their arrival.
Here's Joy Benedict with more.
It's the talk of the
town, as Jackie and Shadow
can't stop squawking
about their newest egg.
I'm excited to see
Shadow and Jackie.
They just had their babies.
Carissa Crawford
has her binoculars
ready at Dana Point
Park in Fawnskin,
hoping for a glimpse
of the famous eagles.
But the best bird's
eye view is always
from the Nest Cam, set up by
Friends of Big Bear Valley.
Nature is beautiful, and
getting to experience that
and being able to watch it
live from wherever you are
is really exciting.
It was around 4:30 in the
afternoon Friday when Jackie
laid her first
egg of the season.
[JACKIE VOCALIZING]
A minute later, Shadow
swooped in for his first look
at the future
eaglet, with possibly
what appeared to
be a small smooch
and peck for his
feathered partner.
That livefeed is
great, and we get
to watch how they
feed the babies
and how they make their
nests, and how they mated.
And mate they
have as the world
has watched as Jackie and Shadow
ruffled each other's feathers
and literally started nesting
first with more sticks,
then after the egg was
laid, softer material.
The whole process of how
the Eagles do their life
is just beautiful.
And as you watch, Jackie
and Shadow switch off
brooding the egg, you can see
they also leave it unattended.
Scientists call it
delayed incubation.
It's a sign of a
possible second egg.
The birds delay the incubation
of the first in hopes
that they hatch together.
I watched it last
year when the other two
eggs were hatching.
It was so exciting to watch them
hatch out of the eggs and grow,
and we watched them
until they flew away.
And now there's
another one this year.
In both 2024 and 2025, Jackie
laid three eggs each year,
about three days
apart, so bird lovers
are watching and hoping that
she'll lay more eggs this week.
Oh, I can't wait.
I'm going to be watching.
Wait and watch.
Whether from Big Bear
lake or from your home,
for with two cameras rolling
don't need an eagle's eye
to catch the best love
story in this mountain town.
Joy Benedict CBSLA.
CBS Mornings is
celebrating America from A
to Z. A for the American
dream, B for beauty
and C for Constitution.
So what American virtue
starts with a D Kelly O'Grady
has the answer.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
When it comes
to American food,
there's perhaps nothing
more quintessential
than the American diner.
Its roots date back to
Providence, Rhode Island,
over 150 years ago.
A tasteful history diner
expert, Richard Gutman
has studied closely.
The first diners were
called night lunch wagons,
and they served
people who were out
at night after other
restaurants had closed.
The diner was a place
that was open to all
and served quick
food at a good price.
Lunch wagons later
transformed into lunch cars,
stationary fixtures that
resembled train cars.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Wilson's Diner in Waltham,
Massachusetts, opened in 1946
and remains one of
the few original lunch
cars still operating.
Any French fries?
Lunch car design has helped
inspire the classic diner look
we see today.
The diner is unique
in the landscape.
And that no other building
looks like a diner.
But what it is when you see it,
and what other building really
announces itself in that way?
At Boulevard diner in
Worcester, Massachusetts--
Who has the Bully?
Bully.
Once known as Lunch
car number 7:30.
Good morning, Boulevard.
It's as busy as it was
when they first fired up
the grill in 1936.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
The George family is now onto
its fourth generation of family
members running the
show in the kitchen,
including short order
cook Gabriella George.
This is a multi-generational
family business.
For many, that's
the American dream.
How important is
that to your family?
It's very important.
It means a lot.
Why do you think
that people still
enjoy the diner experience?
I think they just--
they come for the vibes.
They come for
slightly cheaper food.
They come for the
home cooked meals.
I think they could
just come for the love.
Just grabbed a bacon.
Beyond fascination for the
cuisine where ordering breakfast
for dinner is a
welcomed request,
diners have also become a
symbol of American culture.
Diners have become
iconic in films.
They're identifiable
with American culture.
Gutman estimates there are
around 2000 diners operating
across the country today, down
from three times that number
in the 1950s.
Like many small businesses,
rising rent and labor costs
have driven some
diners to close.
But in New Jersey, deemed the
diner capital of the world,
with at least 400 of them
throughout the state,
the appetite for
diners remains steady.
Top's Diner in Newark was
named the best diner in America
in 2017, serving upwards
of 15,000 customers a week.
Under the helm of
co-owner James Golemis.
Put that burger up right now.
Why do you think diners
are so iconic to America?
I don't it's like, why
is the Statue of Liberty
in New York City is so amazing?
I've never been there.
When you go outside and
you see license plates
from other states, all
over, and they stop here,
it's such a good feeling.
Time to dig in.
Oh, my God.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Oh, that's really good.
KELLY O'GRADY: While
the number of diners
has dwindled over
the years, Gutman
believes they might just
hold the secret recipe
for standing the test of time.
RICHARD GUTMAN: The concept of
the diner will be here forever.
And I am one to say that
they will never go away.
Coming up, how a simple
we need to talk request
changed the lives of a
young man and his mom.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Did you ever hear we need
to talk and start to worry?
Well, for one mother
son duo, we need
to talk was the start of a
pivotal moment in their lives.
Now they're using what they
learned during that talk
to help others.
Here's David Begnaud.
DAVID BEGNAUD (VOICEOVER):
This reunion--
You're so handsome.
DAVID BEGNAUD (VOICEOVER):
--almost a decade
in the making--
GAMBLE EVERETT: May
I give you a hug.
Yes, please.
Oh.
It's good to see you.
DAVID BEGNAUD
(VOICEOVER): --began
with a teacher
encouraging a teenager
to just talk to his parents.
WILLIAM HARGEN: I get up from my
room, go down the hall, knock,
and say, hey, mom, can we talk?
I had no idea what
I was going to say.
DAVID BEGNAUD (VOICEOVER):
And neither did
William Hagen's mother, Tracy.
He said, I'm depressed and
I've been seriously depressed
for a long time.
Had you at any point
before he told you
that thought he was depressed.
Not one bit.
He was happy.
He was laughing.
He was having fun.
I mean, I thought he was, like,
happy-go-lucky All-American kid
doing great.
DAVID BEGNAUD
(VOICEOVER): But that's
when William told her he hadn't
always been feeling great
going back years.
TRACY HARGEN: To find out
he'd been struggling since he
was nine was heartbreaking.
WILLIAM HARGEN: I just
had been living with it.
I'd been thinking, this
is my experience of life.
This is just how it is.
DAVID BEGNAUD
(VOICEOVER): William
worked the soundboard at high
school performances near Atlanta
and confided in his choir
teacher, Gamble Everett,
who inspired this
theater kid to act.
WILLIAM HARGEN: I said, hey, so
I mentioned I've been depressed.
Well, I've been really,
really depressed.
I'm really struggling.
What can I do?
What do you think?
And Gamble had the
presence of mind to say,
I know your parents.
Your parents are great.
They will hear you out.
They will listen.
They will understand
what you're going through
and can get you help.
DAVID BEGNAUD
(VOICEOVER): With the help
of his family,
medication, and therapy,
William began to see
a brighter future.
WILLIAM HARGEN:
The biggest change
didn't happened until over
the course of 10 years.
TRACY HARGEN: Right, it
didn't happen the next day.
WILLIAM HARGEN: Exactly.
TRACY HARGEN: It wasn't
like he told us and, boom,
everything was perfect.
You're right.
DAVID BEGNAUD (VOICEOVER):
Now at 27 years old,
William has gone on to conquer
even more of life's mountains,
built a successful
career in consulting,
and is about to marry
Maddie, the love of his life.
DAVID BEGNAUD: What are you now
able to do that you weren't?
I think, in a sentence, I
can feel the daylight again.
Now medication, therapy, a
different outlook on life.
I can sit and actually
feel and enjoy things.
I can see this is beautiful.
This is great.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAVID BEGNAUD (VOICEOVER):
And William and his mom,
Tracy, decided to share that
daylight to help others out
of their darkness.
TRACY HARGEN: We do talks.
Will does them with me.
Oh my God, when he gets
up and speaks and, I mean,
it's just amazing
how strong he is
and how these people
will come up to him
and hug him and say-- like
these big men-- and they'll say,
if you can be that
vulnerable up there
in front of all these people,
then I can go ask for help.
DAVID BEGNAUD
(VOICEOVER): And when
they saw how much their
story helped people,
Tracy didn't want to stop there.
TRACY HARGEN: I feel like music
can reach people in a way that
just words alone can't.
It just touches your soul.
(SINGING) Walked
into your bedroom
And I said to Will, your
story should be a song.
And he was like, a song?
I don't know what he
thought it was going to be,
and I'm certainly not a
singer, so I think he was like,
oh God, please don't, you know?
But I said, I'm going
to take a crack at it.
And I did over and over and
I couldn't get it right.
(SINGING) To finally
say what I did
DAVID BEGNAUD
(VOICEOVER): So Tracy
took their very
personal, human story
and turned to an AI
program to set it to music.
(SINGING) I've been depressed,
Mom, for over a year
Fighting this battle
you couldn't see or hear
My teacher said you'd
listen, that you'd care
That you could help me
find my way back there
I need help
TRACY HARGEN: As soon as I
heard it, I felt it in my soul.
(SINGING) I need your help.
TRACY HARGEN: I just
wanted this song
to reach somebody
who needed something,
a lifeline to hold on to.
Or maybe they'll take this
song and play it for somebody
and say, I don't have the
words, but this is how I feel.
(SINGING) Desperate cry of mine
DAVID BEGNAUD: Well, I
certainly felt something.
Like, when I listened--
TRACY HARGEN: Did you?
Yeah.
When I listened to the song,
I certainly felt something.
(SINGING) My teacher said
you'd listen, that you'd care
DAVID BEGNAUD
(VOICEOVER): But there
was one person in particular who
Tracy really wanted to reach.
TRACY HARGEN: And
I wasn't even sure
if I had the right
number anymore,
but I texted and said, be
sure to hear the shout out
to the teacher in the chorus.
Hours later, I got this text.
Hi, thank you so much
for sending me this song.
It has really been
warming my heart today.
TRACY HARGEN: As
a mom, I was just
overcome with thank you,
thank you, thank you
so much that it was you.
Thank you that you
did the right thing.
(SINGING) My teacher said you'd
said you listen, that you'd care
That you could help me
find my way back there
I need help, Mom
WILLIAM HARGEN:
That changed my life
and I think you should
really know that.
And not mincing words at all,
it meant the entire world to me.
(SINGING) Love saw me through
That's our show.
I hope this news brightened
your day and lifted you up.
[MUSIC PLAYING]