Tag Archives: kindness

Nobody Paid Me or Handed Me a Sign

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I know there’s a meme going around that FOX News busted out the “truth” about the NO KINGS rallies – that it was put together by nefarious organizations hell-bent on some diabolical plot to destroy the United States. This is fake news.

I learned about the rallies through my friends, mostly, and through a local chapter of the Indivisible organization. https://indivisible.org/

And no, nobody paid me to protest yesterday, and nobody handed me a sign. I’ve been carrying around my own hand-made TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS sign since 2020. You’d think TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS would be universal values EVERYone could agree with. But weirdly, some people actually give the thumbs down to TRUTH JUSTICE and KINDNESS. (So I made a flip side that says SEAHAWKS on it – and when I get the thumbs down for TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS, I flip it to the SEAHAWKS side and usually get a thumbs up and a grin from those people who just thumbs downed the other side.)

Human beings crack me up.

(Below: Evolution of my sign from 2020 to 2026.)

Good Times and Good People in La La Land

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March 22

I met so many outstanding people today.

At the Santa Monica Farmers Market, I met Jordan, who was selling honey and beeswax candles and art; Javier, selling juice and Mexican fruit; Jacob, selling baklava made by his Lebanese mom from an old family recipe; Nicholas, selling cheeses made locally; Natalie, a college student at Middlebury, who left the snow in Vermont to come our here and visit friends and soak in the rays, and who graciously let us join her at her table while she ate her lunch; and Tristan, in his most excellent “problem” cap – “Are you the…?” I asked, and “Yes, I am the problem,” he answered, laughing.

At a playground at Venice Beach I met Octavio, who was the DJ for a three-year-old’s birthday party there – keeping the background beat for the toddlers and the grown-ups alike.

And I met Shawn – who recently moved from the Netherlands with his family, and who was there in the playground with his two little ones while they played in the sand with the playground toys. I was impressed by Shawn’s parenting skills – I saw him set the boundaries for his children, and maintain those boundaries with laughter and consistency. “You like being a dad, don’t you?” I asked him, and he laughed, and nodded his head, and said he did, even in the chaos.

After Venice Beach we went to the aquarium and historic carousel on the Santa Monica Pier. My granddaughter touched a starfish and rode on a magnificent carousel horse, and I took many photos.

March 24

have to share these fine folks with you.

– Alex was the server at the Tacos San Miquel Arcangel Oaxacan restaurant we visited in Mar Vista. When he was serving our food, he noticed our toddler granddaughter had gotten some of the hot sauce into her food, and quickly pointed this out to us. As her eyes started watering up, he went back and fetched a brand new meal for her, without charge. I told him he was a hero.

– Daniel (LA cap) was our shuttle bus driver to LAX from the rental car building. After we settled into the seats behind the driver’s seat, I gathered up my courage, and said, “Okay. This is really embarrassing, but… we want to give you a tip, but all we’ve got are twenties. Can you give me back change for a twenty?” Daniel busted out laughing, and thanked me. He told me he could give me whatever change back I wanted. I asked for ten, and he pulled out a ten dollar bill from his tips and exchanged it for my twenty. Daniel was so cool – and I really appreciated his understanding of our situation.

– Once we got up to our plane’s waiting area, I looked for a seat that had a plug-in for my phone’s charger. I asked a young man in his late teens or early twenties if I could sit in the seat next to him to use his charger. He smiled and said sure. When he saw I was having a hard time figuring out how to plug my phone in, Edyson quietly plugged it in for me. I told Edyson how much I appreciated his kindness. Edyson gives me hope for our future.

– I’m always eager to see who our seatmate will be on the airplaine, and I was so happy when a smiling young man approached and introduced himself as the man in the window seat. Our new seatmate immediately opened the shade on his window. I told him how glad I was that he’d done that because I like looking out the window.

Grady and I started talking then about the landforms we can see from the plane – and I mentioned Mount Rainier. This is when I learned that Grady had climbed Rainier. I told him I’d climbed Rainier, too, decades ago – my dad (and…ahem… I MIGHT have mentioned that my dad is in Wikipedia for mountain climbing) had led me to the summits of Rainier and Baker and Adams and Hood when I was younger. Grady said that he’d climbed Mount Rainier when he worked there as a ranger – and I told Grady I had climbed it when I worked at Rainier, too!

I asked him what he’d majored in to get him in a position as a ranger. Grady said he’d majored in History – and I told him that had been my major, too! He said a lot of folks get into the park service with a degree in science, to do research. I told him my dad had majored in geology, and worked as a ranger and a guide at Rainier for several years.

THEN I learned that Grady now works in the North Cascades and I told him we lived in Skagit County. Whoah. And THEN I learned that his girlfriend works at Rainier now, and lives in Ashford, and he and his girlfriend know our good friends, Rick and Jana Johnson, who own the pottery shop there.

Connections, my friends! I love these connections – the new ones and the ones that connect us to the old ones, too.

So Many Gifts Today!

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So many gifts today!

I drove into Mount Vernon to take the steps I needed to take to donate my Cosmic Connections book to the library there. I was greeted at the counter by the ever-kind and ever-welcoming CJ, librarian extraordinaire. CJ asked me if the application explains that once a book is donated, whether they decide to put it on their shelves or not, they won’t be giving it back to me. I told him that the application mentions that, and that I’m fine with whatever they want to do with my book – I just hope it will bring some joy to whoever ends up with it. We chatted then about what my book is about. I told CJ that Cosmic Connections chronicles the experiences I have meeting cool people and sharing the joy of these connections. I told him a lot of the stories take place in Mount Vernon, and that HE would probably be in my next book, and he started cracking up.

I love people who know how to laugh with me.

After I’d dropped off my book, I walked along the River Walk down to Lions Park, taking photos of the bloated Skagit River as I went. I watched a pair of birds cruising down the river on a log, like it was there own personal yacht. That brought me a grin.

Then I walked down to the Skagit Valley Food Co-Op to get myself a mocha. There was such joy there today. Keely was behind the counter. Her hair brought me joy and I asked if I could take her photo. She grinned and gave me permission.

A young woman named Vanessa was greeted by an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while, and their happiness and excitement at seeing each other again brought me more joy. Before Vanessa left the store, I asked her if I could get her picture – explained she’d brought me joy today. She laughed and graciously agreed to a photo – you feel the irresistible joy from her, too, right?

When I stopped off at the post office, I saw a little frog hopping around in the parking lot. “What are you doing here, buddy?” I asked him. The parking lot did not seem like a good place for him. So I scooped him up and walked him down to a bank next to the slough. He hopped out of my hands and then looked up at me. I’m pretty sure he was smiling. Live long and prosper, my little friend!

And if all that magic wasn’t enough, later, when I went to the bank, I couldn’t help but notice the cool red shoes of the woman in front of me in line. I told her they reminded me of my childhood, and she laughed and nodded. We talked then about playing outside all day when we were youngsters – tag and kick-the-can. Her shoes brought back a lot of happy memories for me.

March Magic!

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Morna and I met through Facebook a while ago, and today we actually met up in the person at our local food co-op.

I love the Skagit Valley Food Co-op! I always find the nicest people there – both customers and employees alike. I appreciate the friendly smiles exchanged, the helpfulness, the humor.

As soon as I walked in the door I saw an old neighbor from forty years ago, standing in line to order coffees for friends and herself. I walked up to Anne and, smiling, presented myself. Her face lit up in recognition and we gave each other a hug. How cool is it that I’ve lived long enough in the same county that I can run into old neighbors, and students, and friends I’ve known for forty years?! As Anne put it, we’re not “the cute young things” we were forty years ago – but I think at this point in our lives, that’s not something we spend a lot of time worrying about. 😀

I’d gotten to the co-op before Morna, and went on up to the counter to order my mocha. The cashier asked if there was a good name for my coffee, and I leaned in and half-whispered, “I’m not sure it’s a GOOD name, but my name is Karen.” She grinned at that, passing my Karen test.

While I waited for my coffee, I found a table for two and set my backpack there to save it for Morna and myself. There was a man sitting at the table next to ours, with a Bible in front of him. He had kind eyes. We got to talking about the March weather – the rain and the dark.

Morna soon showed up, and my coffee arrived, too – and we settled in at our table to have our first real chat together. I learned today that Morna is a hoot! We laughed and talked about our hobbies and backgrounds and the world. We found some things we had in common – we both have two brothers and no sisters; our fathers had both been climbers; we shared the same values. Morna asked if it would be okay to make a sign that had TRUTH JUSTICE KINDNESS on it, like mine. I told her that would be great!

The man sitting at the table – the man with the kind eyes and the Bible – called over to us then. “Excuse me,” he said, “I see how you’re supporting each other. Are you Christians?” Morna nodded to me and told him that I was, but she wasn’t.

I said, “I saw that you had a Bible with you. What are you reading right now?”

He told me he was reading Psalms, and I told him that I found Psalms comforting. “I believe God is Love,” I told him. “And I find Love in Psalms.”

The man, MW, agreed with me that Love is God’s name. We agreed that Love is the most powerful. “Just like that Bob Marley song,” I said. And then I turned to Morna to see if she knew the song I was thinking of. “One Love,” she said, nodding.

When it came time to leave, Morna and I gave each other another hug, and I told MW how glad I was to have met him today. He smiled and said it was good to meet me, and we wished each other a good day.

Since I was already out of the house, I decided to mosey over to west Mount Vernon to check out the local daffodil fields. I ended up at RoozenGaarde gardens, and was not disappointed by the beauty I found there – hyacinths and forsythia and puddles of golden daffodil reflections. To get to the daffodil fields, I needed to walk about a quarter mile through mud and muck and puddles, but it was totally worth it! And it was fun to meet other daffodil-lovers on the other side of the mud and muck and puddles.

I asked a family visiting from Florida if they’d like me to take a picture of all of them together, and they happily handed me a cellphone. Then I asked if I could snap their photo for myself, too, and they graciously posed for me in front of the daffodils. I learned their last name was Nguyen – which gave me a grin, because that is my daughter-in-law and granddaughter’s last name, too! (And, of course, I had to share a picture of my toddler granddaughter with the Nguyen family.)

As I walked through the golden peace of the daffodil fields – the air filled with the scent of spring flowers and birdsong – I found myself thanking Love for bringing me to this place, and these beautiful gifts of spring – for connecting me with Anne and Morna, MW and the Nguyen family.

Magic is everywhere!

Finding Kinship in the Fred Meyer Parking Lot

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So this just happened.

I came out of Fred’s with my groceries to see a young woman with a blond pony tail seated on the sidewalk, leaning against the store. She had a sign indicating she was in need. A tall young man was leaning in, talking to her in a kind voice. I saw him hand her cash, as he talked to her. He held a bouquet of bright flowers – orange and yellow – and he plucked two flowers from the bouquet and handed them to her. She reached up and hugged him.

I’d walked up to them by this point, and asked the woman if she’d like an apple and she said yes. “For the princess,” I said, handing her the apple.

She had tears as her eyes swept from me to the young man. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you.”

The young man and I walked next to each other as we left her. I asked him if I could shake his hand, and he smiled and agreed to this. We stopped walking and he told me he’d had a rough life, but he didn’t blame anyone for that. The teacher/mom in me came up then and I gave him a hug.

We exchanged names. I learned he is Ron, and “My name is of course, Karen,” I told him. He started laughing. I asked him if the flowers were for his wife, and he said he’d already given her flowers, but these were for his mom. Then I learned he was planning to walk with the groceries and flowers to his mom’s place – and she lived down on West Fairhaven Street. I asked him if I could give him a ride. His face lit up and he thanked me.

When we got to my car, another young man who was parked near my car, greeted Ron – at first I thought they must be old friends, but then I realized they’d never met before – they just reocognized a kinship with each other. As Steven and Ron chatted, Ron learned that Steven had just bought a house that needed some work, and Steven learned that Ron was a carpenter! Steven grinned and spread his arms out wide, like “See? We were meant to meet!” Steven smiled at me and said, “I’m a superstitious person. I believe in these things.” Then he turned around and showed me the back of his jacket, and opened his jacket up to show me his beads and crucifix.

Ron showed Steven his beaded bracelet then, and the two of them let me snap pictures of their beads.

After Ron and Steven had exchanged phone numbers, I cleared out room for Ron in my car and we started our drive to his mom’s place. On the way Ron told me he was looking forward to going to his job that night. I asked him where he worked, and he told me he worked in Bow. I told him I lived in Bow, and his eyes got big in surprise. He said he worked at the Edison Inn in Bow, and told me how much he enjoyed working there. He said it was like a family there. Everyone cared about each other, and treated each other right.

When I dropped him off at his mom’s apartment, Ron said he hoped he’d see me at the Edison sometime. And I told him he probably would. We hugged and wished each other a good day. I told him to hug his mom for me, too. “A hug from the crazy Karen,” I said, and he started laughing.

“You aren’t a crazy Karen,” he said. “You’re a good Karen.”

“Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright”

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Cosmic magic in abundance!

My friend, Rebecca, and I met for coffee and a walk at Boulevard Park this morning. We sat at Wood’s for a while, drinking our coffees, eating our pastries, and sharing our concerns, our hopes, our inspiration. It was exactly what I needed, my friends. I’d arrived at Wood’s Coffee Shop feeling discouraged and disillusioned. I left Wood’s feeling hopeful and celebrating my disillusionment. It is not a bad thing to shed our illusions.

Rebecca told me that when she woke up this morning there was a Bob Marley song in her head – “Don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing gonna be alright…” And as we left Wood’s we started singing that song – wanting to spread the hope in it. We hadn’t finished the first line, when two young women started dancing and joining in with us. We parted for a few minutes as they went one way around the park, and we went the other way. But when we met up again at the end of the park, we introduced ourselves – Willow, Addyson, Rebecca, and Karen – shared in a few moments of encouragement for each other – and came in for a group hug. Our new friends are so cool – young and brave and kind – and they give me hope for our future.

Rebecca and I headed for the boardwalk then, for our walk. We soon met sweet Rosie pup, who approached us for a hug – aww…look at that sweet face! And not long after Rosie, we met little Enzo pup who came skipping down the trail ready to meet new friends.

As we approached Taylor Dock we saw a woman taking a photo of her family and I asked if I could get a picture for her that included her in it. She said that would be great, and handed me her phone. I told the family that while I took the picture, Rebecca was going to serenade them with a little song. And while we sang, and I took the picture, the family joined in and danced and sang with us: “Don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing gonna be alright…” There was cosmic magic there, my friends. Such joy! I asked them if I could get a picture of them for myself – because they had brought me joy today. They cheerfully agreed to this. (I’m always hesitant about taking pictures of children, but they felt fine about including the youngsters.) You’ll find the family in one of the photos below (from left to right): Kyler, Drew, Tyler, Anna, Nancy, and Alyssa.

I told Nancy that I’d been named Nancy for three days, and then my dad took a poll at the office, and guess what my name became?

The family looked at me expectantly, waiting for the punchline.

“Karen,” I said. “Thanks, Dad.” And they all started laughing. I love people who can laugh with me.

Rebecca and I continued up the ramp from Taylor Dock, and then decided to take the alternate route back, going in back of the Chrysalis Inn and through the little park on 10th Street.

Rebecca is a wonderful walking buddy. She gets the joy of meeting new people and pups, of taking in the glory of nature, of looking for the magic.

By the time I got back to my car, I felt like I’d had a productive session of therapy. Boardwalk therapy.

And “don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing gonna be alright.”

Just a Thought…

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Can you imagine what our world would look like if, instead of wasting our time worrying about feeding our egos and naming buildings after ourselves and seeking revenge on those we think are our enemies, we instead spent our time being kind and fair, and making sure we did right by each other?

Just a thought.

Alrighty. Carry on then…

“Of the People, By the People, For the People”

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As Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address – our government is “of the people, by the people, for the people.” It’s not meant to dictate to us. We are meant to dictate to it.

I have recently been involved in some interesting discussions about our Bill of Rights and what it means – particularly the provision in the First Amendment for peaceful protest.

I think there are things that should be considered non-partisan: decency, fairness, equity, kindness, wisdom, honesty. And there are certain things that no party should tolerate: cruelty, inhumanity, bigotry, racism, misogyny, dishonesty.

In a thread on a friend’s FB wall, one poster pointed out that 56-67 ICE detainees died during the time of the Obama administration. (Note that according to The Guardian, “Thirty-two people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] custody in 2025 – making it the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades, as the Trump administration moved to detain a record number of people.”)

In a comment to another poster, I wrote: “…thank you for reminding us all that this is a non-partisan issue, and whenever our Bill of Rights is ignored – no matter what administration is in charge – it is our duty to protest to make sure we keep our rights.”

To which, that poster replied, “…well the left treats it like Its (sic) a partisan issue and only sends (sic) to have a problem because trump is doing it. If you’re gonna protest then you need to protest when the left does it or allow when the right does it too. Its (sic) not rules for thee and not for me.”

To which, I posted the photo below – of me marching in a local migrant farmworkers’ march in 2012, during the Obama administration.

And no, I certainly don’t think any of us should EVER “allow” cruelty, injustice, inhumanity – regardless of which party is sitting in the White House. Activism – fighting for the rights of others, and for our own rights – doesn’t begin when one party gets in office, and end when another party gets in office. It should be, I think, a lifelong commitment to our country, and our world.

Another poster posted a response that gave me my first laugh out loud of the day. I’m still cracking up. 😀 Here’s a screenshot of that conversation…

I’m finding a sense of humor is essential to keeping one’s sanity in these interesting times. 😀

Finding the Magic on a Dark Day

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It was dark and cold and I needed to get out of the house and find some magic.

I drove towards La Conner, took a left, another left, and a right, and ended up at Kohl’s in Burlington. I rarely shop at Kohl’s, but I found myself heading towards their door. I meandered towards the back of the store and looked to the left, and this is where I found magic!

There was a happy little toddler there, busily pushing one of those toy popper mowers and my heart just melted at the sight of him. He was joy personified! I looked around to see who he was with, and found his mom and dad watching him from the aisle. They saw me grinning and laughing, tickled by their little boy, and started laughing with me. After a couple of attempts, I realized the little one’s mom and dad didn’t speak English – I think they were speaking Oaxacan – but we managed to communicate without words, and I was able to let them know I wanted to buy the popper toy for their toddler. They nodded and smiled, and followed me as I went to the cashier to pay for the toy. When I’d bought the popper mower, I brought it back to the little one – who was sitting in the cart now – and thanked him for the pleasure of meeting him today. It – all of it! – was magic!

I wandered around the shopping area for a while then – to See’s for some California brittle – to Petco to watch the fish. And then I drove to Fred’s for some impulse shopping.

I picked up a bag of oranges, a bag of apples, cherry tomatoes, cat food, yogurt, and went to the cashier to pay. She asked me how I was doing and I told her it was cold and dark and I needed to come to Fred’s and buy impulse items. “Like cat food,” I said, “and I don’t even have a cat!” She started laughing with me. I told her nah, I was just joking.

It brings me joy to be with people who know how to laugh with me.

It was still cold and dark outside as I drove home, but now my inside was all warmed up with laughter.

The Way It Should Always Be

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PUPS!!! So many sweet pups on the boardwalk today! They brought me such joy, filled my heart all up with good things. There were two Lilahs; a Motley; Aspen with her human, Ash, ; Gypsy; my old friend, Daisy, with her buddy, Melody; Akira, who danced down the boardwalk; and my old friend, Baker – who came bounding down the boardwalk to greet me.

The bay was beautiful today, too – blue and shiny, with fog on one side, and the Canadian Coastals on the other.

The road above Taylor Dock to Fairhaven was closed because of construction, so I went up one block to by-pass the blocked street and then came down into Fairhaven from above. I felt Cafe Blue calling to me – I haven’t been there for a while and was missing the welcoming vibe. Cafe Blue has always been packed full of people when I’ve been there, so I mentally prepared myself for that. I figured if I couldn’t find a place to sit, I’d just get a coffee to go and take it with me on my walk back to my car.

Cafe Blue WAS packed again today, but, cosmically, as soon as I got done giving my order and started looking for a table, one opened up! It was a table for four and I felt kind of greedy sitting there – so I put myself in the corner of the table, ready to offer the rest of the table to whoever was looking for a place to sit.

My coffee arrived and I settled into the space, closed my eyes for a minute and just let myself absorb the joy around me. When I opened my eyes I saw a couple of young women who looked like they were looking for a place to sit. I offered them the open seats at my table and they sat there until the table next to mine opened up for them. One of the women, Elena, had cool rings on every finger, and I asked her about them. She said the one on her thumb had been made by her grandma, and the other rings were ones she’d mostly found in shops around Bellingham – rings with art and cool quartz and tiger’s eye rocks. I told her I love rocks, too, and reached for my amber necklace to show it off to her – and then I realized I’d forgotten to wear it today. Elena laughed and said that happens to her, too – just when she wants to show off something, she doesn’t have it with her.

I enjoy the feeling of community I always feel in the Cafe Blue – strangers smiling at each other, sharing tables, becoming friends. That’s the way it should always be.