Today was the first day of school after spring break in Scottsdale. It is always nice to get back into schools to talk to Counselors and Principals, even though most students probably disagree with wanting to be back after a week away.
There is a unanimous interest in the Ring Our Country with Kindness (ROCK) ride. Educators keep a very close watch over students from bullying  during the school day. It needs to be monitored by parents with the same interest.

It seems as if everyone is in a good mood on Saint Patrick’s Day. Great, friendly conversations were the order of the day. Bogart even celebrated his Irish heritage by getting the revelers interested in One Million Acts Of Kindness.
Many teachers from across the country come to Scottsdale for the week. I talked with at least 20 educators from school districts scattered throughout the US today.
Susan Fines, Principal at Battlefield Elementary in Virginia, became an instant fan and told me about her school. She said they are involved in every way possible to address how students interact in a positive way with each other. She thanked me for riding to raise awareness about bullying. Teaching children of this age group about strong character traits like Kindness, Respect and Love, help them as they grow into the challenges of being a teenager.

For the next ten days, I will visit areas around the Phoenix region: Scottsdale, Tempe and Glendale to name a few. A combination of Spring Break and Spring Training brings families from all over the country to visit this area. It is as good as it gets.
With the temperature in the low 90s for the past couple of days, riding has needed to be an early morning event, but because of my schedule, I rode very few miles. We have made ourselves very visible these past two days and had some incredible conversations. So many individuals have been adversely affected by bullying and suicide. They don’t get the opportunity to talk about it enough until they see a guy roll by on The Kindness Bicycle.

This school does everything right! They are active with many kindness programs during thE course of the year. I visited this school a year ago on an invite from Ann Jansen, school Behavioral Intervention Monitor. She and her husband Steve were my hosts the past two days.
This morning, I was a guest on Harelson’s Bobcat news morning show. Principal Andy Heinemann conducted a fun interview with Bogart getting most of the attention, just as he should.
Ann took us around the school, visiting six of the classrooms to round out our visit.

On my ride to the New Mexico State University campus, I met with Assistant Principal Lorraine Paz of Las Cruces High School. She and I talked about the importance of all of us having an awareness of issues students have to deal with on a day to day basis. In a bad situation, even a good kid can change quickly and the importance for a parent to watch over their children is especially important from 5th grade on. “That’s when the fun begins,” I’ve heard countless times from educators.
I love talking with kids of all ages about the two issues I am riding for. Conversation is healthy. Two very important things happen. One, education about the issues being discussed takes place, and two, healing  takes place for the individual. Keeping issues bottled up inside does no one any good.

Creating conversations in Las Cruces, New Mexico was the theme of today’s visit to this friendly town. I headed out early to the Farmers Market to talk with and get as much exposure as possible.
Talented musicians, Johnny and Isabella played their hearts out and talked about bullying in their community with me.
Many students were out and about and we talked about how bad some of the bullying is in their schools. A few of them have now been inspired to start anti-bullying groups at their respective schools.
Kelly O’Connell who has a talk show on KOBE radio station in Las Cruces booked me for a call-in interview on this upcoming Monday.
Kerry Dalton and Robert from Emerald Downs in Seattle are going to put together an event at their racetrack in late April. I am honored.

Bogart loves chasing birds, but in today’s photo I think he realizes he has met his match.
With just enough time to visit a few stops in this small town, I went for as much visibility as I could muster.
Yesterday, today and as well as tomorrow, I have 6 hours of drive time in The Kindness Bus, leaving me very little time to ride.
Will, an oil field worker was an instant fan as he remembered being bullied some 40 years ago.
A mom with special needs twins was moved to tears by seeing The Kindness Bicycle. One of the twins is bullied and she said she was really comforted by seeing its signs.