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INSPIRATIONAL
Project Kindness
“There is no wrong way to
perform an act of kindness.” These are
words that Catherine Ryan Hyde uses in her
book “Pay It Forward.” I admired the
thoughtfulness of the young boy in the book, who
wanted to better the world simply by performing random acts of
kindness. The hope was that the person receiving the kindness
would do something thoughtful for another, and this would spark a
revolution of kind acts. I wondered how it would work in our town.
This was one idea I had gotten into my head that I just could not let
go of. I had to try it.
I set out to put the Pay it Forward plan to test in my hometown
of Yankton. A self-assignment, if you will. I’d never been this
excited about an assignment since High School, when one of my
favorite English teachers told the class we’d get a free supper if we
solved a very lengthy who-did-it puzzle. After many tries at the
answer, my team finally solved it and won that challenge. Supper
was delicious.
My Pay It Forward challenge began at 9:00 on a Friday
morning. I had the day off of work and was going to focus the
entire morning on doing random acts of kindness throughout my
hometown. Though a cool and breezy 40 degree start to the day;
the sun was shining in a cloudless sky. The forecast was a sunny, 55
degree day. Perfect, I thought. Not quite as perfect as the 65 degree
day we had the day before, but darn close. I was armed with
kindness: goodie bags each filled with a notepad, a pen and puffy
peppermint candies, a cooler packed full of cold Sprite and Coke,
bags of mini candy bars and several mint-green colored carnations
in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday. With every
kindness act given, I’d give a note on a little slip of white paper, to
explain what my purpose was: “You’ve been selected today to
receive an act of kindness. Please PAY IT FORWARD in your own
way.” I had no idea if this would entice the recipient to pay the act
of kindness forward but it was sure going to be fun to try.
I started off the morning at the local grocery store. Many town
folk had begun their day with coffee and chit-chat in the dining
area. Most of the tables were full; at some tables couples were
having breakfast, at others groups of all men or all women were
having their morning coffee talks. I headed over to a table of four
cheery women with my green carnations and offered them a
couple. I explained that I am a freelance writer, doing a
story on acts of kindness and paying it forward. I told of
how I was just out for the day doing acts of kindness for
folks in my town. They smiled and kindly accepted the
flowers, along with my note of purpose. The ladies joked
that they would arm wrestle to see who got to take the
flowers home. I would have loved to stick around for that
as it would surely have been a sight to see in a crowded
dining area at 9:30 on a Friday morning.
I headed over to another table of eight lovely ladies. I
knew one of them and as I chatted with her for a bit, she
asked what I was doing. I explained my project, offering a
few of them flowers, which were again graciously accepted
with many smiles and thank you’s. I walked the store aisles
after that, handing out flowers to ladies getting their groceries.
Some I knew, some were complete strangers. All gave warm smiles
upon receiving the flowers. I received a few hugs from those I
knew, and a “bless your heart” from a stranger. I wondered when
the last time was that some of those ladies received a flower. After a
nice lady commented that I just made her day, I realized that I just
met one of my goals: to make someone’s day.
I left the store, my heart already feeling bigger and warmer and
only an hour and a half into my project. I drove the streets of town,
hoping to find my next Pay It Forward candidates milling around.
This must be what it feels like to be a spy, lethargically browsing the
streets, peering out of the car window looking for someone. I
spotted a city truck at a four-way stop and pulled over just past their
work area. Fortunately this encounter wouldn’t feel too awkward
as I knew one of the guys. He looked at me questioningly, I’m sure
wondering what I was doing there. I asked if he and his co-worker
would like a pop and candy bar, and explained my purpose. He
smiled, I’m sure thinking I had gone off my rocker, and accepted
my offer. I put the goodies and notes in their truck and headed off
with a wave.
My next stop was the police station. As I walked in with
flowers, a bag of candy bars and a smile, the dispatcher seemed a
little leery. I’m sure they’ve seen it all before. She was probably
wondering what kind of wackadoodle they had to deal with. I tried
to be as non-threatening as I could, leaving my hair down, my
blonde curls resting on the shoulders of my coral colored fleece
jacket. Dark blue jeans and tennis shoes completed my
approachable, casual look. It must have worked, as I appeared to
win her over. I explained my project and asked if I could leave
flowers for the ladies and candy for the gentlemen. She accepted
my offer and opened the locked door for me to hand her the items.
She and the other lady in the office smiled as they both told me to
have a great day. “I already am,” I thought. I wondered how
rewarding life would feel if I had the time and money to spend
doing things like this every single day.
Onward, I headed, to downtown Yankton. A mature, beautiful
lady was climbing into the truck where her husband waited for her.
I parked next to them, and called out to her asking if I could give
her a flower. Though I caught her off guard, she smiled as I
KINDNESS
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HERVOICE MAY/JUNE 2014 v 3