"A Kind Festival"

Walking along the streets of Castro,
A day of art and wine,
A time to smile with anonymous souls,
And browse at the paintings from Italy,
And try on flowery hair accessories,
And admire the photography from East Asia to Napa Valley,

While listening to an African American baby girl of two,
Belt out some soulful blues,
I heard the news of a Filipina woman,
Fighting for the tribal rights of California Indians,
And signed her political petition,

Then the musical notes of a guitarist arose,
And he received a series of dollars in his instrumental suitcase,
And while on my solitary stroll through this multicultural street,
I gave a dollar wrapped with a 1x2 inch smile,
With the hope that it just might add,
A little more than monetary value,
To this old man's day in the South Bay.


-from my smile-card experience at the annual Art & Wine Festival on Saturday, September 8, 2007 in downtown Mountain View on Castro Street. For more information on spreading anonymous acts of kindness through the delivery of smile cards and generous acts, visit http://www.helpothers.org/.

So, Is it a Grind?

It's a Grind is the name of the place,
and perhaps the name of your life sometimes,
but when you stop and take a chance,
and make someone else on the inside, dance,
it may be different and feel weird at first,
and it might sound a bit like work,
but all it took was a few dollars, an exchange of words,
and a little white tag,
to produce two coffee drinks,
which made a mother and son glad,
so, next time,
when you think your regular routine needs some spice,
maybe you could think about doing something nice?


-A tribute to smilecards-in the spirit of anonymous acts of kindness.
For more info., please check out http://www.helpothers.org/