In October of 2020, I received the following note from a person whom I had never met or spoken with. Her name was Bobbie and the note read:
Ken,
You are an inspiration to our community. Thank you.
Bobbie
Weeks earlier, I was feeling down and out. COVID-19 had been raging here for 7 months, our community had spent 3 months in virtual lockdown, and people were scared.
In the market, masked patrons verbally accosted clerks. On the streets and in the parks, the lonely souls avoided everyone they encountered. Everywhere I went, stress and anger permeated the air as people tried to navigate COVID protocols.
As if COVID anger wasn’t enough, we were now approaching the Presidential election. And it was UGLY from both sides.
Sitting in silence, I was at peace. But I couldn’t maintain it because my job required that I be abreast of the news each day. That meant I had to be on social media and I had to watch the news. I dreaded my computer and the rants that might spew from it. The hate mongering on the TV I had to endure as well. I wanted to turn them off but I couldn’t.
My mental health was suffering and I knew it.
So there I was, when my alarm clock went off each morning, full of dread. I didn’t want to open my eyes to the world. I wanted to stay balled up in my blanket cocoon safe in bed. But eventually I had to get up, because I had an infant son, and in he needed me.
I knew I was slipping into a depression and I recognized it because I had battled that demon before. Over the past few years, I’ve done a fairly good job keeping him at bay, but he was beginning to win the fight through the constant barrage of negativity. I saw my enemy and I screamed, “Screw You. You are not going to take me.”
For years, I struggled with depression so I knew how it felt. By now, I’d learned how to see the symptoms and by catching the symptoms early, it’s like fighting any disease, it’s easier to stop it before it takes full hold.
Now, I’ve identified my enemy and I know how to hold it bay while I search for the way to repel its onslaught. Basically, I’m treading water while I’m searching for a lifeboat to come along and help me defeat my depression.
Everyday, I was wracking my brain searching for my solution. I knew from past experience serving others gave me a huge boost. It needed to be grand because my enemy was fierce. Showing up at the food bank filling boxes was not going to cut it this time. COVID had eliminated so many ways to serve. How could I cut down my foe?
For weeks, I fumbled around like someone looking for a light switch in the dark. Then amidst the ravages in my community, I saw a sign.
“Inventory Liquidation Sale. Everything Must Go”
I knew what I wanted to do so I went home a discussed it with my wife. We agreed and I got to work.
A few days later, I took my place on the corner of a well traveled road near my home. Positioning myself under the street light where I would spend the next six weeks. Waiting for the sun to rise, I smiled, waved at drivers, and holding my sign.
It read: “Good Morning. Today is a good day to be kind.”
