Take 5 Monday: Freedom, Veterans, and Bob Hope...
Happy Take 5 Monday: 1 Kindness Quote, 1 Gratitude Thought, 1 Kindness Habit Idea, 1 Kind Act, and 1 Question for you to consider this week…
1 Kindness Quote
“Promise me you’ll always remember, you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” ~ Winnie-the-Pooh
1 Gratitude Thought:
“My father and his father served our country during WWII. They are both gone now, but my gratitude for what they did for our country will live on in my voice and hopefully the voice of all Americans.”
1 Kindness Habit Idea…backed by science 🧪:
We’ve chatted before about habit stacking. It’s taking a habit that you already have and then stacking a new one on top so that becomes a habit, too. Kind of like stacking one yummy pancake on top of another….well, sort of. It works….and that’s backed by science!
This week, to honor our military, whenever you see someone in uniform, or maybe an older gentleman with a military cap…..practice looking them in the eye and saying, “Thank you for your service.” I must admit, I didn’t always do this. I’m a little on the shy side, so just chatting up someone I don’t know isn’t second nature for me. But once I got the hang of it….and was rewarded for doing it, this has become a habit that has stuck.
I ran into a WWII veteran (yup, there are some around) at the donut kiosk at the Safeway grocery last week. He was wearing a baseball cap that said US Army. As you can imagine, he was quite old. I watched from behind as he placed a couple of donuts into a paper sack and as he turned to go I said, “Thank you for your service…. What did you decide to get?” He touched my arm and said, with a twinkle in his eyes, “Apple fritters….and thank you for making my day.” Then he slowly shuffled away.
….Ok, I’m going to really work on that habit stacking….and I’m going to keep some tissue in my pocket….you might even include thanking our police and our fire fighters.
1 Kind Act….The Start of Bob Hope’s USO Tour
In early 1941, Bob Hope was doing a radio show in Los Angeles when he was told that he had been asked to perform at March Field Air Force Base in Riverside, CA. Hope was skeptical. After all, there was no war on… but he was blown away by the audience at his first USO performance on May 6, 1941.
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and everything changed. That first performance in May was the beginning of one kind act that led to a lifetime of bringing joy to our military and to Hope. For years Hope and his entourage performed all over the world for our troops.
Hope said,
“It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”
After Hope’s death, one veteran said,
“He brought a little bit of home, 10,000 miles away….and especially at Christmas time.”
Hope recalled one of his performances. He said,
“I think one of the most emotional performances I ever did was in the South Pacific…we were playing for 15,000 kids who were going into an invasion the next day and you knew that a lot of those kids….you’d never see them again and as it worked out, 60% of those kids were knocked off in this invasion.”
At Christmas, the tour show always ended with a rendition of Silent Night. If you don’t have time to watch the entire Hope video below, start listening at the 8:15 mark….listen and watch the reaction of our young men in uniform. One of them may have been your father or grandfather.
1 Kindness Question for you:
Look around your room at all the things you have. What stories and memories do you have that are associated with some of these things?
Our new Gift and Book Program is Live! Check it out!
Kindness Magnet launched in April, 2021 and has become tremendously popular. I guess we all need a little more kindness in this world! I have been looking for additional ways to help spread kindness. This week I have enthusiastically started our new Gift and Book Program. So far there are just a few items for your gift list, but we’ll be adding more each week. And remember, 100% of the net of the proceeds goes to help those in need.
I hope you’ll check it out! I’d love to know what you think and get your ideas….including products that you’d like me to add!
May your week be filled with kindness. 💜
