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Caine Built an Arcade From Cardboard and a Neighborhood Showed Up

Sep 3

1 min read

The story

Caine Monroy spent a summer in East Los Angeles turning cardboard boxes into an arcade in his father’s used-parts shop. Most people walked by.

A filmmaker, Nirvan Mullick, stopped, played, and bought a $2 fun pass. He asked neighbors to surprise Caine. They came. The boy’s face, when the line appeared, is hard to watch without your throat tightening.

What happened next

The short film spread. Scholarships and a foundation followed. The heart of it stayed simple: an adult took a child’s project seriously for more than ten seconds.

A lesson you can use this week

This week, stop for a kid’s homemade thing. Pay the ticket price. Stay long enough to play.

Sources

Nirvan Mullick, “Caine’s Arcade” (2012); interviews and follow-ups via cainesarcade.com and major news features.

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The story

What happened next

A lesson you can use this week

Sources

Comments

American Express Profit Jumps 28% as Card Members Stick With the Refreshed Platinum Card

Feared Extinct for Nearly a Century, the Venomous Bangka Slow Loris Turns Up Alive in Indonesia

Variety: Wiz Khalifa Signs With 10K Projects and Drops New Single The Calm

Iowa John Doe Discovered in 1988 Is Identified as Clarence Ames of Dubuque

Why I Ask for Help Before I Feel Overwhelmed

Texas Rangers Seek New Tips in the 1995 Murder of El Paso Mother Celia Loya

Why I Apologize Quickly When I Get It Wrong

BBC: Harry Styles Debuts a New Song for Liam Payne at Madison Square Garden

A New Hampshire Home Builder Hands Ownership to Its 21 Employees

NASA Satellites Track What May Become the Strongest El Niño Since 1950

Queen Creek Police Ask the Public to Help Find Missing Teen Destinie Hamby

Why I Sleep on Big Decisions Before I Say Yes

NASA's GIMLI Mission Will Hunt for a Hidden Cave Beneath a Moon Pit

Tenzing Arrives on Apple TV and Puts Tenzing Norgay at the Center of the Everest Story

Washington Detectives Solve a 1962 Double Homicide After 64 Years

A Hartford Mother Is Still Searching for Her Son Angel Garcia

Why I Leave Empty Space in My Calendar on Purpose

Luna the Terrier Comes Home After 34 Days Lost in Yellowstone

American Express Profit Jumps 28% as Card Members Stick With the Refreshed Platinum Card

Feared Extinct for Nearly a Century, the Venomous Bangka Slow Loris Turns Up Alive in Indonesia

Variety: Wiz Khalifa Signs With 10K Projects and Drops New Single The Calm

Iowa John Doe Discovered in 1988 Is Identified as Clarence Ames of Dubuque

Why I Ask for Help Before I Feel Overwhelmed

Texas Rangers Seek New Tips in the 1995 Murder of El Paso Mother Celia Loya

Why I Apologize Quickly When I Get It Wrong

BBC: Harry Styles Debuts a New Song for Liam Payne at Madison Square Garden

A New Hampshire Home Builder Hands Ownership to Its 21 Employees

NASA Satellites Track What May Become the Strongest El Niño Since 1950

Queen Creek Police Ask the Public to Help Find Missing Teen Destinie Hamby

Why I Sleep on Big Decisions Before I Say Yes

NASA's GIMLI Mission Will Hunt for a Hidden Cave Beneath a Moon Pit

Tenzing Arrives on Apple TV and Puts Tenzing Norgay at the Center of the Everest Story

Washington Detectives Solve a 1962 Double Homicide After 64 Years

A Hartford Mother Is Still Searching for Her Son Angel Garcia

Why I Leave Empty Space in My Calendar on Purpose

Luna the Terrier Comes Home After 34 Days Lost in Yellowstone

Pennsylvania Jane Doe Found in 1986 Is Identified as Gladys "Tinker" Johnson

Oregon Toddler Joshua Ovalles Recovered in Lake Oswego After Custody Dispute

DNA Links Former Chicago Detective to 1960 Killing of Gloria Kowalewicz

Greta Gerwig Narnia Trailer Opens the Door to The Magician's Nephew

Two Young Children Found Safe Within Hours of a Missouri AMBER Alert

Oakland Cold Case: DNA Restores the Name of Joanie Burdick, Killed in 1969

Why I Protect My Morning Hours Before the World Starts Asking

Why I Keep the Promises I Make to Myself

Why I Still Read Contracts Line by Line

Why I Treat Rejection as Information, Not a Verdict

What Mixing a Record Taught Me About Balance

Why I Keep a Simple Weekly Review

Why I Still Make Important Calls Instead of Sending Another Email

Why I Still Handwrite the First Draft of Big Ideas

Why I Finish What I Start, Even After the Excitement Fades

What Studio Silence Taught Me About Listening

What Collaboration Taught Me About Trust

Why I Write Everything Down

What Producing Taught Me About Patience

Why I Ask Better Questions Instead of Giving Quick Answers

Why I Protect the First Hour of My Day

How I Say No Without Burning Bridges

The Follow Up Is Where the Real Work Happens

Why I Keep a Running Ideas File (and How It Saves My Best Work)

How I Plan a Week of Content Without Losing My Mind

Why I Start Every Project With a One Page Brief

How I Prepare for a Media Interview

How to Tell a Story People Remember

How to Follow the News Without Burning Out: A Practical Media Diet

A 15-year-old lost a hand. France is still tear-gassing high-school students.

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