What would all of our lives be like if all of our freedoms were taken away tomorrow. Your freedom to say what you want to say, your freedom to worship how you wish, your freedom to come and go as you please, your freedom to do nearly everything you want; gone tomorrow. The freedoms we have are taken for granted by all of us because life runs so smoothly.
Jacksonville, North Carolina is home to Camp Lejeune, home to tens of thousands of Marines who protect our freedoms from being taken from us. It is an unfortunate reality of life that there are people who would like to see us lose a great deal more than just our freedoms.
I’ve been in Jacksonville for two days of a ten day stay. I’ve never heard more horns blown for The Kindness Bus in all my sixteen months of travel. The horns are being blown by Marines driving their cars and trucks. The horns are being blown by families of Marines. The realization of seeing a bus like The Kindness Bus driving the streets of their home brings the knowledge that my freedom has been protected by them, to do what I do.
This photo is of me from October 2005 when the 3rd Battallion 25th Marines returned to Brookpark, Ohio after losing 48 of their own in Iraq. Sorry to have mistakenly call you soldiers. I knew none of you but felt I knew all of you. You deserve all the respect you earn. Semper Fi

Two days in a row of Bogart posing with a bear without a complaint. Bogart is the perfect dog to have on The Kindness Bus Tour. It still amazes me that I became his fourth owner at 1 1/2 years of age. He should probably have his own Facebook page. He is a big dog in a small dog body.
I started the day doing my weekly chore of “bachelor laundry.” I love seeing all of my whites and colors take on a slight gray hue by washing them together all the time. I met the two most wonderful women, Joy and Tabitha, who own and work at the Jacksonville Laundry. They love The Kindness Tour. Joy even arranged for the local newspaper to call.
Today we started on our week-long visit to all of the schools in Onslow County, North Carolina; Forty-five schools in all. We visited nine of the schools, all with great interest from administrators and educators. I am hoping to be able to go to the schools on the Camp Lejeune military base. Everyone loves the Kindness Certificates and how they can be used as a teaching tool for kids in school, at home and throughout their lives.
Early today I met two local real estate agents, April and McKenzie, who took an immediate liking to Bogart, The Kindness Bus, and Bob; in that order. (Just kidding)  One of them was pushing a young child in a stroller, my wish is that her child’s generation, only knows love.

Arriving at Riverside High School this morning, a woman at the light at the entrance across from the school made the above statement with a “thank you” at the end. It set the mood for the day. I went inside and found a very thrilled receptionist who took me to the two counselors’ offices. One counselor was busy with a student and the other on the phone, making me hope that one of them could find time for me. After 15 minutes or so I found great success and a promise for having the school get involved with the One Million Acts Of Kindness Week. When waiting takes longer than I like, I tell myself that there is a reason for the wait. The reason, I found, was in the school parking lot. Had I not had to wait, I would not have met Susan Davenport, a social worker who helps children in the county schools. The Kindness Bus stopped her in her tracks. With a few Kindness Certificates and stickers in her hand, you could almost hear her thinking out loud. A goal!! A goal for kids!! Hmm!!  One other great meeting, there were several today in the 14 schools I visited, was with Renee Boyd, Principal of Chocowinity Middle School. A well liked, dedicated principal, she listened to me while not missing a beat as to what was happening in the hallways of her school. I am impressed.
HJ MacDonald was one of the last schools I visited today. A local police officer who works at the school summed up, in one word, his opinion of some of the shortfalls he is seeing:  Parents.

Staying at the home of John and Rorie Kerns of Virginia Beach, two new friends I feel I’ve known a lifetime, had a wonderfully, restorative aspect. Being able to walk the beach with the dogs on 2 beautiful, sunny days, does much to replenish the reserves in one’s tank. Bogart and the Kerns’ dog, Chewy, spoke “dog” to each other, as they ran the length of the beach, trying to determine which one of them was in charge of the entire dog kingdom. The Kerns have two girls, Halie and Kylor, who were thrilled to be able to write some very thoughtful messages on The Kindness Bus, one of them in kanji. Halie’s car is decorated in a similar motif as The Kindness Bus, albeit a little more sparingly.
Today, three friends of Kylor’s, Tristyn, Gretchen and Shannon stopped by the Kerns’ home. These 4 girls are involved in some wonderful school and Scout activities, spending their free time to do great things for those in need.
We had 2 casual, but very important, high level meetings, one by the bus where we discussed the opportunities the girls have to make a life-long impact in the lives they lead. We also discussed making some contacts within the Girl Scouts and try to dovetail One Million Acts Of Kindness with the service the Girl Scouts perform. Thank you Gretchen, for the contact information. Going indoors, Tristyn and Kylor, who are President and Vice-President at their schools are going to work on getting One Million Acts Of Kindness Week adapted at their school.
Meeting these 5 girls and seeing how much they are doing at such a young age is comforting to see how much this younger generation cares, and it says a great deal about the parents as well. Thank you to everyone for making my visit very memorable.

A challenge for every individual; take one day in the very near future and dedicate every moment of that day to the goodness of mankind. Plan in advance what you wish to accomplish. Plan one big thing that you do all day or several smaller things you do all day. Remind yourself all day that every contact you have with another individual is with nothing but peace from your heart. Be the kind person we all wish to see in you.  Only see the beauty of others during this day, challenge yourself on this thought. Do something that is so far out of your box and let it become an inspiration to you. Let everyone you know, about your very big day before it takes place. The positive actions of an individual can have powerful, lasting effects…you are that individual…this is your big day.
Along my travels from Salisbury to Virginia Beach, including the hair-raising 23 mile long Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel, which is a white-knuckle ride in a bus of 20 years, I stopped at a dozen or so schools and talked with principals and guidance counselors. Richard Strautz of Arcadia High School was one of those counselors. In the 15 or so minutes that I was in his office, he had three other people needing his advice. Needless to say, he is busy beyond belief and the perfect man for the job. What he did at the end of the meeting amazed me. He told me he was going to give me a copy of a couple emails he had received. He didn’t know what I had written for the beginning of today’s blog, but it embodies the final sentence.
The emails, I will print in tomorrow’s blog.