It was parents’ weekend here and a beautiful sunny day, about 75 degrees.  I found an empty campus, or so I thought at the time.  I drove to the football stadium which was also empty.  Seeing a chance to do something fun, Bogart and I walked out onto the field.  A woman who worked there took my picture with Bogart at “The Rock” at the end of the field. 

I saw a campus policeman, Officer Delay, who said if I wanted to talk to the students I should go to the corner.  It turned out to be a great spot and I was there for 4-5 hours and met many people from all over.  My thanks to Officer Delay. I talked to Amy Mason and her daughter Grace.  Amy teaches kindergarten where her class of 60 students is having a Kindness day soon.  I gave her about 80 stickers to pass out and keep spreading the word.  It’s always so nice to see so many families express interest in the Kindness Project.  I also met two young families from Chicago who were thrilled about the message of One Million Acts Of Kindness. 

Alex Benson, a reporter for the school paper came out and interviewed me for about 45 minutes.  The article should be in the paper this week.  This turned out to be a very good day.

On my way to Athens, I heard a new rattle in the bus.  Now, this bus has a lot of rattles, but after a while you get to know each one intimately.  This one continued to get louder and I thought it would be best to pull off and see what was going on.  There was a small parking lot, and I shut the engine off and checked the oil, and….yikes….no oil on the dipstick.  I had a quart in the back and put that in, and again, no oil on the stick.  Luckily, there was a tire dealer nearby, C&B Tire Wholesale.  I went in and talked to Cliff who said they really don’t sell oil on a retail basis, but he could pour me a couple quarts for the bus.  After seeing the bus and finding out what the Project was all about, Cliff said, “The oil is on me; just keep taking care of the kids.”  What a great guy.  Anyway, it took a total of four quarts of oil to get the level right. (What guy would ever admit to this) After a minute or so of running the bus, the new rattle had disappeared.  Another crisis handled with the help of the Kindness Project. I decided to stop for a quick bite at a local diner just down the road. Let me tell you this place was a real slice of America. You know you are in a good spot, when the restaurant you are at, is named after the road you were just driving on; the 4 – 11, and the music playing in the background is about some guy driving his International Harvester combine. I love this country‼ 

I arrived at the campus at lunchtime and spoke to Kelso, Macey, and Lauren who told me to get in touch with Dr. Pelley who is involved in a kindness project here on campus.  Also I met a student, Milan who was so enthused.  I met a woman who worked in a lunchroom who was also enthused and she even gave me a cup of coffee.  I talked to about 50 students while I was there.  The oil incident killed a lot of time, and I had to move on the Cleveland, Tennessee. 

On the way to Cleveland, I stopped at a coffee shop and met a lady with 3 daughters.   She is involved in community service and thought the Project was great.  They all loved the bus and took many pictures with Bogart. 

Then I got to thinking about my presentation in Cleveland, Ohio on November 17^th at Cleveland State University.   That’s only ten days away. Mary Alice Casalina of Project Love was clear that she wants the bus to be there. She said I’ll be able to drive it right into the Wolstein Center.  It’s a great opportunity to reach out to a few thousand kids about the Kindness Project.  They’ll love the bus, she says. So we’re doing a U-turn for a week and a half.  I gotta make the most of the trip back from the Tennessee/Georgia border.  

Change of Plans! 

I decided to drive back to Cleveland, Ohio by way of a Indiana.  Here’s my plan:

Indiana University

University of Indianapolis

Anderson University

Ball State University

Indiana Wesleyan

University of St. Francis

Defiance College

Bowling Green University

Oberlin College 

This looks extremely ambitious, but I really think I can do it if I get to two schools a day.  While in Fort Wayne, I’ll connect with Mimi Burns and her Celtic Band who will plan a gathering for the project.  I spent Saturday driving to Bloomington Indiana

When I say early, I mean early.  I arrived at the campus and my hotspot at 5:32AM and of the 5 spots available, 3 were already taken, and as I pulled in to the parking spot, one student pulled in behind me.  Wow, what timing.  Bogart and I went to get a cup of coffee and on the way back, the fellow who parked in the first spot came back to his car and left, and I immediately moved the bus to that spot.  It was great, so visible, no one could miss it.  Bogart was a real hit in his rainbow colored coat which I dubbed his “Diversity Coat.”  Every day is diversity day on the Kindness Project. 

I went to the same spot as yesterday, and because of the timing of the traffic light, I was able to speak to about 20-30 students at a time.  So many walked up to me to get stickers, I was totally impressed.  In the 4 hours I was there today, I think I spoke to about 600 students.  Sorry to say, I had to leave. I never did find out what could possibly be going on at campus at 5:30 in the morning. I headed off for Maryville College early in the afternoon. 

This is a small, old campus, perfectly maintained, and manicured grounds, very impressive indeed.  There wasn’t much student traffic, they must all be in class, so I parked near the student center which included a café and coffee shop.  I noticed some activity in a nearby building and thought I should check it out.  Turns out it was the campus chapel and there was a wedding about to happen.  A very official looking woman talked to me about the Project, she thought it sounded great, and I left her some stickers for her to pass out at the student center. All in all, I had conversations with ten or so kids. I thought it was time to head for the road and aim for my next stop, Athens, Tennessee. I drove to gas up the bus at a local station and a very nice local woman insisted on paying for the gas. She says she and her family love to help people and worthy causes, any time they can. I know just by talking to her that this sort of thing is a common occurrence for her.

I arrived on Campus kind of late, around 8:30. I found what looked like a great spot to set things up, the problem was parking….duh, really?  Still, I thought this was such a great spot, I had to focus right there. It’s a crosswalk by the library, on Volunteer Drive, no less, but there was a great deal of student traffic and it was ideal for the Kindness Project.

Trouble was, I had to park about ½ mile away and Bogart, my sign, and I trekked back to the hotspot.  Nevertheless, each day gets better. Today, in the 6-7 hours I was there, I must have spoken to 1500-1600 students. 

My conversations ranged from a young lady who was involved in Senior Citizen music therapy who thought the Kindness Project was a great fit, to a couple offers of tickets to tonight’s basketball game, which I had to decline.  I knew times had changed when one of the students bought me a coffee, since when I was in school I didn’t even have money for that. It was more than great, it was super great.  To add icing on the cake, there were no squirrels for Bogart to go crazy over. Bogart is fast becoming everyone’s adopted pet, while away from their own pets back at home.

I noticed a few parking spots across the street that would be perfect for me tomorrow.  I decided to get up early, really early, on the advice of a few students and stake my claim.

I stayed in Williamsburg last night and woke up to a beautiful morning, sunny and warm.  I went back to the same spot on campus, but, strangely, there were very few students around.    I decided to switch to another location, and still very few students walking around.  I spent about 3 hours and talked to about 40-50 young men and women, had some good conversations, and figured it’s time to roll along.  Everyone must have been in class. 

I had a few mixed feelings upon leaving Kentucky.  I certainly know I have to press on, but Kentucky was a warm and wonderful place.  Everyone was so interested and willing to work to keep the idea alive.  I hope they will send me their emails so I can keep in touch. 

On my way to Knoxville and the University of Tennessee, I stopped at McDonald’s for a coffee.  I met up with a church bus full of senior citizens, all women.  They loved the bus, and I spoke to each one and gave each a sticker to remember the visit.  They were a fun group. 

The University of Tennessee is a downtown campus and, naturally, there’s nowhere to park.  Eventually I found an unused truck delivery area and found the courage to park there.  Bogart spotted a park across the street and pulled me over to it.  The park had a statue of a man holding a torch with a perpetual flame.  We quickly saw it was a statue of the Tennessee “Volunteer.”  Very appropriate since this is the Volunteer State.   I was there for about an hour, a nurses education building was close by so I was able to talk to many of the nursing students.    This is a big campus, so I spent much of the rest of the day scouting things out for tomorrow. 

I received an Email from a teacher, Cindy, in Havelock, Ontario.  I’m not sure how she found me, but she wants to use the One Million Acts of Kindness as a program in their elementary school.  There are about 300 kids in the school.  What  a great idea! 

Also, I got a phone call from Amy Kelley, who saw me in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  She is the head of a day care center with kids from 2 to 13 and she would love to use the Kindness Project in their center.  I hope this word keeps spreading like this.

I arrived in Williamsburg, Kentucky and drove right to the campus of the University of the Cumberland.  It’s a small campus, with classic buildings and white trim, a beautiful setting.  A new experience greeted me.  As I drove in, people started waving to me, honking their horns, and giving me a greeting I haven’t seen before.  I came to a busy crosswalk and parked right there, and right away, a group of students came over to see what I was all about.  They loved the Kindness Project idea right away, many took pictures with their I-phones, and soon a small crowd gathered around the bus, milling around, never being in a hurry.  This was truly a welcome that exceeded my expectations.  I had some great conversations with various groups of students who seemed sincerely interested and wanted to keep the message alive.

One young lady came over and asked me why I was there, at such a small campus as this.  I explained that the size of the campus is not the issue; it’s all about spreading the word of the Kindness Project.  I said it seems to me that the students are not as much in a hurry as those in the smaller campuses and they take more time to learn more about creating acts of kindness.   She took a long look at the bus and finally looked at me and asked, “Are you a hippie?”  I had to laugh because first, because I don’t think too many people consider me a hippie. Maybe traveling the country and living in a painted up school bus makes me look like a hippie. Clearly one of my favorite comments from the trip thus far.

I also met a fine young man from Macon, Georgia, Bobby Johnson. He was particularly interested in the Kindness Project and said we have to keep this message alive.  He was so interested that, after talking to him for over ½ an hour, I appointed him as the Kindness Ambassador on campus.  He immediately assumed the role, helping to pass out stickers and talking to other students about it.  Before he left, he took about 50 stickers and promised to pass them out and continue the project here.

The town seemed as interested in the Project as much as the students.  Later, at a restaurant in town, people who saw the bus wanted to know all about what I was doing.  They came out to take a close look at the bus and thought it was great.

The icing on the cake today was that we did not see one squirrel….not one.  THIS was a great day all around.