Scrabble Kindness

It is no secret that our country is in shock right now.  Many Americans, myself included, are walking around reeling, wondering WHAT just happened, and how they should deal with it.  I have been feeling powerless since the election results started pouring in - sad and powerless.  

But today during a very long commute, I got an idea:  SCRABBLE SENTIMENTS. 

Just Vote

Look, I know it is not rocket science.  And I know it is not going to fix the crazy mixed up American political system.  But at this point, I feel like I need to do SOMETHING to express myself, try and help anyway I can, and find a reason to stop crying.

Here's the deal - we have these light up SCRABBLE LIGHTS hanging on our front porch where we live (a house I affectionately call the "Big Yellow House" (BYH).  I have been using them to express myself.  We live on a busy corner.  Some people notice the lights as they walk or drive by.  Well, starting now, YOU can “rent” the Scrabble sign for 24 hours for your own message!!  The cost is whatever you would like to pay, starting at $5.  You choose from the list of charities below which one you would like your donation to go to and mail the money to me. At the end of the month, I put all donations together and send them in.  Charities listed are in areas that I fear will be hurt by the incoming American President.  So, not only does your message get put on the sign (allowing you to express yourself), but you are donating to support a cause that more than likely is really going to need help over the next 4 years.  Plus, passersby get to read your message!!  And, as an added bonus, I will take a photo of your sign and put it in a Facebook photo album (plus send you a copy!)

This is what is currently illuminated on our porch...  

Want to join in and express yourself?  Send me an email with your word and which charity you would like to help at kindnessactivist@gmail.com .  Let’s do this!  And please share this with your friends – let’s get some donations going and DO SOMETHING POSITIVE. 

Charities you can choose from:

Planned Parenthood - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/

Muslim Aid USA - http://www.muslimaidusa.org/

Human Rights Campaign - http://www.hrc.org/

Friends of the Earth - http://www.foe.org/

Democrats.Org – https://www.democrats.org/

Team Pantsuit!

Letters to choose from to compose your 10 letter maximum message:

A (5)

B (3)

C (1)

D (3)

E (6)

F(1)

G (2)

H (2)

I (4)

J (1)

K (1)

L (2)

M (2)

N (3)

O (4)

P (2)

Q (1)

R (3)

S (2)

T (3)

U (2)

V (1)

W (1)

X (1)

Y (2)

Z (1)

  

Fine print:

-          Your message must be 10 letters or less (the light only has 10 squares)

-          Your message cannot be a curse word

-          I reserve the right to not accept your message if I find it offensive or disagreeable (after all, it IS going to hang at my house for 24 hours).  I will work with you to find a more appropriate message if I am uncomfortable with your first proposal

-          You have to commit to making the donation (no slackers) – mail it to me and I will put them together

THANK YOU KINDNESS ACTIVISTS!  Let's get some donations going and try to do some good here.

Rally Behind Kindness

Today is November 9, 2016.  It is the day after the American election, the one that will put Donald Trump into office.

Kindness is the LAST THING I feel today.  I feel anger.  Sadness.  Dismay.  Frustration.  Disbelief.  Fear.  Disgust.  Grief.

I keep getting messages telling me (and the rest of the country) to "Breathe".  "Spread Kindness."  "Go High."  "Unify."  But I cannot do those things, not now.  For now, I must cry.  Cry for a country that chose hate over love, bigotry over acceptance, and divisiveness over unity.  

But through my tears I will tell you about a Kindness Activist who made a difference for me this week.  I don't know his name, I don't know his story, but I know I was thankful to him and I know he was kind.

This is him with me (snapped after the rally).

Do you see how much bigger than me he is??  I am 5'2" and he had to be 6'something".   He was smack dab in front of me at the Tim Kaine rally we attended on election eve.  We were way back in the line to get in, so by the time we got through security the place was pretty well packed, and our spots were not great, but made much worse by this large man.  We figured at least we could HEAR Joe Biden and Tim Kaine speak, even if our view was blocked.  

But shortly after Joe began his amazing speech, this man turned around, saw me, and gestured "Would you like to get in front of me?".  I hadn't asked.  I don't even know how he knew I was behind him.  But he offered, and I accepted.  I giggled a little, "Are you sure you will be able to see over me?" and took my place in front of him.

Joe Biden, Vice President

Tim Kaine, who I believed at the time would be the next Vice President

Granted, my view still wasn't great (note to the old man in the sweatshirt jacket: if you attend a public event and everyone wants to take photos, please don't bring a huge tablet with a cover that you hold open and block everyone behind you's view for a very long time...).  But I COULD see a bit, and holding my camera up every once in a while I could see better (David said he used my camera as his "view" from behind my big friend every time I held it up, too).

We will miss you, Joe.

Thanks kind stranger who let me move in front of you.  Your gesture meant a lot.  Not only did it make my experience at the rally a little bit better, but thinking about it today reminds me that kindness still exists in our country.

We vote on the side of kindness

#KindnessActivist

#TeamPantsuit

#ImWithHer 

This is Joanne.  I met her at the rally.  She is 80 years old and a has been a member of a
Hillary Clinton fan Club since Bill Clinton was in office.  Needless to say, I liked Joanne.

I swung by to visit the White House the afternoon of the election (while wearing my pantsuit of course).
I truly believed that highest of glass ceilings was going to be shattered last night.  

Vote4Kindness

In the same spirit as yesterday’s Kindness Activist Kari ( story here ), who recognized that all of the negativity surrounding the election is hurting our country, may I present Vote4Kindness!  I found out about the movement when they “liked” one of my Kindness Activist tweets and “followed” me on Twitter, so I checked them out.  And wouldn’t you know it, they are pretty amazing.

Patriotic AND Kind - how about that???  :)

@Vote4Kindness is the brainchild of Nancy, who says she got the idea, “When I found myself and others in my life more sad and angry than our normal happy selves.  I felt like something need to shift and we all needed a little more kindness in our world so I started the Twitter handle.”

Well now, there is a woman who takes action!  She just set up the Twitter account in October and already has 332 followers and has been retweeted over 183 times, so I would say her movement has been a success!  Her goal is to get people to do a little extra, to go out of their way, and do one kind act every day until election day.  Guys – the election is SOON, so you better get your kindness on NOW!  The FIRST thing you should do is follow @Vote4Kindness on Twitter, so you can see her tweets and be inspired.  I love the way she put it, “Let’s make kindness outshine the election negativity.”  No matter which political team you are on, I think we ALL can agree with that idea.

Here is our Kindness Activist, the lovely Nancy!

Nancy believes, like I do, that when you receive kindness, you are inspired to do something kind yourself.  I think of it like ripples, and she put it this way, “This movement provides kindness to one person, who then thinks, ‘Wow, that was really kind…’ and then THEY do something kind for someone else, so it is worth the effort”.  She looks at acts of kindness like Dominoes, where being kind to one person knocks down that first Domino, then they just start tipping over like a beautiful symphony.  I would have to agree!  And the kind acts she is talking about don’t have to be something huge!  She has done things like put little positive sticky notes up in public places, opened doors for people, and given people compliments and smiles.  Little things mean a lot, especially in tumultuous times like we are in now. 

Look - a Starbucks gift card!!   Wouldn't you be so happy to have a stranger hand you this??
And how easy to do - next time you stop in for a latte, get one for a stranger, too.

Nancy says she feels good knowing that her acts and tweets could be making a difference in someone’s day.  She, like many of us, is feeling sad and angry about the election, but working on Vote4Kindness has become the highlight of her day.  (I can relate to that, said the woman who spends hours writing Kindness Activist pieces…)  She says @Vote4Kindess has made me her hopeful, and that just THINKING about kindness can make a person feel more positive and hopeful.  I 100% agree with that!

Nancy wants to thank everyone who has already joined the #Vote4Kindness movement (and I want to encourage those of you who haven’t to jump on board!).  And, as she says, “It’s not too late to join this kindness movement.  We can all use as much kindness as possible right now, so let’s make it shine.”

I think that social media, and Twitter in particular, can get really mean and nasty.  The idea to harness the power of Twitter and use it for KINDNESS is a beautiful one. 

Amen!  Agree to disagree (but don't forget to vote!)

Let’s finish here with a quote by Martin Kornfield that Nancy loves and really sums up her goal with this project, “If we all do one random act of kindness daily, we just might set the world in the right direction”.

If you know of a Kindness Activist, please tell me about them so I can feature their story here.  And remember to “like” Kindness Activist on Facebook so you can follow the photos and stories.

And last, but most certainly not least, PLEASE VOTE in the upcoming election.  And please, please, please spread kindness.

Kari Kindness

I don’t think anyone in America, at least anyone that has television, radio, and/or internet access, would say that this is a “kind time” in our country.  Let’s be honest – with all of the election coverage we hear much more yelling, rude comments, cross-talk, and negativity than most of us can handle.  If the actual CANDIDATES are not spewing hatred, the reporters and pundits are. 

So, in the midst of all of that negativity, I would like to share with you something I found today written by my friend Kari (who was featured in this blog in a July piece called Safety Kindness ).  Kari is the first guest writer in the Kindness Activist Project, and I welcome her words with a happy heart:

Kari's photos show us her lens on the world - sunshine and beauty

Kari wrote: 

“Long post alert :)

I commented to a friend recently about all of the negative/hopeless/depressing BS drowning our country.  I told my friend, “The division and depravity in the world makes me desperate to see the good in others and find a higher level good in myself.  The one BIG way I can make my dent in this world, to combat all this darkness, is to spread the good and appreciate the good in others when I see it.  I can AFFIRM the good, not just notice it.  The world needs to see ALL good magnified. I know so much good is out there”.

I would also like to add that I’ve been consumed lately with the thought of GOOD vs EVIL in this world, the state of America, what I can and should do about it, etc.  Even with the World Series -as I watched game 7 unfold I couldn’t help but think of how many Hillary voters vs Trump voters were in the stands.  Did it matter?  No.  Regardless of which team you are cheering (be it in politics or on the ball field), in that moment, baseball united our terribly divided nation, if only temporarily.

Kari's vision of autumn leaves

Someone let me in the flow of traffic yesterday - waves and thumbs up!  Later while trying to park, I was the one who could extend grace.  The guy ahead of me just missed an open parking spot. He stopped abruptly, half blocking the empty stall, neither of us would get the spot unless someone relinquished. I rolled my eyes and thought, “You missed it - too bad so sad…” and instinctively wanted to hold my ground.  But then I realized that I could back up and make it easy for him to get what he wanted.  The “prized” parking spot was not worth spreading more anger/bitterness/divisiveness/pettiness.  A quick attitude adjustment and I backed up willingly. It was the right thing to do.  If I want a more united, kind, peaceful America, like that one dude said  I needed to “be the change you wish to see in the world”.

Look for ways to acknowledge even the smallest gesture of kindness towards one another; if someone holds the door for you, instead of a mere thank you, how about a “Thank you for your kindness!”  Let’s amplify and acknowledge good behavior - it’s a start I suppose.  In a world where so many things feel out of control I'm really trying to open my eyes and engage in the world in a proactive and positive way.  If we all tried together how might that shift hearts.

More love, less fear and anger.”

Beautiful woman and oh so wise

Kari, thank you so much for eloquently expressing what we needed to be reminded of.  More love, less fear and anger.

LOOK for good.  Acknowledge kindness.  And for goodness sakes, be kind.

Kari and her Mamma 

P.S. – Kari, last time you nominated someone to be a Kindness Activist, but this time YOU are being crowned one.  Thank you the joy you bring to the world, the unique take on things that you are willing to share, and the KINDNESS you spread.  

Ride-Sharing Kindness

The other night we had an experience that reminded me of a very easy way to spread kindness: SHARE YOUR VEHICLE.

That is something we do often – when you see someone that needs a ride, offer it. 

I guess we started doing it when we first moved into our house and our driveway was quite literally the BUS STOP for our street.  People would wait for the bus at the end of our driveway!  We ended up making friends with a man who took the bus often, and when the timing worked out and we were leaving while he was waiting for his bus, we asked if he wanted to jump in our car.  Depending on the time of day he would be headed toward work at the movie theatre or home, and we would give him a lift.  I think that is how we got started offering people rides.

Since then we do it every so often.  I remember once this year we saw a family of 3 waiting for a bus.  They were the only ones at the stop, and we could see a bus just a block away that we presumed they had just missed.  It was a weekend, meaning they were going to have a long wait for the next bus.  So we pulled around the block, came back around, and offered a ride.  In they jumped – and we took them to Best Buy, where they told us they were going to spend their tax return on a new flat screen television!  (We imagined that it might have been luckier for them if we had seen them AFTER their purchase, a tv would be hard to lug home on a bus!)

I am always on the look-out for people needing rides when I am at Arlington National Cemetery.  My partner’s parents are interred there, so we have a permit to drive in the cemetery to visit their gravesites.  But many people visiting Arlington do not have a permit, so they walk in, not realizing how huge the place is.  I always pull over and offer rides to them, especially on very hot or super cold days, or to anyone in military uniform.  They are, without exception, very grateful for the ride, and we have met some sweet people by giving them lifts.

The most recent ride we offered was in DC to a woman named Nicole this week.  We were walking a few blocks back to our car after seeing a show, and we were at a red light with her waiting to cross.  Her bus was already at the stop, and she was wishing she could rush across the street and get on it, but couldn’t cross yet.  By the time she could, the bus had pulled away, but was stuck at the red light.  We congratulated her for “making it”, then realized the bus driver wouldn’t open the door because he wasn’t at an official stop…  So, we did what we do, we offered a ride!  And she walked with us to her car and we drove her home.  She was super sweet and it was a fun ride.

Of course, I am sure that some people would say this practice of giving rides to strangers is dangerous…  And I know, it COULD be.  But we are careful who we pick up, and so far (knock on wood) have not been hit over the head or car jacked.  :)  We have been refused, most notably by an African American couple trying to hail a cab in Washington DC during a blizzard.  No cabs were stopping for them, so we pulled over.  I rolled down my passenger window and offered them a ride, and they replied by telling us in no uncertain terms NO – “Do not do that!  Do not be nice!  That is dangerous!!  You get on now!  Do not be nice!!!”  she admonished us.  (I presume “You crazy white people!!” was also going through their heads.)

Share a ride - meet a stranger

But, for us, giving rides to strangers has been lovely.  It rarely takes much time (and in the grand scheme of things, time is what we all have to share).  It doesn’t often take us too far out of our way.  And it has introduced us to some lovely people. 

I will close here by linking to a story I wrote in 2010 about one of our most rewarding experiences offering a stranger a ride.  His name was Mark.  He was homeless.  We met him by helping some other strangers try and help him up when he was stuck, turtle-like, on his back in the snow.  He had on surgical socks, no shoes (in the very, very deep snow) and was on crutches.  After getting him back to a standing position, we spent 50 minutes with him in our car talking and singing show tunes together.  I still remember how lovely it was six years later.  His story is here:  Happy Talk Keep Talkin' Happy Talk

So I guess my point is this:  you have a vehicle?  You are lucky, not everyone does.  It you see someone who could benefit from a lift, and if the situation looks safe, take a chance.  Be kind.  Open your heart, open your car door.  Give them a ride.  They will appreciate it, and it might just make your heart happy.  

Moxie Kindness

This is Eileen.  She is not a BIG woman.  She is, in fact, quite petite.  But what she “lacks” in size, she makes up for in MOXIE.  Yes, moxie and kindness!  Meet Eileen, the newest Kindness Activist!!

Modeling her new Kindness Activist button!

Eileen is someone who might be described by friends using adjectives like “spunky”, “perky”, “smart”, “adorable”, “strong”, “witty”, and “talented”*, but I bet none of them thought to use “burly”.  That is, until now!  You see, EILEEN STOPPED A PURSE THIEF!! 

“What the WHAT??” I see you silently wondering.  Here’s the deal:

Eileen was minding her own business, walking to the metro in Washington DC wearing her bright pink backpack and pink Chuck Taylors.  She heard a woman behind her holler that somebody had taken her bag.  She says, “I turned around and there was a man running towards me, and in my infinite ‘flight or flight’ response, I did NEITHER, and just SAT DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK.  Because the man was running and looking behind him (at the woman he had just robbed…) he didn’t see that I had crouched in front of him and he fell over me.”

Is this not the coolest story already?  Our Activist has tripped up a bad guy!!  GO EILEEN! 

But, like many stories here, it gets even better…

You see, when he tumbled and fell over Eileen, the baddie DROPPED both the purse he had stolen and, wait for it, his own wallet!!!  Eileen grabbed both of those things as the man stumbled up and ran away.  She returned the purse to its owner and held onto the wallet until police arrived.  I asked her if the guy was hurt when he fell and we decided that his pride was probably hurt worse than his body.  This beefy young guy had been duped by our pink shoe-d hero! 

Our hero's pink shoes

When the police came Eileen gave a statement and ID’ed the guy from the identification photo in the wallet (which, honestly, could have been anyone’s wallet!  I mean, if the guy steals purses, maybe he steals wallets, too, right?  But it turned out this was the bad guy’s actual wallet – isn’t that fantastic???).  A few days later she had to go do an official police line-up – just like on tv.  

I asked Eileen what the woman did when she returned the purse to her, and she said, “She was really very appreciative.  I did not feel like a HERO.  It was more like, my brain short-circuited and thought, “Let’s go into turtle mode!”.  The whole thing took maybe a minute and a half, but it felt like an eternity.  If I had a moment to think about it I probably would have gotten out of the way and he would have run away.  But my brain literally short-circuited and I just SAT DOWN.  The cop said, ‘Usually in those types of situations we tell people not to do vigilante justice, but you just SAT DOWN.’ “

Eileen doesn't normally live in DC, she is visiting here and performing in "Beertown" by Dog and Pony, DC.  Check it out!  While in town, she took some time to explore the butterfly exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Check out Dog and Pony DC here:  Dog and Pony Website

Before the cops called to let her know they had caught the guy, she was a bit nervous walking around the city wearing the same bright pink backpack that made her so recognizable.  In hindsight, she realized there could have been other people working with the guy who saw her, the guy could have had a weapon, etc., all scary thoughts.  In summing up the experience, she said, “I hope that, from this situation, the man thinks about it and decides this is not the path for him”.

Many people would call Eileen a HERO for her actions that day.  I would add another title: KINDNESS ACTIVIST.  I can’t think of many people that I know (myself included) that would put themselves on the line like that (turtle style) to stop an injustice.  But she did it!  Way to go Eileen!

*Footnote:  all adjectives used in this description are used in a POSITIVE manner, so don’t get the wrong idea that “spunky” or “perky” are pejorative.  No siree, they are COMPLIMENTS here.

P.S. - If you know of a Kindness Activist, please tell me about them!  I am always hunting for more kind people!  Send me an email at:  kindnessactivist@gmail.com   And while you are at it, "like" Kindness Activist on Facebook so you can see when the next one gets named!

WAY TO GO!!

Pizza Kindness

All my life (at least my adult life) I have been sort of obsessed with the concept of the “win ____ for ___” deals.  Like, “Win free coffee for a year!” or “Win free fried chicken for life!” or “Win free movies for a year!”.  Like, the “fill in the blanks” don’t even really matter to me, it is just the CONCEPT of being granted SOMETHING, anything really*, for a specified amount of time that seems magical to me!!  

So when I saw an announcement last night that a new pizza place was opening up in our neighborhood, and they were giving the first ten people in line FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR…  Yeah, you could say I got a little excited… 

This is the place - 1000 Degrees Pizza!

But there was a huge glitch – I have to WORK today.  I couldn’t really stand in line from the butt crack of dawn to try and win free pizza.  Sigh. 

And that is where a KINDNESS ACTIVIST stepped in - my partner David!!  He is not as enamored of the “free ___ for ___” deals as I am, but he is quite fond of me, so he said HE OFFERED TO DO IT, HE VOLUNTEERED AS TRIBUTE TO STAND IN LINE! 

Always a Gallant, never a Goofus, that's David

Understand – David has been working a lot lately.  He has been super busy, and he has today OFF.  His only commitment today is to wait for a city inspector to come by and (hopefully) give us the thumbs up on a recent project.  So David could have slept in.  But no, he chose to be uber kind and grant my dream of “free ___ for ____”.  He got in line at the pizza place at 8:00 am and settled in as number 9!!!  Remember, the 1^st TEN people got free pizza for a year – MY MAN WAS NUMBER 9!!!! 

Some of the line!!  Almost time to open up!  The guy with the folded chair was right behind David,
so all of the people behind him are there for ONE free pizza, not the infamous "FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR"!

He got to know his line-mates, who included a couple with what seemed like a very new baby, the guy in position number 1 who got there at 5:15 am (man must love him some pizza!), a man with his teenage son who was cutting classes to score pizza (and, I am sure, spend quality time with Dad, which is cool), and others.  The funky donut shop nearby handed out free donuts to the waiters (thanks Sugar Shack!).  I rushed down and delivered a sweater (it was breezy), coffee, and a bagel. 

And David waited.

Patiently waiting

And SCORED!!!  Yes siree folks, dreams do come true.  David is the proud owner of FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR!  He has 52 shiny coupons, each one good for a pizza (coupon value not to exceed $9.95).  Isn’t that amazing????  I am over the moon that he was kind enough to wake up early and give up his morning for me.  Heck, we almost never even EAT pizza, and when we do, we make it ourselves using Trader Joe’s dough!  Hahahaha.  But like I mentioned earlier, this whole quest isn’t about whatever fills in the blank (in this case, pizza), it is about a FULFILLING A DREAM!

David – you, my dear, are a Kindness Activist.  Not many partners would be willing to spend 3 hours patiently waiting for pizza.  I adore you.

The proud new owner with a mad rush!!

David's free pizza getting sauced

Beautiful view of the line - making pies

And for the rest of you – if you live in the DC area, check out 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza on the Pike!  It is at 3400 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA.  If you “like” them on Facebook or “follow” them on Twitter, you can get a FREE 10” pizza today (Wednesday October 5, 2016).  They are open until 10:00 PM.  David brought a pizza home and it was yummy!!!    You choose your crust, sauce, cheese, meats, and veggies (they have cool stuff, too, like FETA, sundried tomatoes, chopped garlic…).  A 10” pizza was plenty big enough for the 2 of us.   I am looking at the menu and see lots of pizzas I want to try – the Buffalo Chicken, the Trenton Tomato, the Smokey Pollo…  I guess I have 52 free pizzas in my future so I can mix it up!

FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR!!!!

Kindness Activists RULE.

*footnote from paragraph one:  I guess “free stale baguettes” or “free hangnails” would not be things I would be thrilled about… 

A man and his pizza

P.S. - the inspector just came and gave our new egress window a green light, and David told him, "Hey, you know what, there is FREE PIZZA today on Columbia Pike..." and it turns out he had just inspected the restaurant!    

WE PASSED!!!!

P.P.S. - I read this blog entry to David, and he said, "So where is my Kindness Activist button???".  Not to worry, I hooked him up with one.  

PIZZZZZZA!!!!!