“Random acts of kindness” has been a catchphrase of the Namaste kind since the early 1980s, when it reportedly appeared on a placemat in Sausalito, CA. And since then, we’ve been treated to vignettes of humanity, loving gestures that have lifted our collective spirit and made us, if only temporarily, forget our own bad moods.
With the unforeseen sweep of COVID-19 across the nation and around the globe, it’s been all too easy to focus on fear and pain. But recently we’ve seen, firsthand, the resiliency of Americans and the strength of faith as random acts of kindness knit us together once again.
So this week we’re kicking off a little experiment, a “share your good news” spot in OnionBusiness that shines light on the goodness of people not necessarily connected to onions specifically or even produce in general. We’d love to share what you’ve seen and experienced.
This week we’re looking at the Cañon City, CO, police department. Cañon City is Kathleen Thomas Gaspar’s hometown, and she shares this with the following comment:
“I must have subconsciously been peeling onions, because this made my eyes fill…”
In an April 6 Facebook post, the PD said, “As we work through the COVID-19 outbreak together, we’ve all learned pretty quickly that social distancing is not really all that fun, especially for the youngest members of our community, who don’t quite understand why they can’t see their close friends or family members.
“A birthday is a pretty big milestone in the life of a child, and not being able to celebrate really stinks! CCPD would like to help change that. If your child has a birthday coming up, we’d like you to let us know so that we can arrange for our officers to drive-by with lights and sirens, to wish them a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY from a safe distance. We’ll even drop off a birthday bag with a coloring book, honorary police badge and a few other goodies to help celebrate the occasion. We will do everything possible to make these happen.
“Please understand we still have calls that we must respond to, and if we are unable to fulfill the request we apologize in advance.”
The PD provided contact information and asked that folks give them the name, birthday and address of the child as well as a “good time for us to come by between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“We look forward to seeing you. #CANONSTRONG.” And, to add to the virtual hug, The PD added later, “We would like to add another extra portion on this: We’ll be taking requests for seniors over 80. If you know someone who is 80 years of age or older and would like us to do this, please message us.”
God bless these heroes in blue, and God bless America.
