1,000 Acts of Kindness

ARE YOU IN NEED OF AN ACT OF KINDESS?

I thought that this inititiative would only be about me seeking out people to help. For some reason, it never occurred to me that I should make myself available if people want to seek out. So, that’s exactly what I’m doing. I am now officially taking solicitations for 1,000 Acts of Kindess. Maybe you need me to break up with your boyfriend for you. Or maybe you need someone to pray for you or someone close to you. I don’t know. You tell me. I will say that I don’t do windows and I won’t drive the getaway car.

So please, free to hit me up. If you need an act of kindess done for you, email me at woof@mrpinkerton.com and tell me. I am closed holidays but other than that I am available.

Hope to hear from a lot of you.
________________________________________________

I’ve thought about my resolutions for the year, but really, I have one: become a better man and a stronger me. Actually, I guess that’s two. But whatever. I thought about listing standard resolutions, but then I thought, “Why does everyone focus on what they’re not going to do?”

“I’m not going to smoke.”

“I’m not going to drink as much.”

“I’m not going to wear my girlfriend’s thongs.”

And so on. But why aren’t we focusing on what we’re going to do? That’s what I’m going to do. I’m even giving it a name - 1,000 Acts of Kindness.

1,000 Acts will be about reaching out to people. It will be about helping people. It will sometimes be about making myself uncomfortable because I’m not one to sashay with strangers and be social. But I’m changing that.

Here’s how it works: every opportunity I get, I’m going to committ acts of kindness. It might be every day. It might not be. The point is to challenge my comfort levels, get the love that I feel inside but have a hard time expressing out in the open, and to well, help people. Some of these acts will be done for friends or for people like J, but others will be done for complete strangers. My goal isn’t isn’t to get them done in a year. It’s simply to get them done, and see who I’ve become.

There are only two rules:

1) The acts must be somewhat significant. For example, opening a door for someone does not qualify.

2) Each act is worth only one act and one act only, no more, no less. Getting a soup can down from the top shelf in a grocery store for an old lady is the same as delivering a baby in an elevator.

So, having said that, let’s get started.

1: 1/1/06 - Dropped off chicken noodle soup, meso soup and herbal cold medicine to J, who has the flu.
2: 1/1/06 - Walked JC the dog at the Animal Rescue Center (ARC).
3: 1/1/06 - Picked up Jeff at his girlfriend’s condo and drove him to get her car at the casino beause they took a cab home last night.
4: 1/2/06 - Walked JC and Uminie the dogs at ARC.
5: 1/2/06 - Emailed my pastor an example of a preacher’s blog. I told him if he wanted to set one up I could help him.
6: 1/2/06 - Stopped at U-Haul to reserve a truck for the church’s move this coming Saturday.
7: 1/3/06 - Emailed a coworker and invited him to attend my church.
8. 1/3/06 - Put a dying bird I found outside Bally in a box and took it back to work. I arranged to have a non-profit society try and save it but it died before I could bring it there.
9. 1/6/06 - Asked roommate’s dad who’s in town if he would like me to bring him to the grocery store to get some breakfast since his son was at school.
10. 1/6/06 - Walked Nitro the dog at ARC, who humped my leg so hard I think I’m having twins.
11. 1/6/06 - Bought my roommate a card for graduating from school.
12. 1/7/06 - Helped my pastor move his church.
13. 1/7/06 - Gave one of two hired guys who helped me move the rest of my belongings back to the old house “Pulp Fiction,” since he mentioned he had heard it was a great cult movie but hadn’t seen it.
14. 1/9/06 - Gave my date a book I thought she would enjoy reading and a bag of chocolate covered almonds, which I knew she liked.
15. 1/14/06 - Gave my date a bouquet of sunflowers, took her to see “Oklahoma.”
16. 1/15/06 - Walked Jesse and Ida the dogs at ARC.
17. 1/15/06 - Fixed neighbor’s garage sale sign that had blown over on corner of street.
18. 1/16/06 - Walked Jesse and Ida the dogs at ARC.
19. 1/21/06 - Walked Jilly the dog at ARC.
20. 1/21/06 - Bought date Starbucks.  
21. 1/23/06 - Signed a petition at Whole Foods that seeks to introduce a referendum that would make farms in Arizona more humane.
22. 1/27/06 - Took date out to dinner.
23. 1/28/06 - Took friends and date out to dinner.
24. 1/29/06 - Prayed for neighbor, who I learned lost his wife of 44 years to cancer on New Year’s Eve.
25. 1/31/06 - Bought card for neighbor who lost his wife; left it on his doorstep.
26. 2/5/06 - Gave painkillers to friend to give to his girlfriend, who’s getting a Brazilian wax. Wait, is this information I should be publishing online? Am I going to end up in the pen in a cell bunking with someone named Big Wes?
27. 2/10/06 - Sent blogger I don’t know a care package.
28. 2/14/06 - Gave a homeless guy $4 to get something to eat.  
29. 2/15/06 - Gave the receptionist at my work the license plate of a car whose owner left its lights on.
30. 2/15/06 - Signed petition that would give animal owners the right to seek alternative health care and wellness therapies from non-veterinarians.
31. 2/17/06 - Walked Laura and Cella the dogs at ARC.
32. 2/19/06 - Walked Jesse and J.J. the dogs at ARC.
33. 2/19/06 - Emailed J a summary of our pastor’s sermon that he gave today.
34. 2/23/06 - Called animal control to come pick up dog that was on the side of the road; went back to my house to get a blanket to cover it up.
35. 2/25/06 - Walked Sookie and Alpha the dogs at ARC.
36. 2/25/06 - Bought my roommate a birthday card.
37. 3/1/06 - Called my mom to wish her a happy birthday; sent her a card.
38. 3/1/06 - Created a website for my pastor’s church.
39. 3/4/06 - Paid for the Girl Scout cookies my roommate ordered.
40. 3/7/06 - Emailed the rescue shelter at which I volunteer to see if they have a crate that my roommate can borrow to transport her dog back home to IA to care for her mother who just suffered a stroke.
41. 3/12/06 - Walked Juno the dog at ARC.
42. 3/15/06 - Sent fantasy baseball draft kit to fellow blogger.
43. 3/15/06 - Created a website for my pastor’s wife (a food lover) so she can keep a journal of places she visits.  
44. 3/18/06 - Walked J.J. the dog at ARC.
45. 3/25/06 - Took date to see Cirque de Soleil’s Corteo.
46. 3/26/06 - Dropped off pastor at airport.
47. 3/25/06 - Dropped off pastor’s dog at church member’s house.
48. 4/1/06 - Picked up trash in nearby park where I walk my two pups.
49. 4/7/06 - Worked on pastor’s wife’s blog.
50. 4/11/06 - Heeded City Wendy’s advice and helped fund free mammograms.
51. 4/16/06 - Bought the Horse Whisperer French tulips for Easter.
52. 4/16/06 - Bought the Horse Whisperer’s mom French tulips for Easter.
53. 4/16/06 - Gave the Horse Whisperer a card for no reason.
53. 4/16/06 - Gave Philly’s aunt a bouquet of wildflowers for Easter.
54. 4/23/06 - Called to console mom, whose cat suffered a stroke and died.
55. 4/23/06 - Called to console friend Jason, whose father committed suicide.
55. 4/30/06 - Picked up local dentist’s office’s sign that had blown over.
56. 5/14/06 - Called mom to wish her Happy Mother’s Day; sent her card.
57. 5/14/06 - Bought Horse Whisperer’s mom a bouquet of sunflowers for Mother’s Day.  
57. 5/17/06 - Helped pastor’s wife work on her website.
58. 5/17/06 - Sent J a card.
59. 5/17/06 - Sent sister and brother-in-law a card congratulating them on their new baby.
59. 6/7/06 - Picked up trash in nearby park where I walk my two pups.
60. 7/13/06 - Urged U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to save the sheldon range horses.
61: 7/30/06 - Walked Bella and Hope the dogs at ARC.
62: 8/1/06 - Went to store to get bottle of merlot, then brought bottle of merlot to a hotel so it would be waiting for a friend of Filan Monet’s, as a favor to her.
63: 8/3/06 - Called last “missed call” on phone I discovered in park to let friend of phone’s owner know I found it.
64: 8/3/06 - Put together a gift basket for the Horse Whisperer’s birthday 
65: 8/9/06 - Picked up trash in nearby park where I walk my two pups.
66: 8/10/06 - Offered to help J’s friend find a home for two stray dogs she found in her yard.
67: 8/11/06 - Signed petition to call for the end of the dolphin drive hunts in Japan.
68: 8/14/06 - Offered to watch J’s dog for 9 days.
69: 9/5/06 - Signed petition to urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to deny Idaho’s request to kill wolves.
70: 9/5/06 - Signed petition to require truth in fur labeling. Â