Ahoy Matey!!

Some acts of kindness are also acts of magic.  We just did one of those today.

And, like almost all kind acts, it probably made us (the doers) feel just about as good as it made the receivers feel.

It all started with the idea of a TREASURE CHEST. 

 

And then it blossomed from there.  And boy did it blossom.

 

My sister Sherry and I decided that we were going to create a TREASURE HUNT.  It sounded simple enough, but the more we worked on it, the larger it became.

We got a plain wooden box.

Painted it black.

Decorated it – and by decorate it I do mean DECORATE.  That box had bling to beat the band.

Isn't is so fancy??

 

Then we got shells.  But not just any shells – FANCY SHELLS!  Our local beach doesn’t have all that many shells, so we had to buy them.

 

Then we got JEWELS!  Rubies, pearls, and glass beads.  Soooo pretty. 

 

We wanted doubloons – pirate booty – but couldn’t find any.  So, my partner David MADE some, and they were fantastic!!

 

David and his handmade coins

So sweet

We got necklaces, because all treasure chests have necklaces, right?

 

We found a pretty feather on the beach – put that right in the treasure chest, too.

 

TADA!  Look at all of the amazing treasures! 
(Many pearls, rubies, glass gems, and more shells hidden under what you can see here.)

We got a small glass bottle to put a secret note in.  Only, regular paper for the note simply would not do, so we burned the edges to make it look rustic (it may have taken us a couple tries to get that right…).

 

So cute - tiny bottle!

Secret note for the inside of the chest

Then we needed to make the TREASURE MAP…  It was tricky – we wanted the hunt to be fun, not too easy, magical, and doable.  I mean, we wanted the kids to be successful!  Of course, it too had to have burnt edges.  In the end our map told the treasure hunters to run 20 steps, splash 4 times in the ocean, shout “Ahoy Matey, I am on a TREASURE HUNT!”, spin around 4 times, walk 10 steps in towards the dunes, draw a fish family in the sand, look for the “mast” from a pirate ship in the water (one of the only remaining parts of the downed ship), find the blue “sail” from the ship, and more.  And of course, the final clue told them that X MARKS THE SPOT.  (Luckily, we had a leftover stepping stone and some spray paint to make the perfect X.)

 

Only we couldn’t just hand a MAP to the hunters…  It needed to be special!  We decided on a green wine bottle.  Perfect! 

 

Only then, we needed a CORK…  Quick trip to some neighbors solved that one.

 

We wanted to bury the chest, but we didn’t want it to get ruined in the moist sand.  We decided to wrap it in fabric.  But the fabric needed to be rustic, too, so we dyed it with coffee.

 

Remember how I told you this project blossomed in scope??  Believe me now?  We worked on this baby for 5 days!

 

And today was GO DAY!  We headed to the beach to bury the booty.  David did the digging, and then made the sand around the area look normal again.  We plopped the X stone down and we were ready to go!!

 

Burying the fabric wrapped chest

X marks the spot.

But how to choose the children to treat??  That was a tricky part!!  We knew we wanted:

-          A kid or kids young enough to still believe in magic

-          Parents who would be ok with us involving their kids

-          Parents or an older sibling who could assist in hunt

 

We looked around the beach a bit before finding a group of 4 kids.  2 were young – probably 5 and 6, and 2 were older – probably 11 and 12.  When they were busy splashing in the water we checked in with the parents, who okayed our request.

 

Then we got to work!

 

We put the green glass bottle into the water and then “found” it.  We walked it over to the kids and explained that this just washed up “over there - near the mast” (trying to help them with a clue they would soon see 😊 ).  I held it out and asked the little girl if she would like to open it to see what the note inside said.  She shook her head no, and I wondered if all of this work was going to be for naught…  Maybe WE were the only ones who thought a treasure hunt sounded fun??

 

Oh my- a note in a bottle?  What might this be?

But then her older sister took the bottle, and the magic began!!

 

We walked away to let them hunt (and we settled into a spot to watch!).  Oh, they were so cute!!  They loved the green bottle.  One kid was filling it up with water as another read the note aloud.  They seemed to take a while to read and study the note, but once they began following the instructions they were all in! 

 

They RAN the 20 paces!

They hollered “AHOY MATEY, WE ARE ON A TREASURE HUNT!” with glee.

They spun around 4 times (that part made me smile – they were very committed!).

They splashed as instructed.

Splashing (see the map in her hand??)
Faces blurred for privacy.

They drew fish families. 

Drawing fish families in the sand (following the map directions perfectly!)
Faces blurred for privacy.

They found the “mast” in the water.

They walked the required number of paces towards to dune.

Then they started looking for the blue sail…

 

Oops…  Another family had a blue sunshade set up, and that was a bit of a red herring.  They went to the sunshade and stood in front of the unsuspecting family 😊 .  We waved from a distance until they saw us, then pointed UP to the blue “sail” we were standing under.  And they came running!

 

On the way to the “sail” they hunted for the X that was marking the spot.  They were looking in the sand for it and luckily, the tiniest girl spotted it and squealed.  They rushed over, lifted the X stone, and the little one knelt down and started digging with her hands. 

 

We hadn’t buried it too deep (we weren’t sure if the hunters would have a sand shovel or not).  After moving away some sand she was excited to see the fabric, which we had tied closed with twine.  She grabbed an end of the twine and untied it, then pulled the fabric and box out of the hole. 

 

Those gems decorating it shone brightly in the sun.  It was so pretty!  They RAN back to their parents with the box still sealed and quickly plopped down on the sand to see what treasures awaited them.

 

Oh, they looked excited!  They dug through the shells and gems and necklaces and coins.  It was so sweet!  They found the little bottle inside with another note.  After they had examined it a while, the 3 biggest girls went back into the ocean (the smallest of the 3 now sporting a necklace from the chest).

 

Meanwhile, the youngest treasure hunter kept digging thru the bounty.  So.  Many.  Things!  Then she had the brilliant idea to dig a hole and re-bury everything 😊 .  After a bit of swimming she returned to dig it all back up again, show her mom a very special shell inside, and put on a necklace to adorn her swimsuit.

 

Oh my goodness this was a fun project.

 

It took a ton of time.

It took a lot of effort.

 

But it made us feel like kids again and I think it really delighted the children involved.  I can imagine that littlest girl starting school on Monday, ready for show and tell.

 

We have not added up the receipts yet to see how much Kindness money was spent making this magic happen, nor do I know how many hours we painted and glued and giggled and created.

 

But it was all worth it.  Because it was time and money well spent to create magic and spread kindness.  It gave us a purpose on some hot summer days, and it gave 4 kids a fun experience and a story to tell.

Clean Clothes of Kindness AGAIN!

There are some things in life that HAVE to be done, regardless of your lack of time, lack of motivation, lack of energy, or lack of funds.  And one of those things is LAUNDRY.  There is only so long you can wear that pair of jeans or sleep on those sheets before, well, they simply must be washed.

Now, I live a life of privilege, and having access to a washer and dryer in my own home is proof of that.  I can simply carry a basket of dirty clothes to my basement, put a load in the washer, and go about my business.  I am even privileged in the DETERGENT category – I have a membership to a big box store, so I can buy a BIG box or jug of detergent, saving me money. 

But many, many Americans do not have the same privileges that I do.  For lots of people, the laundromat is a way of life.  So recently, for the second time, Kindness Activist hit up a local laundromat to pay for some strangers’ laundry!  And it was fun!  We had one item that needed a big commercial washer to clean (a duvet), so that was just the excuse we needed to go into a laundromat and treat people to free cleaning.

We started by cashing a $20 bill into quarters.  Then we realized we needed another $20 for this mission.  We were going for it!

Now, when we did this kind act last year in Arlington, Virginia, it was an interesting social experiment (link to that story at the bottom of this post).  Several people that we approached declined our offer to pay for their laundry.  Maybe it was our approach?  Who knows.  But I went into this mission in Ormond Beach, Florida steeled for a bit of rejection. 

But honestly, not much rejection happened!!  People were surprised and happy when we approached them and offered to pay for their laundry.  We paid for a mom and daughter’s several loads.  We paid for 2 elderly women’s drying (they had started their washers before we arrived).  We paid for a young man’s drying (again, the washing was going when we got there).  We paid for several loads a couple brought in.  And we had a good time!

Three people we met stood out.

1.      A man probably in his late 30s was loading up his dryer.  My partner David approached him and explained what we were doing.  He said, “It’s ok, I’ve got it.  Please use that money for someone who needs it more than me”.   After he got his machine going, he walked over to us and gave us a $5 bill.  “Here, get some more quarters so you can help more people,” he told us.  Heart.  Melt.

2.     A woman had a big basket full of dirty clothes and I approached and told her that the laundry was free tonight.  She couldn’t really believe what was happening until I showed her the quarters…  She was so delighted!  After the washers were going, she came over to talk with us.  “I don’t want to be nosey…  And if you don’t want to answer that’s fine.  But…  Are you Jehovah’s Witnesses?” she asked quietly.  We explained that we were not, then I asked her if she was, and she smiled and said yes.  She thanked us several times and told us the story of her car having trouble just today when she was driving across town.  She has an appointment to take it into the shop tomorrow, so not having to spend money on clean clothes was perfect timing.

3.     A man came in with a backpack and bag full of dirty clothes.  From his appearance, I guessed he might be living on the street.  David went up and explained that we were paying for everyone’s laundry tonight.  Boy was he happy!!!  He said he hadn’t been able to wash clothes for 3 weeks because he didn’t have enough money.  When David offered laundry detergent, he gladly accepted it.  “Oh great!  I just have dish soap,” he said, “And really, all that does is make bubbles…”.  Once his load was in, he set about doing all of the other things that a trip to the laundromat could include, like charging his phone and using the bathroom.  I saw him peek in a trash can and pull out an empty small bottle that had held detergent.  I wondered what he planned to do with it, but I didn’t need to wonder for long.  He added some water and used that diluted soap to spot clean his dirty backpack.  Ingenious!  The clothes he was wearing were quite dirty and I wished that he could throw those into the wash, too, but that isn’t possible when you are doing laundry in public instead of in a home.  When his load was finished, I went up and said, “OK, which dryer?  Let’s get these done!” and he explained that he couldn’t stick around to dry them, he was going to fold them up and leave with them wet.  “I am on a bicycle,” he explained, “I can’t ride after dark, I don’t have a light.  If the cops get me, that’s a $36 ticket.  And that would be TWO tickets…”.  Ahh, so he must have an unpaid ticket in that backpack.  Oh boy.  David and I looked at each other and both said, “I wish we could just buy him a bike light”.  It’s moments like that when it hurts – you can’t save the world, no matter how hard you try.  At some point, you have to accept that what you have done is enough.  The man took off his dirty shirt and replaced it with a clean, wet one.  And as he left with his heavy bag of wet clothes, he thanked us again and shook our hands.  He was very grateful.

 

Just then the man who had given $5 came back inside to retrieve his clothes from the dryer.  David went up and quietly thanked him again for the donation and said that the man now going out the door had clean clothes because of his generosity.  Well, the donor reached for his wallet and went out the door, turning in the direction of the man who had left with his big bag of wet clothes.  We don’t know what happened because we were still inside.  Maybe he gave the man some money, maybe he offered him a ride somewhere, we aren’t sure.  We do know that when we left, the man with the bicycle was still outside and the sun had gone down.  Three police cars with lights on were in the parking lot and had a car pulled over. 

 

        I hope he has a place to lay those wet clothes out to dry.  I hope he didn’t                    get another $36 ticket.  And I hope he is happy and peaceful.

 Kindness Activist funds used:  $37

Donations that came in and were used on the spot:  $5

Link to previous story about the laundromat:  Clean Clothes of Kindness

Beachy Boho Kindness

Do you ever meet someone who just emanates KINDNESS?  Like, before you even really get into a conversation with them, their kindness just sort of radiates out of them?  I am not trying to be all hippy-dippy-woo-woo here, but that is how it felt when I met Lyn.  She was a shining, quiet, beautiful beacon of kindness!

Beachy Boho Kindness

Here’s the scoop:  I was in Ormond Beach, Florida.  It had been “cold” there for a couple of weeks.  I must put the word “cold” in quotation marks because, well, let’s be honest, temperatures in the 50s are not exactly COLD to the rest of the country…  But to be fair, there WAS a frost warning 2 nights in Ormond Beach and everyone had to cover up plants for safety!  😊 But when it gets down in the 30s at night, that is COLD for this neck of the woods.  And people here, especially homeless people, do not have scarves, hats, gloves, and warm sweaters at the ready when the temperatures drop. 

During the cold spell, I drove by a shop that had a rack out front and a handwritten sign saying the items on the rack were free, and people could take one.  This caught my attention…  A couple of days later I saw a short write-up in the local paper about it, and I decided I needed to go check it out myself.  And that is how I ended up at OCEAN CHILD (A Beachy Boho Boutique)*…

Ocean Child A Beachy Boho Boutique in Ormond Beach, Florida

I was greeted by Lyn, the mom of the owner, Andrea.  Lyn and her husband were working the afternoon I stopped in.  They welcomed me, and we sat down to talk about the shop and what the front rack on the sidewalk was all about.

Lyn and Andrea are women with huge, kind hearts.  They do a lot for the community.  When weather got cold in Florida, they were concerned that not everyone had a roof over their heads or a sweater to keep warm.  So, they put a few of their own warm clothes on a rack outside the store, with a sign inviting passersby to take something if they would like (or to leave something).  Well, it wasn’t long before people noticed…  People started helping themselves to the lovely gift of warmth, and they were gone almost instantly.  (Sure, some teen girls who think “vintage fashion” is cool also got a free item or two, but things mostly went to the homeless men and women who really needed the warm clothing.)  There are quite a few homeless people in the area, and I bet they were thrilled when this rack of warm clothing went up.  I am guessing that word got ‘round quickly!

Pretty soon Ocean Child needed MORE items to put on the rack, so Andrea ran down to the Humane Society Thrift Store to pick up some coats.  Only, because kindness begets kindness, the thrift store was kind to her, and when they heard about what she was going to do with the coats she was buying, they reduced the price from $5 each to $1 each!  (And, again, because kindness begets kindness, Andrea promised to donate any unused coats back to the thrift store when the weather warms up!)  Ocean Child also put a post in a local “What’s Happening” group on Facebook, which got over 700 “likes” and many offers of donations.  Someone called into a radio station and told the listeners about the amazing project, too.  Donated items are coming in at a steady stream – children’s, men’s, and women’s items.  Some people have brought in blankets, which Andrea reports are taken by those who need them almost immediately.  

Simple rack, simple concept, MUCH KINDNESS AND WARMTH SPREAD

Andrea told me the story of one of the people who stopped by, “I had the sweetest man on a bicycle earlier.  I went out to hang up some new items. He had a blanket that had just come in.  But he was just wearing a lightweight shirt.  I said, ‘Don’t you want a jacket?’.  And he said, ‘Well the sign says to take ONE or leave ONE…’  And I told him, ‘Oh honey, you take whatever you need.  If you have friends wherever you are headed to, you take some for them.’  And he grabbed my hand, his hand was so cold.  And he just said, ‘Bless you’ over and over.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I wish there was more that we could do.”  Another woman that stopped was a teacher of disabled children.  The kids were coming to school during the cold weather without anything warm to put on for recess.  Andrea hooked the teacher up, sending her on her way with warm child size clothing for the class of 5, ensuring that recess could continue.    

The kindness just keeps on spreading!  “One woman went to WalMart and bought brand new knee socks and sweater boots to donate.  Those went almost immediately!” Andrea told me.  “And 3 people tried to pay for things on the rack!  We told them no, no!  Those were donated to US, they are for YOU.”

The rack is right in front of the store

I asked Lyn where her inclination towards kindness came from, and she explained that her family has always done charitable things. 

·         She grew up in a military family.  On holidays, her father would always bring men home who did not have family nearby.  They would eat holiday dinner with the family. 

·         The family makes “kindness bags” full of things like crackers, socks, toiletries, candy, Sunny D drink, etc. and keeps them in their car truck to give out to people in need.  “The Sunny D is always a bit hit,” she told me. 

·         On the anniversary on the death of any of their female friends, they get a purse and fill it with “female” items.  They draw a heart that says, “In Memory Of ___”, put it in the purse, then give it to a homeless woman.  It doesn’t cost a lot of money – they get a very nice purse at a thrift store and items to fill it at a Dollar Store.  It is a beautiful way to keep the memory of their friend alive and to pass on kindness in her name. 

·         At Easter time Lyn invited a homeless woman to their family home to eat dinner with them, but the woman was not comfortable coming.  So, the family made a plate of food from the meal and took it to her.  They also gave her a battery-operated fan in the summer to help her keep cool. 

 

This family really shows how kindness spreads from generation to generation.  Lyn was taught to be kind by her parents.  She taught her daughter Andrea to be kind, and now that is being passed on to her 13 year old granddaughter.  “When we are driving down the street if my granddaughter sees a homeless person she says, ‘Oh!  We have to go get food for them!’.  There are a couple of homeless people outside the McDonald’s that we go to.  We always include them in our order as we go through the drive-through.’ “

The store is lovely.  The paintings on the wall that you see here were made by Lyn!

Please keep the kindness going.  Be kind to those who are less fortunate.  If you are in the Daytona Beach area, swing by Ocean Child (164 West Granada Blvd).  Donate some warm clothing (they would especially like gloves and hats).  The boutique hopes to give out free sunscreen and bottled water to those who need it this summer, so you could also bring in some sunscreen to help them stock up for the warm weather that is around the corner.  And while you are there, THANK THEM for their kindness and check out the amazing work of local artists. 

* Ocean Child (A Beachy Boho Boutique) is a lovely store!  It is a warm, welcoming space that carries gift items, clothing, and artwork (on consignment) made by 26 local artists.  When Andrea opened the store one of the main goals was to have a space for local artists to sell their work without having to set up and tear down repeatedly at local art shows.  Artists who sell their work at Ocean Child make a wide variety of things – bath products, crocheted items, painted wood, jewelry, purses, clothing, etc.  Please stop in and shop (164 West Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach, FL) – support local artists.