One morning at the restaurant, I spotted an elderly couple sitting nearby. When her paper napkin fluttered to the ground, the man leapt to his feet and ran to the woman’s side, picked up the napkin and carefully tucked it under her chin. She was eating oatmeal, and I guessed the man didn’t want her pretty … Continue reading →

For the past year, I’ve gone to a restaurant where I eat bacon and eggs and teach English to Maria on place mats. We started with simple words and phrases and graduated to talking about the pluses and minuses of signing up for her employer’s health insurance plan. This is my breakfast ministry. I majored … Continue reading →

Today, the pianist at the department store played the 1942 hit, “I Don’t Want to Walk without You.” An elderly man hovered nearby to get a closer look at the lyrics. As he mouthed the words, his hips swayed and he began to dance. His eyes sparkling, he spotted an old woman sitting nearby in … Continue reading →

Every morning at my restaurant hangout, a feeble old man shows up with his walker. Every morning, he takes little baby steps on his way to a table. Lately, I’ve noticed the man slowing down. He gets halfway to his goal when the sudden weight of his weariness overtakes him. He teeters and looks like … Continue reading →

We all know kindness when we see it— Let another motorist in your lane Help a senior master the ATM machine Buy a child at the store some penny candy   But when we treat ourselves kindly: Is that selfishness? Egotistical? Or is it self-love, long neglected, most often totally ignored?   Unkindness is out … Continue reading →

A friend of mine who contracted cancer told me this story of inspiration and kindness: “A lady in my office has a “red” parking tag right by the front door (red tag spaces at our university are reserved spaces, and cost over a couple of hundred dollars). I have a “blue” tag, which means you … Continue reading →