When we turn on our televisions or smart phones we are bombarded with news that brings us down. Where are all the good stories? They’re still there. Here’s one that we hope will bless you.

“He’s stubborn as a mule,” Everett Kalin’s son Jon Kalin told SFGATE recently. “When he sets his mind to something, he’s going to do it.”

At 91, the retired theology professor went skydiving. Now 93, Everett successfully navigated Yosemite’s Half Dome in California last week with his son and granddaughter Sidney. Amazing, considering that he doesn’t think of himself as an avid outdoorsman. “When you hit your 90s, you think, ‘What would be some things I’d like to do?’ … I guess Half Dome was the thing that most popped into my mind.”

Everett trained for months in advance. He walked around Lake Merritt almost every day. He walked the stairs in his 17-story building. “I didn’t fully realize how tricky it would be, especially at my age.” He told SFGATE that the toughest part was the “subdome,” a part of the trek that was steep and slippery and did not have cables to hold. 

A day later, however, Everett wasn’t even sore. “I just feel so very grateful to the people that made it possible. I’m actually feeling great.”

Everett said he would never forget the experience. “That was fantastic. Just super. When you’re 93, it’s just a little extra special.”

Nancy Flory, Ph.D., is a senior editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.