Kindness is the Oil that Takes the Friction Out of Life



A number of years ago, the Advertising and Sales Executive club sponsored a Courtesy Campaign in Kansas City.  One thousand silver dollars were flown in from Denver.  Then, over a period of days, "mystery shoppers visited all types of stores, banks, and other places of business.  They listened to telephone operators and observed bus and street-car drivers.  Each day they filed a written report on the persons they found to be the most courteous.

Those chosen as the most courteous people in the city received a silver dollar, along with a "courtesy pays" button and a congratulatory card.  The fifteen most outstandingly courteous people were guests at the banquet, where they were awarded $25 each.  In all, more than 100 people were honored.

What resulted was not only a temporary increase in the courtesy of the local residents, but an awareness throughout the city that simple kindness is a nice thing with which to live!  The "residual effect" remained long after the campaign, to the point where Kansas City is still regarded as one of the friendliest cities in the nation.

It doesn't cost anything to be kind, but kindness can pay off in big ways quite apart from money.

But the fruit of the Spirit is...kindness.

Galatians 5:22

Let's Play Ball!!

NFL-Lockout could end Monday with expected players’ vote

Well, here we are.  July always means:  World Series, my birthday, and professional football training camps-in that order.  I like baseball.  When I was a young girl, my family would go to see the Kansas City Royals play baseball in the old stadium.  A family could be admitted for a really inexpensive price.  Then we'd sit in the left field bleachers where Lou Piniella would be playing.  The Royals had some good players in those days:  Cookie Rojas, Fred Patek, and Sweet Lou.  I'm sure my brothers could tell you most everyone that played on those teams.  It was always great fun!

My birthday is always shortly after the World Series so when we'd hit the break for the Series, the countdown was on.  And then, usually within a few days of my birthday, professional football would begin their training camps.  My aunt and uncle took us, one year, to watch the Chiefs practice.  This was in the old days when their camp was right there in KC.  I'll never forget Buck Buchanan walking up to us and smiling down.  I'd never seen such a big person in my life!  I always felt kind of sorry for them having to practice in that heat, but they didn't seem to mind too much.  Ah, Lennie Dawson, was my hero.  We could watch him play on the field and then watch him do the sports broadcasts on the ABC station in Kansas City.

I like baseball, but I LOVE football.  It doesn't matter what level, I love to watch football.  People are always surprised to hear me say that.  Somehow they don't think that football goes with my mostly creative, musical soul.  But I know that watching a good college football game or an exciting professional game just completes my summer.  It's my signal that summer will soon be over and fall will settle in, complete with high school football on Friday nights, college football on Saturday, and professional football on Sunday and Monday.  Who could ask for anything more?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those eat, live and breathe football people, but I really look forward to a good football game.  Especially when it's as hot as it has been recently; to start thinking about fall and football is just a stress reliever for me.  I love watching a team work together, hopefully well, to move down the field and across the goal line.  I love seeing the defense work hard to keep the opponents from moving.  I really enjoy the old rivalries.  You would think that after living in the state of Nebraska for twenty years, I would have developed an enjoyment of the Huskers, but my loyalties still lie with my Kansas school.  It's possible that I might yell for Nebraska, but probably only if they're playing Oklahoma or Texas, and even then it's probably a toss-up.  I mean, it's NEBRASKA...the arch rival!

So, I've been concerned that we'd have no football or, at the least, a shortened season.  In an age when it seems impossible for anyone to come together to solve their problems:  government, basketball, or football, it's refreshing to think that these people have a love of football (and yes, money) to resolve their differences and get to it.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that there will be a vote tomorrow and that we can get started!  We fans are ready to go!  Let's play ball (yes, I know that's baseball, but it fits here too)!