You meet the greatest people when you take the time to look around. With a full week of extreme temperatures this past week, I took the day off to recoup and relax. Sheridan, an Air Force Veteran from the Vietnam era was in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn when I walked by the community garden of which he is the President. I felt the need to visit this peaceful place. He is a gentle giant and he and I talked about The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes and all the work he is doing to give back in his years of retirement. “How much television can you watch?” he stated. He is also a regular volunteer at the Veterans hospital in Brooklyn and is on a local housing board as well. He is amazed at the many tours of duty our military Heroes are performing. We also talked about the great resources that are being offered by non-profits formed to fill in some of the needs not completely addressed by the VA.
Sheridan invited me back to an art show at the community garden in August. I will be back for sure. Thank you for your service to our country Sheridan.

All throughout The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes, but primarily in New York City, I have been hearing about an organization named, Friends of Firefighters. Based in Brooklyn, New York, this organization, founded by Nancy Carbone, is a godsend. I will be visiting the in the upcoming week. The following information is taken from their website www.friendsoffirefighters.org Friends of Firefighters is dedicated to addressing the physical, mental health, and wellness needs of New York City’s firefighters and their families. Our ongoing mission is to provide long-term support and services through confidential counseling, wellness services, and other assistance required by firefighters and their families.
Thousands of active and retired firefighters responded to the alarm and 343 members of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) perished in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. Friends of Firefighters was born within days of this catastrophic event through the performance of several unobtrusive acts of kindness offered by the local community. These ranged from making dinners for exhausted rescue workers, to coordinating and facilitating “behind the scenes” in a variety of ways for funerals and memorials, to sitting and listening to firefighters talk over a cup of coffee.
Friends of Firefighters was born out of necessity after the 9/11 attacks.  Offering therapeutic and mental health resources to active and retired firefighters and their families in the days following, we quickly realized this issue would need to be addressed for years to come. Over the past 10 years, Friends of Firefighters has expanded to meet the growing needs of the FDNY community.
The organization offers confidential, individual, marriage, and family counseling; peer support programs; acupuncture, massage therapy, and training in the Bio Feedback mPod; financial and budget guidance; and referrals to many other resources.

Knowing that the day’s temperatures were going to be well into the 90s, I started the day early, visiting Brooklyn Firehouses and Police Precincts. I also limited my day to 5 hours of riding The Kindness Bicycle. I met Milan, a Firefighter of 4 years and who also works on his off-hours as a paramedic. He and his fellow Firefighters at the Middagh Street Firehouse were about to head out on a non-emergency call. Milan took quite a bit of time to visit with me, finding out all the specifics of my ride.
Richards Street Firehouse was a pleasure to visit as three of the Heroes took time to share stories with me.
The crew from the Red Hook Firehouse were just coming back from a call while I was talking with their house call officer. It is amazing the amount of protective gear these guys need to wear in these extreme temperatures.
Officer Murray at Precinct 76 was so thrilled about The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes that she posted the flyer at the front entrance to her building. Thank you Precinct 76!
The ride through the northwestern part of Brooklyn was as if I was in a parade, as many people took the time to connect with me.

I started the day on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and by noon it was as if I had met as many people as I do in a day. I am hearing on nearly a daily basis from people who have seen The Kindness Bus in another part of the country. Amy who has two young daughters said, “I saw you in Lawrence, Kansas last summer!” She reminded me that I had given her a copy of “Bogart Begins His Kindness Adventures.” She was so complimentary when she told me how much of an impact One Million Acts Of Kindness has had on her daughters.
Forrest, who is an artist from southern California is visiting New York City for an art show he is having. He was blown away learning that The Kindness Bus Tour is here as well.
This afternoon I started visiting Heroes in Brooklyn, New York. I visited Police Precinct 84 and The Tillary Street Firehouse to rave reviews.

Get out the hotdogs, Bogart is ready for some grilling to celebrate the 4th of July. “One lucky dog” are the words which best describe Bogart’s digs this summer. The outfits are priceless as well!!
On the patriotic holidays we celebrate throughout the year, take the time to challenge yourself to do something for the brave Heroes who protect our liberties and freedom. There are so many needs Wounded Warriors could use your helping hand with. Visit www.va.gov or www.fisherhouse.org or www.woundedwarriorproject.org All 3 or these organizations are accomplishing great things and could use your helping hand or monetary donations.

Six year old Anna Lee understands, at a very young age, the importance of helping those in need. I met her and her mom a few days ago at The Kindness Bus. Unbeknownst to me, she and her mother came back and spent a great deal of time reading over all the hundreds of messages on its chassis. It was then Anna Lee decided to do something quite extraordinary. She cut off her hair for children who lose their hair in the treatment of cancer.
I am amazed at the level of children who have compassion for those in need. The selfless act of youth giving of themselves is prevalent everywhere I travel. It is one thing to care about an issue. It is quite another to do something about it. Anna Lee is of the latter philosophy.
The photo of the two panels in today’s article describe the actions of Anna Lee. At 6 years of age, Anna Lee is teaching all of us about kindness while she helps everyone she possibly can.

Today I concentrated on visiting all of the Police Precincts I have yet to visit south of Central Park. It was a full day on the very busy streets of New York City trying to negotiate the lines of traffic and pedestrians as I made my way to 8 Precincts. I spent as much time as I could on each of these stops. There is clearly a big interest as demonstrated by the hearty thanks I always receive from everyone.
While riding through Times Square, I was flagged down and interviewed by MSNBC reporter, Meghan McCain. She is doing a story on patriotism for Independence Day and felt The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes was a perfect fit for a feature she is doing. I hope that some of you see the piece that will run this July 4th.