“Without water, agriculture ceases to exist” Bogart seemed to comprehend this quote as he guarded this source of water for today’s picture. ABAC is a beautiful campus complete with rolling farmland.
On this campus I was able to pull into a very visible spot on its western edge. I talked to as many students as I could as they made their way to class, I was even able to find a very interested Professor of History, James Galt-Brown. He assured me he had the perfect spot for his sticker; the door to his office. One of the terrific campus librarians stated that a movement like this is needed sooner than later. She sent a mass email to all faculty on campus. The highlight of the day was to be interviewed and photographed by Beverly Manning and Leahann Driscoll for the college newspaper, Stallion. During the interview we talked of all the amenities on the bus, including the flat air mattress. I was floored to see the two of them later in the afternoon with a new air mattress as they approached me in a local eatery. These two beautiful girls are now on their way to one million acts of kindness. One million thanks girls.

I’ve never done something so easy and I’ve never done something so hard. First the easy… It seems that nearly everyone I have contact with, wants to see a change for the better in this world. We seem to have strayed away from core values which most of us would like to return to. A return to times when life was simpler. A time when everyone respected each other and cared for one another. A sense of neighborhood. People want a return to those times. That is why this movement is so easy. Over the last few days there have been six students who have vowed to perform one million acts of kindness in their lives. They know that this is what it will take to help this troubled world. This movement is being embraced by nearly everyone, a slam dunk if you will. Now for the hard…My air mattress has a leak which can’t be repaired…yes Bogart had a hand (paw) in it. Boy is a plywood bed hard.

Spring Break is right around the corner for colleges and the Kindness Bus Tour has yet to make it to the Florida border. Yikes!!  We pulled into this central-Georgia campus and were approached by dozens of students; half wanted to see the bus and the other half wanted to meet Bogart. I am finally getting used to this reaction. After the initial crowd dispersed, we were instructed to the location of today’s photo, a picture of Bogart and a seated, Jesse Mercer, a new supporter of One Million Acts of Kindness. Danae and Tiffany were happy to cross the campus to meet Bogart and learn of our mission. Today’s visit was brief but impactful to the students we met.  

  During the course of this past weekend, we made contact with over two-hundred people as we traveled about. Everyone wants to know about this mission. Everyone wants to be a part of this mission. While enjoying a rare quiet moment, I was asked by two high school students if I would talk to their group. I was thrilled as I made my way outside to see a very large McDonough Presbyterian Church bus filled with anxious high school students. I love the spontaneity of this mission. Thank you for the invite to talk to your group.

He made sure he was in the shadows of the side alleys. They were very visible and very much approachable. His was a face of not wanting to make eye contact; their eyes looked to seek you out. Three different faces, all three homeless. Seeing him for the first time, I was struck by the way he seemed to want to remain from the public eye. You had to look to find him. I’ll remember this grown man and the way he would stack his thirty or forty pennies in neat piles, with a pyramid of ten or twelve silver colored coins closer to his reach. Handing him a few dollars, he would hurry off to get something to eat. A temporary fix to a long-term problem. They have been on the move since Katrina took their home. This is their tenth city in half as many years. They were barely able to make ends meet when they had a roof over their heads. Every possession they owned, gone in one night. “Thank God for the Peanut Butter and Jelly kids, or we wouldn’t eat tonight.” Once a week the college students in this town help by setting up an assembly line of sandwich makers. “The line gets longer every week” one of the students told me. 

Perhaps I have been blind to the fact of homelessness because of not personally witnessing it before I left on The Kindness Bus Tour. Homelessness is everywhere I have traveled. It seems to be growing as I make my way south. I hope this is due to the fact it is warmer in the south.  Today’s economy is, I’m sure, taking its toll in every sector of our country.  I see more and more of it and I plan on giving more attention to the plight of the homeless and I hope everyone else will too.

Cynthia came into the parking lot we were parked in, at the entrance to Emory. “I needed to see something like this today, and here you are. The world needs this so badly”, she said. She has plans for One Million Acts of Kindness, it sounds like something very nice. This campus is impossible in terms of trying to find a place to park. I drove around for visibility talking to students as I could. I finally settled for a place off campus which had high visibility. I chose correctly. I received a very nice email from the President of the Student Government Association, Alex Kappus. He told me of a great organization which was created on this campus by some students, three years ago, its website is www.thesynergymovement.org  Alex has plans for us networking in the future. I met many people, both on and off campus. I was able to attend the Emory Wind Ensemble in the evening with a local, talented writer named Roxanne Ivey. This was a very friendly and helpful campus.