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.

Just like The Kindness Bus having a huge following, the message of The Kindness Bicycle is starting to spread virally. If a message or an idea is liked, especially by teens and young adults, because of social networking, the message has a chance of spreading globally. That is my wish for One Million Acts Of Kindness and the messages on The Kindness Bicycle.
Whenever I take a break from my daily ride, I try to lock The Kindness Bicycle in an area of high visibility. Yesterday, unbeknownst to me, I locked it near a high school which let out for the day, while I sat in a coffee shop and kept a watchful eye on it. I watched as a steady stream of hundreds of students walked by and took note of its signs. In the 45 minutes or so that I watched, at least 100 pictures were taken with camera phones. Watching, and trying to read the body language, it was easy to see that this generation wants no part of Domestic Violence or Childhood Sexual Abuse.
Today my ride began at a Health Fair which was sponsored by a local hospital. My ride was through the more densely populated regions of Fremont, to get as many views as possible. I’m hoping the word of this mission spreads globally.

By the way Rodney Clark, Executive Director of Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments of Fremont, California, and his very interested staff greeted me in their reception area of their offices, you would think that I am the only one in the world riding a bike with big signs espousing the importance of putting an end to Domestic Violence and Childhood Sexual Abuse; that actually, may very well be the case. After the very warm welcome and some sharing of stories, Rodney and I retired to his office. Rodney proudly talked about his organization providing Prevention, Intervention and Support Services to a very diverse clientele in the San Francisco Bay area. He then told me a story of hope. A single mom who came through SAVE’s programs decided to give back by speaking to various groups about Domestic Violence. It was during one of those passionate talks when she met someone in the audience who was so moved by her story that she arranged for a “full ride” scholarship to Brown University. Such perfect karma.
Today’s ride was in perfect conditions on the very many safe bicycling paths throughout much of Fremont.

Rodney then told me a story of hope. A single mom who received help from SAVE when she was in need decided she should give back, to help others. She became a speaker to tell of her story and of the Domestic Violence she survived. After one of her talks, she was offered a “full ride” scholarship to Brown University. Talk about perfect karma!
Today’s ride was in near perfect weather. Fremont has extensive bike lanes on most roadways throughout the city, making my ride very enjoyable.

To the left is a poem written by a 14 year old girl assigned to CASA in Sacramento.
Carol Noreen is the Executive Director of CASA; Court Appointed Special Advocate office in Sacramento. Carol is very dedicated to protecting children. She had a full schedule when I called and no time to meet with me, so she cancelled her lunch to make our meeting happen. Our meeting focused on prevention, breaking the cycle by prevention.
“Family Finding and Engagement” is a great tool to locate, engage, connect and support family resources for youth. This is one of the very important programs that CASA uses to better the lives of children in their charge.
The focus of teaching children at the earliest moment, and all through their life, to respect and care for one another, is the only way to break the cycle of abuse.
Abuse is a learned behavior. Kindness is a learned behavior. Which one should we be teaching our children?

“I was praying that your meter was current because I can’t ticket a bus like this!,” parking officer Rochelle told me. I happened to arrive back at The Kindness Bus just as Rochelle came walking up to me. “This has a message for everyone.” Rochelle loves The Kindness Bus and has a strong belief and want to get back to some of the core values she was brought up with and on which this country was founded. She was a joy to talk with, and holding a stack of Kindness stickers, not a parking ticket. How can you not love this wonderful woman in uniform?
Gail from a State agency spotted The Kindness Bicycle at lunch and wanted to learn more about The Kindness Bicycle/Bus Tour. Unbelievably, at day’s end, she was parked just a few parking spaces from The Kindness Bus. She left with a handful of information which she is going to spread to everyone she knows.
Today’s ride took me through the downtown streets of Sacramento. The beautiful weather and this friendly town made it a joy to be riding The Kindness Bicycle.
Thank you to Jeremy, the Head Chef from The 4th Street Grille for the great lunch and the interest in The Kindness Tour.

No matter what language you speak, One Million Acts Of Kindness is still an individual lifetime goal.
Gerome and Delphine from southern
France are visiting the United States and we crossed paths in front of the State Capitol in Sacramento, California. “Your bicycle has a good message,” Gerome said to me. He also said a good message of “Un Million de Gestes de Bonté” should be an easy one to spread across the world. I’m banking on it Gerome.
I made a surprise visit to the Domestic Violence Coalition not realizing how late in the day it was. The staff was extremely busy getting together last minute details on contracts by day’s end deadline. I hope to get back here in a couple day’s time. I was at least able to get some of my info sheets in their hands.
Tonight I used my membership in the Moose to arrange for a two night’s stay on the Moose Lodge 1762 property. The cordial group of administrators was there when I arrived and were so helpful in making my stay a breeze. Thank you to everyone.
The Moose International is an amazing organization with over one million members that does great things to help children and the elderly. They are worth researching and joining at; www.mooseintl.org

“Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be.” My favorite song from Yellow Submarine and my favorite lyrics in that song, sum up the lives all of us should be living. It is up to all of us to decide how we can best help others and learn where we are meant to be. It’s easy…all you need is love.
Today The Kindness Bus was put to the test. I needed to beat a double cold front headed right in my direction. I drove eight hours from Elko, Nevada to Sacramento, California through some of the most beautiful country and if it were snow covered, some of the most dangerous. The weather gods were with me as I beat this four day weather event by less than half of a day.
The next fifty days will be spent in California, meeting with various agencies from Sacramento, through San Francisco to Los Angeles. Now it’s time to put The Kindness Bicycle to the test these next fifty days. I am loving California already.