By Scottie Andrew

What’s the key to a love that lasts? I’ve got relationships on the brain this week: My friends are honeymooning, and my parents are celebrating their 30th anniversary next week. I’ve also been spending lots of time watching my favorite lovebirds, Big Red and Arthur, longtime loves who also happen to be red-tailed hawks. Paying attention to the happy couples in my life — including my bird friends who are currently caring for two hatchlings — has taught me that there is no one way to love someone, but you know it when you feel it. You anticipate each other’s needs, compromise when it counts and celebrate each other’s quirks. Maybe you prefer to roost in your nest to keep your babies warm, but your bird-wife is exhausted, so you let her take a nap while you go hunting. That one might be too bird-specific, but hey, the hawks usually mate for life!

Here are some good things that happened this week.

Maria Mendoza

A whopping act of kindness

It all started as an outing for Whoppers. Mykale Baker, fresh from his high school graduation, stopped by the Georgia Burger King where he works to grab some burgers for his family. Seeing how short-staffed his coworkers were, Mykale jumped back behind the counter to assist — on his day off, no less, still wearing a crisp button-down shirt and all of the medals he’d earned at the ceremony hours earlier.

Maria Mendoza saw him in the drive-thru and her “whole world froze for a minute.” Her daughter Daisy had just graduated from the same high school as Mykale. Inspired by his generosity, Mendoza posted a TikTok of Mykale at work, singing to himself as he filled bags of fries. After more than one million people watched it, Mendoza set up a GoFundMe page for Mykale that has since raised nearly $200,000.

Mykale was planning on taking a gap year before college to save up. But going viral for working hard and the subsequent act of kindness has “changed (his) life dramatically,” he said. Here’s to you, Mykale and Maria — the King has probably never been prouder of his subjects.

San Diego Humane Society

An unbearably cute rescue

This darling 2-month-old black bear cub is on the mend, thanks to rescuers that are going to extremes to keep him wild. The sweetheart was found all alone in the Los Padres National Forest, clearly weak, with no sign of his mother. California wildlife officials sent the baby to the San Diego Humane Society, where his caretakers are dressing up in bear suits — big brown onesies with a realistic mask to match — so he doesn’t get acclimated to humans. There’s plenty for the young bear to learn, even at the rescue: There are trees to climb, nests to build, insects to sniff out. (He also sleeps on top of a large teddy bear that his rescuers think he considers his mom. Swoon!) This real-life teddy will stay with his carers for a year, until he’s old enough to be returned to the wild. And if you think this picture is too cute, then trust me — you’ll want to watch the video, too.

KPIV

A plant’s stunning swan song

This plant is dying — but what a way to go!

A tremendously tall agave plant in California has begun its once-in-a-lifetime “death bloom,” a fascinating process by which an agave plant suddenly sprouts a towering, skinny stalk shortly before it bites the dust. It can take more than 30 years for agave to finally bloom, transforming the low, pointy plant into the titular flora of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” 

Homeowner Brion Spensieri’s magnificent agave’s stalk has topped out at 27 feet tall. Neighbors have been riveted, watching it grow improbably tall in a matter of weeks. They’ll miss the plant when it’s gone, but the agave’s death could give life to as many as 1,000 more plants. When it finally dies and its stalk topples, the plant will drop seeds known as pups. 

Spensieri plans to leave all the pups out for his neighbors to plant their own agave that will one day go out with a big bang.

Khamploi Kakaew

An elephant shoplifting spree

We need to address the elephant in the room — it’s right there, next to the ice cream freezer and the chips. 

A wild elephant popped into a convenience store in Thailand for a quick treat, where it proceeded to sample a smattering of sweets at the front of the store — 10 bags of candy, dried bananas (what, no circus peanuts?). He was not hiding any baht, or Thai money, in his trunk, though a wildlife protection group later offered money to sponsor his shoplifting.

“Business was a bit slow that day,” store owner Khamploi Kakaew told CNN. “It was like it came on purpose.” 

The curious elephant is a familiar face in Khamploi’s neighborhood, which is situated near a national park. Plai Biang Lek, as the not-so-gentle giant is known, has raided a few stores and homes in town. He left relatively peacefully after his latest haul, with another elephant stationed outside (though, if that elephant was on lookout duty, it did a poor job).