Thanksgiving is fast approaching. It is the holiday that gets many of us thinking about the needs of others. That is the situation in many cases; it gets people thinking. Thinking, but not acting upon what you know you should do. Most of us tend to be this way, but with the increasing urgency of the need this year, we cannot afford to stand by an not do a thing yet again.
There are less than a dozen days until this beautiful holiday. Most everyone has the entire weekend off. This year do something out of the box and do more than think about others in need, do for those in need. How many cold turkey sandwiches can you eat, watching football all weekend, while others go hungry?
Each year, for the entire week of Thanksgiving, The Kindness Bus Tour spends the week at a charity in the town we are visiting. This year The San Francisco Food Bank is on my radar screen. Bogart has helped the last couple of years, but this year, being that it is a food bank, he might eat more than his fair share.

Today is the first of four days off, from riding The Kindness Bicycle.

Beginning early next year, The Kindness Bicycle will get an extreme makeover. The existing signs will be changed to honor Wounded Warriors and Safety Officers killed in the line of duty. Many of these individuals have spent time in the military. Today is their day; Veteran’s Day.
My travels on The Kindness Bicycle/Kindness Bus Tour, early next year will begin in Los Angeles taking me through San Diego and then across the Southern United States to Jacksonville, Florida. The total Kindness Bicycle ride will be nearly 4,000 miles and I will concentrate my efforts, visiting Veteran’s Hospitals, Schools, Police Stations and Fire Houses. As with my current ride, the effort will concentrate on populated areas. I have found that I get much more interest in my mission if I ride my miles in cities rather than on country roads away from population centers.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who have put their lives in harm’s way to preserve our freedom and liberties. Thank you Veterans!!

The question of the day for me was; How could I not stop at Apple Inc when I am in Cupertino, California? The most creative place on the face of the earth needed a visit from the most creative bus on the face of the earth. I guessed right and as luck would have it, the number one parking space right next to the main entrance became available just as I was pulling onto the campus. It became apparent to me immediately, that hundreds of people from across the world come to do business each and every day at Apple Inc. Creative people love creative ideas and The Kindness Bus fit the bill. So many people stopped by to talk and take photos. Alex from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was thrilled at what he saw and took pictures from every possible angle. This campus was as friendly as I could have imagined, I was parked at a very busy spot for over an hour and a half and no one seemed bothered. I somehow think Steve Jobs was smiling down on The Kindness Bus, knowing what a great sight it was on his Apple Inc grounds.
My Kindness Bicycle ride through Cupertino was along main roads with wide bike lanes, making it a joy to ride in temperatures in the 70s.

Making my way into San Jose for the day on The Kindness Bicycle, you would have thought the Thanksgiving Day Parade had come to town early. I don’t think I have ever received more cheers and car horn honks in any town previous. It was one after the other. I had to dust off my parade hand wave for all of the welcoming gestures.
The City of San Jose’s Domestic Violence Task Force at City Hall was my first stop. I stopped by to deliver information for a future visit and show support for the office of Eve Castellanos, Domestic Violence office coordinator. The funding for the program she runs has been cut because of a tight budget and it comes at a time when the city can afford, not to support it. The need for the Task Force is immeasurable; four lives thus far in 2011 have been lost in San Jose due to Domestic Violence. The Task Force works with every agency in the county to protect those in need.
Near day’s end, and after riding through many of the downtown streets, I stopped at San Jose State University and talked with students. One thing was clear from the conversations, The Kindness Bicycle is making a big difference.

What an incredible town! People from countries all over the world come to visit and explore all San Francisco has to offer. On this day, there was an unexpected sight, The Kindness Bicycle. I love when the world comes out to witness the common sense beauty of The Kindness Bicycle. I love receiving verbal and nonverbal affirmations as well. Some days I ride and don’t spend time having many conversations, letting the bike do all the talking so to speak, today was one of those days. I did however talk when people would initiate conversation, one of those conversations was with Aiko who was trained by SAVE in helping those affected by Domestic Violence. She immediately saw the impact of The Kindness Bicycle and came over to thank me. Knut and Ingrid from Norway talked with me about family matters in their country. Knut is a family attorney in Norway. He works to protect the abused. He loved the idea of a man riding such a bicycle. “Men need to tell men,” he said.
San Francisco has many great things to offer, one of them is that it is a great place to ride The Kindness Bicycle.

One of the easiest reads and most memorable books I have read in recent time is “365 Thank Yous.” The book tells the true life autobiographical story of John Kralik and how he discovered that the simple act of a handwritten thank you can have a powerfully positive effect on one’s well being. The book is convincing and leaves the reader with one solution, thank those who have helped you, by writing them a thank you.
I have been convinced by this book and have seen and felt a positive change in my life. The other upside is that people love hand written letters. They are becoming somewhat of a rarity. I recently heard a report that, on average, just 10 years ago, each person received a handwritten letter every two weeks. Today the average is one every seven weeks.
Do someone and yourself a favor, write a thank you today.
Today’s ride through Sunnyvale, California was along the busiest roads in this city, creating an intense interest everywhere I rode.

The prediction of early morning rain, almost delayed my ride from beginning early enough to complete my miles for the day. My travel to Sunnyvale, California, this afternoon in The Kindness Bus, did however.  Today’s shortened ride was through a very busy Fremont, where many families were out early heading to Sunday services. The Kindness Bicycle was an early morning conversation for many of those families, no doubt.
The group of four women who are shown in the background in today’s picture had just called me over to their picnic to learn about The Kindness Bicycle Tour. They were very vocal about wanting to see an end to these two tragedies
Thank you to the Brackett family for their thoughtfulness and hospitality, in opening their beautiful home to me, helping to make my stay in Fremont about as comfortable as life on the road can be.
So why is this man smiling? The group of four women thought I was in my early 30s.