A generation capable of so many things; if they were taught the right things. Six thousand students descended on Louisville for a week of being inspired in the Nazarene way. The Kindness Bicycle / Bus Tour was here for the final 3 days of their visit. Six thousand students as a captive audience, more or less, as The Kindness Bus was parked outside of the main entrance for 2 of those 3 days and my bicycle ride took me past their conference a few times per day. My message to them was that they could stop Domestic Violence and Childhood Sexual Abuse in their lifetimes; the message was met with a huge response.
It was a hot one today, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees by noon and rising in the afternoon. I struggled to reach my total of 32 miles today with a visit to the Cosair Children’s Hospital, lunch with Patti, a new dear friend and supporter, a filming for a Youtube channel and dozens of conversations. I push north into Indiana tomorrow. Maybe it will be 20 degrees cooler.

Six years ago, Muhammad Ali wrote me a short note thanking me for a grassroots effort called “Sow Only Seeds Of Love” that I started in response to 9/11. I don’t know how he found out about Sow Only Seeds Of Love, but I was amazed that he would take the time to send me a hand written note in his shaky hand writing. I was honored. Today I honored him by stopping by the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, his birthplace. I’m sure if he knows about One Million Acts Of Kindness and The Kindness Bicycle Tour, he would be equally impressed.
I must be getting accustomed to the weather and bicycling, or perhaps today’s ride was all downhill, just kidding, because the 50 miles were a breeze. I spent equal amounts of time in Kentucky and Indiana which lie on opposite sides of the Ohio River. Many people in Kentucky said they had seen the interview WAVE 3 TV is playing this weekend about The Kindness Bicycle Tour. It really does help to get the word out about my mission when a local TV station, radio station or newspaper does a piece. I’ll bet I talked to 200 groups today. Thank you to everyone!

On my way to Louisville, a road sign noted that a Veteran’s Hospital was a mile away on a side road. How could I pass by without stopping in, especially when I just wrote about this topic on Facebook.  My first two contacts were Meg Rios and Marybeth Stewart. These two angels listened as I told them of the Kindness Bicycle Tour and an announcement I will be making the middle of next week. They were and will continue to be a big help for my mission as I travel about. All three of us were born in ’55 and Meg decided to call us the “Double Nickles.”  Mary Jane Crowder, Director of Volunteer Services and Rhonda Smith, Voluntary Service Specialist took the time to meet with me and tell me of some of the Wounded Warrior heroes.
The hospital was so busy for the amount of staff so I was unable to meet with any heroes but Marybeth told me of how Louisville Slugger and Arizona State are funding a Wounded Warrior baseball team. What a great way to show these Wounded Warriors how thankful and proud we are of them.
I Stopped at the Women and Children’s Center in Louisville to make an appointment with the director for Monday morning before I leave. They were so excited to see me arrive on The Kindness Bicycle.
Riding through the streets of Louisville, my bicycle received all sorts of attention. Jack and Amanda who just applied for their marriage license were big cheerleaders for my cause. 6,000 high school students are in Louisville for an annual Church of the Nazarene, “Be Un-Broken” conference. The Kindness Bus and Bicycle were a big hit with them. Jon Chrisos an anchor for WAVE 3 TV, an NBC affiliate in Louisville did a nice interview about The Kindness Bicycle Tour which will run this weekend. So many nice people stopped and talked with me while I was on The Kindness Bike and near The Kindness Bus. Lincoln Crum, a local resident stopped by to lend his support and talked about adding One Million Acts Of Kindness to his Youtube channel. Louisville is one very friendly town.

Planting seeds of kindness for future generations is what Tenacre School is doing by planting trees in their Branch Out – The Kindness Project. Members of the Tenacre community wrote about an act of kindness they either witnessed of performed and then hung these “Kindness Blossoms” from the trees before they planted them on school property. This project was the brainchild of Lee Frechette, one of Tenacre’s board members. I received a very heartfelt email from Lee telling me of the lasting effect my visit has had on their campus. I somehow think I was “preaching to the choir” when I visited this very special learning environment named Tenacre.
Today in La Grange, I visited with Kathy Dowling a Mental Health Professional whose mission is to help clients create solutions to life challenges. Many of the people she helps are victims of Domestic Violence and Childhood Sexual Abuse. As an expressive art therapist, she helps even the most inarticulate individuals, appropriately and effectively, express themselves. Creating a piece of art can initiate people, to share openly, some of the thoughts they have not been addressing, leading to the beginning of the process of healing.
Today’s weather in La Grange, and most of the eastern United States can be described by one of my least favorite alliterations; Hazy, Hot and Humid. I waited until the late afternoon to ride and guessed right as a storm blew through the area and lowered the humidity considerably.

Traveling into Kentucky further south than I had originally planned this past weekend, I decided that I would head even further south, into Louisville, Kentucky this upcoming weekend, before making my way into Indiana. I made it to La Grange, Kentucky which took me right past the site of this week’s upcoming NASCAR event, of course I had to get a picture. A passenger in a pickup truck which passed by, shouted, “Your bus should get the checkered flag in every race.” People from every demographic love The Kindness Bus.
La Grange provided a beautiful setting for a late evening ride. Many residents in their yards were enjoying the beautiful weather as I passed by on The Kindness Bicycle. The response to the signs was a huge success. I had conversations with a couple of groups of people about all of us treating each other with respect; a trait we seem to have grown away from doing in this country, in this world.

Riding long distance allows me to brainstorm as I pedal. It occurred to me, on my ride, that I was ending The Kindness Bicycle Tour too soon, that I had the opportunity to ride another month. I am scheduled to arrive in San Francisco on the 23rd of November. It was then, that I was going to drive for a month into southern California and head back east to Florida, by bus only, by the 22nd of December. The brilliant idea is to continue The Kindness Bicycle Tour in California for a month. Riding through San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palm Springs and into San Diego and many other cities in between. This extra month of bicycling will add about 1,000 miles to my total, but will more importantly take my message of raising awareness of Domestic Violence and Childhood Sexual Abuse to a vast number of people.

My longest period of scheduled time off from riding on The Kindness Bicycle Tour is this period of 3 days over the 4th of July weekend. Taking the 3rd through the 5th off is just what the doctor ordered. Having 1 day off isn’t long enough for some of the small aches and pains disappear, 3 days is. What a time to be off, Independence Day. My travels have taken me into Kentucky and last night I was able to view over twenty firework displays from several miles distance, on a hill which offered a 180 degree view.
May everyone have a safe and fun-filled holiday with friends and family, with thoughts of helping those in need in this great country of ours.