Crepe Kindness

One of the good things about living in the Washington DC area is that there are several bus companies that drive the DC/NYC route, so you can easily score a cheap ride to New York.  When we have a weekend off, we like to do just that, and it’s even better when we have an “excuse” to go.  Recently we were invited to an anniversary party in NYC, so we jumped on a bus.

But not before hunting online for fun things to do while we were there and making a list!  This time the list included Chocolate By The Bald Man - Max Brenner – which looked amazing in online reviews!  Especially since my sweetheart is a huge chocolate fan!

We popped into the restaurant on a Saturday afternoon and were told we would have quite a long wait.  But then we spied 2 seats at the counter, which was 1^st come 1^st served.  And BEST SERVED, it turned out!

Our seats were directly in front of the CREPE MAKER.  This woman’s job was to make crepe after crepe after crepe.  She did not stop!  She had 2 crepe machines, and as soon as she would pour and circle the batter on machine 1, she would do the same on machine 2.  Then flip (repeat on machine 2).  Then take off (repeat on machine 2).  Then start again.  Crepe after crepe after crepe.  And they were all perfect!  I guess she has a lot of practice…  We felt like we had won the seat lottery since we got to watch her work.

The menu had loads of chocolatey goodness to choose from, but of COURSE we picked a crepe!!  We ordered a hazelnut, banana, chocolate crepe, then sat back and waited for it to be OUR TURN with the crepe maker!! 

She knew we were watching her – we exchanged several smiles.  And she knew when she got to OUR CREPE.  For that one she seemed to take EXTRA CARE – specially drying the plate it would be displayed on, drizzling the sauce…  We laughed and pointed and gave her lots of “thumbs up” on the production.  When she was finished, she tried to reach around the counter and hand it to us personally, but was intercepted by the man in charge of organizing all of the food before it went out.  Her eyes seemed to say to him, “But it is THEIRS – it is for my FRIENDS who have been cheering me on!  I want to personally deliver it please…” but he was having none of it.  In fact, as he took it away from us, he said it was for someone else.  I think the crepe lady felt bad, she had put extra care and love into that one, and it turned out it wasn’t even ours!

But wait – the boss man was wrong!!!  IT WAS OURS, and he had to eat a bit of crow as he handed it back to us.  We exchanged big smiles with our crepe friend and dug in.

Our amazing crepe, and in the background, our new friend the crepe maker!!!  

It was delicious!!!  All of the flavors blended perfectly and one crepe (and an amazing hot cocoa) was more than enough for us to share.  We were very happy! 

I wanted to tip the crepe lady.  It was HER who had done all the work, so carefully making crepe after delicate crepe.  She had treated us like special guests, and I wanted to treat her special in return.  So, we took a $10 bill and slipped it through a line in the glass that separated her from us.  I gave her a big smile, pointed to the tip, and pointed to HER, making sure she knew it was for her and her alone.   She gestured back, “ME????” and we nodded YES!!! 

She.  Was.  Thrilled.  It was obvious she was not used to being tipped – she didn’t know what to do!!!  The bill was suspended in the glass between us and her, and she kept eyeballing it and grinning from ear to ear as she cranked out more crepes.  Finally, she turned to the woman who was probably her supervisor and explained (in Spanish) that the tip was there.  The supervisor looked at it, then looked back and said, “FOR YOU????” and our friend giggled and said “Siiii!!”.  The supervisor smile at us, retrieved the money, and gave it to the crepe maker.

A steaming hot "hug mug" of Italian hot cocoa - ahhhhhhhhh.

This tiny gesture of kindness went such a long way.  The smile on the woman’s face would not go away, it was the sweetest thing.  And one by one she pulled co-workers aside, explained in Spanish what had just happened, and showed them the $10 bill in her pocket.   They all looked like they were very happy for her luck.

Sometimes small gestures yield BIG RESULTS.  We couldn’t give money to every homeless person we saw in NYC.  We couldn’t buy meals for everyone there going hungry.  But we could make one dedicated crepe maker feel as special as she is.  We could remind her that her work is appreciated.  And we could make her smile. 

Bonus NYC photo - the Statue of Liberty as seen from Battery Park on a warm(ish) Spring day!

Tax Time Kindness

You know how when you know someone from a certain setting, you sometimes don’t recognize them if you see them in a different place?  Like, maybe you see your hairdresser at the grocery store, and you know you know her, but she isn’t in the “right” place so you aren’t sure who she is…  Well, that is how I imagine it would feel if I saw Kurt Fitzpatrick sitting behind a desk asking me to hand over my receipts for the year so he could do my taxes. 

THIS is how I think of Kurfitz, on STAGE performing...

You see, Kurt is a performer.  I know him from “the Fringe circuit” – he is an artist who travels around doing his shows at Fringe Festivals around North America.  I first met him at a welcome party for out of town artists at the Orlando Fringe.  I remember that he and I were both hovering around the hors d’oeuvre table, a bit uncomfortable in the setting and quietly chowing down on veggies and dip.  He introduced himself and (I am not sure if I ever told him this…) I THOUGHT he said his name was Kurfitz Patrick.  Now that I write it out, I know that makes no sense.  Now I know, now I know…  But at the time, I thought I had just met a guy named Kurfitz, which was pretty cool!  So my partner David and I still privately refer to him as Kurfitz Patrick anytime we mention him.  (Now you know Kurfitz!!)

I also think of Kurfitz like THIS - riding on a blue jackalope.
Cuz that is the sort of thing I think of him doing.

I have seen Kurt do 5 of his original shows (“Hooray for Speech Therapy”, “Best Picture”, “The Last Straight Man in Theatre), “Bromance” (where David and I got to do a walk-on), and “Dancing in the Mist”.  I have hung out with him in beer tents and theatres.  And I know that he also does work on TV shows and movies.  So when I saw him post on Facebook that he was volunteering to do TAXES for low income people, I had to read the post again.  KURFITZ DOING TAXES FOR PEOPLE??  FOR FREE?? Huh???  That bit of news necessitated some question asking.  And what I learned is, Kurfitz is a kind guy.  Well, I already knew THAT.  What I learned was, he deserves to be named a Kindness Activist.  Here’s the scoop:

Kurt usually lives in New York/New Jersey, but he fell in looooove (something I was really happy about) and moved to Seattle to be with his sweetheart.  They lived there a while, then decided to come back to NJ.  But it was the off-season for touring performers so he needed a way to make money.  The background acting gigs and stand-in jobs weren’t cutting it.  He told me: 

    “I realized how much I enjoy doing my own personal         

    finances.  It’s weird, but I get an odd thrill out of budgeting 

    and organizing receipts, etc., but I have never used that 

    skill outside of producing my own work. I thought, “Hey, I 

    can do taxes!  But do I have to be an accountant?”  An 

    accountant friend of mine said, “No!” and I said, “Good! 

    Because I’m not!”.  He recommended that I walk into an 

    H&R Block and say, “I want to become a tax preparer. Will 

    you hire me and train me?”.  So I put together a nifty 

    resume and walked into my local H&R Block and said just 

    that. They said, “No. You have to take our class in 

    September to work here.” Well, it was January…

Kurt looking all actor-y.  Who knew he can also look TAX-Y?

    
    In years past (Kurt continued) I have volunteered through 
    New York Cares. I would tutor kids in the early mornings
    to help them with their reading, deliver food to the elderly, 
    and teach kids how to swim on the weekends. But I had 
    been out of New York quite a bit the last two years, so I 
    hadn’t done much with New York Cares. A friend of mine 
    told me about the IRS’s VITA program, which is free tax 
    preparation for lower income people. New York Cares 
    partners with that program. To do taxes for this program, 
    you have to study up on information on the IRS site, take 
    an exam, and get at least 80% on it. The exam is “open 
    book,” and you can take as long as you want, but that 
    doesn’t make it easier considering all the data and 
    information you have to wade through and process. I got 
    cocky and figured I would take the advanced exam, but I 
    failed it, and you only get two tries. I passed the basic 
    exam and that was enough to be qualified to volunteer. 
    When I was halfway through tax season, I retook the 
    advanced and passed.”

Isn't that cool? I mean, I also like doing budgeting and paying bills, but you don't see ME studying the IRS website and helping other people complete tax forms... I asked Kurfitz about getting into tax preparation and the time required to do it and he said, “It was a huge commitment to learn how to do to it. The other volunteers had some kind of background in finance, but I'm an actor for crying out loud. That doesn't scream "qualified" in the financial world. But this is how I've always been in my life - I throw myself into things, no matter how odd it seems, and sometimes I predictably fail and other times I surprisingly flourish. The volunteer sessions themselves have been every other Saturday during tax season. For a full Saturday, I'd be in Brooklyn preparing returns."

No, this is not Kurt in Brooklyn on his way to do taxes...  It is him in his "Best Picture" costume.  Lookin' good!

Seriously KIND.  Giving up an entire Saturday to help people do their taxes!  I mean, not a lot of people would be willing to do that.  And Kurfitz wants to do it again next year.  He wisely says, “I could have taken a class or learned from a book. I like that I learned more and more by helping people.”  And how do the people who come to the program to get their taxes done feel?  “I think they are pleased that such a service is offered, but I don’t take credit for it. If they are getting a refund, I’m not giving them the money and if they owe money, I’m not the one getting it. It’s a complex system and I’m just there doing my thing the best I can.”

Then, in true Kurfitz Patrick style, he proceeded to tell me a story about doing taxes that made me laugh out loud.  “The people I meet can be interesting. I have had several people who don’t speak English and a translator is provided. They bring their kids as well, and the kids and the translator will get bored and get up and do things and you have to at least wrangle the translator back. I had a woman who grossed $200 last year who didn’t speak English and spent the entire time smiling at me as if she wanted to eat me. I was flattered yet terrified. One woman came here from Canada to take care of her aunt, and her aunt would not allow herself to be claimed as a dependent. Bitch!”

Oh Kurfitz, only you would be flattered that a woman smiled at you like she wanted to eat you…

Kurt adding his head to Mt. Rushmore.

So now that I have written this story up and dubbed Kurfitz a Kindness Activist, I realize:  I don’t think he ever really solved the issue of needing a bit more income to make it through the off-season of performing!!  I mean, volunteering is super kind and all, but it doesn’t help pay the mortgage.  Oh well, I guess next year when tax season rolls around again Kurfitz will be super good at filling out his own taxes, plus the forms for low income people he assists.  J  Way to be kind, dude. 

Kurt is about ready to start his 2016 tour of “Best Picture”.  If you are in London (Ontario), Ottawa, Victoria BC, Vancouver, or Toronto make sure you check the show out!  You can learn more about his work at:  www.KurtFitzpatrick.com .  And hey, follow him on Twitter: @kurt_fitz because he is a funny guy! 

If you know of a Kindness Activist, please, please, please tell me about them!  Email me at:  kindnessactivist@gmail.com 

Bonus photo!  Kurt and Xan in their touching production of "Dancing in the Mist"

Fresh Kindness

I usually think of kindness as something that is GIVEN, as in, something I give to another person.  Yet when you really look at it, there is obviously always a RECEIVER, too.  The thing of it is, maybe we (I??) sometimes overlook being the RECIPIENT of kindness. 

But recently my partner David and I were the recipients of an amazing act of kindness that hit us smack dab in the face.  Here’s what happened:

David and I recently visited New York City (from Washington DC).

David in NYC,"plugging in" some huge Christmas tree lights :)

We were walking around the streets of NYC and I was thrilled to see a FRESH store. I love Fresh products and had never seen a whole store chock full of them.  (Here is a link to Fresh, check it out!  Fresh )

We popped into the store and an employee named Ray Joseph was quick to greet us.  He was very friendly, polite, and the more he worked with us, we realized that he was down-right FUN.  He showed us around the store, answered any questions we had, and gave us hand treatments.  Ahhhhh.  He even convinced David to scrub and lotion his hands, and David hates hand lotion!  :)  (Thanks Ray, after we left your store David was quite proud of his smooth, soft hands all afternoon.)

Every December David usually sneaks away to Sephora to buy me a little something (most often a Sugar lip balm!).  You should have seen David's eyes when met with a whole STORE of Fresh brand products to choose from - he was overwhelmed with a capital O.  I excused myself and went outside to let David purchase in secret (with Ray's help!).

We were really happy with our experience at Fresh on Bleecker Street.  But it only gets better... (Well, first it gets worse, then it gets better...)

David carried the pretty Fresh bag around as we walked, and after a while he hooked it over the camera bag to make it easier to manage.  We walked and walked and ended up at mMuseumm (which, if you haven't been to, you must go.  I love it.  This was our second visit. Learn about it here ) 

David at Mmuseumm - it is super cool.

We left mMuseumm to walk to the subway, and when David was at the top of the subway stairs crowded with loads of people, David realized the Fresh bag was G-O-N-E.  

We quickly retraced our steps to see if we could find the missing bag, but it was nowhere to be found.  mMuseumm was closed but David got the phone number of the curator from the tenants next door and called him while I tweeted to mMuseumm asking if they found the bag.  (Do you SEE how desperate we were?  Running, calling, tweeting...) Sadly, we never found the bag.

David called the Fresh store to ask Ray if he was working the next day.  We were going to go back to Fresh and repurchase the stuff and wanted to make sure that if he was on commission, Ray got credit for our second purchase (of the same stuff).  But do you know what he did??  RAY TOLD US TO COME ON BACK, HE WOULD HAVE THE PRODUCTS WAITING FOR US!

Seriously!!!!  I mean, things like that don’t happen in KANSAS, let alone New York City!!!

David, KIND RAY, and me at Fresh.  David is holding the replacement bag tightly!!
THANKS RAY!!!!

We went back the next day and Ray greeted us with a huge grin and a bag with all of the products in it.  Free.  He just REPLACED it all!  He said, "You are guests in my city".  Is that not the sweetest, most KIND thing????????????  We tried to tip him and he wouldn't even take that.

So there you have it.  Ray is a KINDNESS ACTIVIST.  He showered kindness on us, and it made us so very happy.  We will most certainly pop in again the next time we come to NYC and Ray will be the reason.  (And don’t tell Ray, but David has “bake cookies and mail them to Ray” on his to do list…)

THANKS RAY.  We really appreciate your kindness.  It was sorta like a Festivus Miracle.  And it reminded me how wonderful it is to be the recipient of kindness.

(Now here are a couple of bonus NYC photos to start this project out right!!!)

Big Apple circus clown act - he looked through that window at juuuust the wrong moment.  :)

CIRCUS KISS!!!!

Please no pee pee.

Could the sign BE any more clear??  :)