Have you ever noticed that when you get something stuck in your mind you start seeing it everywhere?
When I gave up drinking, every billboard I drove past for at least a month was advertising some sort of alcoholic beverage.When Saul and I started thinking about getting a security system for the new house, it seemed like we had a non-stop ... Read More
Tag: contagious
Kindness Paves Road to Miss America
Seventeen years ago this very weekend, I competed in the Miss America pageant representing my home state of Wisconsin.
When the pageant was over, I came home with an interview award, $10,000 in scholarship money and a whole bunch of sparkly earrings (some of which are still in my jewelry box).When people ask how I did, I like to tell them ... Read More
Anonymous Letter Prompts Look for Special People in our Lives
I remember the first time I saw a $2 bill. I was about 5 or 6 years old, and I thought someone was playing a joke on me.
It looked real, but that 2 in the corner, where the 1 or the 5 or the 10 should have been just seemed so odd.I’ve run into a few other $2 bills in ... Read MoreMysterious Sign Revolves Around Kindness
Have you ever driven by a sign outside of a business again and again, always wondering what it meant but never taking the time to find out?
My interest-piquing sign is at the corner of Main Avenue and Fourth Street in downtown Fargo. By my math, I’ve driven by that Cenex station more than 2,600 times (You don’t even want to ... Read MoreBoy Turns Mean Joke into Act of Kindness
I recently talked to the father of a Minnesota boy who could very well capture the attention of the nation and change the way the medical world uses marijuana.
Brett Solum is a 13-year-old boy who, in many ways, is like a lot of other teenagers. He goes to Moorhead Middle School where he’ll soon be starting seventh grade. He likes ... Read More
A Token of Kindness Can Heal a Heart
Nothing scares me more than the thought of losing a child. And yet, tragically, it happens.
I have never been able to grasp how parents get through an experience like that. And yet, miraculously, they do.Jeanette Maré lost her son, Ben, when he was just 3 years old. His airways constricted, and he was gone in moments.
“The depth of pain we ... Read More
Serving Others Makes ‘A Wonderful Life’
I’m way out of season here, but do you remember that movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life?” My husband and I watch it every Christmas snuggled up on the couch. I start getting misty-eyed right about the time Clarence, the guardian angel, jumps into the river, forcing George Bailey to save him. When the town comes through for George at the ... Read More
The Red, White and Blue of Kindness
If you haven’t pulled every red, white and blue decoration out of storage by now, you’re late. If that’s you, grab something colorful from your closet and then come back and finish reading this column.
The colors have been unfurled for a weekend of family, food and fireworks. While festive, I appreciate that combination of colors for the switch it turns ... Read More
Don’t Speed By Your Chance to Be Kind
My husband got pulled over for speeding the other day. Mr. Leadfoot has been teasing me for years about what a bad driver I am, so as you can imagine, I was delighted to be in the car witnessing the whole thing.
I’m also pleased to have the opportunity to write about this event in the paper and perhaps publicly embarrass ... Read MoreKindness Found in Reminiscing
I remember two things from the end of my grandfather’s life. I was a very little girl, but I remember his eyes and I remember his stories.
His eyes were normally blue, but on this final visit, they were almost turquoise. They were extraordinarily bright, shining, a little damp-looking, and not exactly focused on the people or things in his nursing ... Read More
