MARK MY WORD: RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS CAN TOP EVEN CHINA'S 'POWER BEADS'

Most people probably will skip President Clinton's China speech tonight.

It's not that we don't care about a U.S.-China trade deal. But since everything is already made in China, we figure we don't have much of a deck from which to deal.

Maybe that is why CBS and ABC plan to stick to their regular programming. Other television networks have decided to honor the request and give the president a chance to talk about something besides Hillary's Senate campaign.

Parents know all about this China stuff. Many of our children's toys were made in China.

Our 8-year-old daughter, Becca, came home from her school's "play day" Friday sporting two plastic-bead bracelets that were made in China.

She purchased them from the school store. Shopping for trinkets and racing annually are the two highlights of the near-the-end-of-school celebration, which this year was called Race Day in recognition of all the foot races that are held.

The tag on the bracelets read "Power Beads." There are different colored bracelets. The tag pointed out what the various colors represented. It also stated in capital letters, "MADE IN CHINA."

Becca's purple bracelet stood for pride and dignity. Her clear bracelet represented purity and perfection, something that most Americans clearly wouldn't identify with Congress, the president and U.S.-Chinese relations.

Personally, I have nothing against the Chinese. Second graders need "Power Beads" when they're trying to outrace their classmates in the school yard.

I think it's great that Chinese companies have decided to cash in on "Play Day," "Race Day" and any other school day.

Becca was excited about her purchases, particularly those bracelets.

She wore them during the races. I didn't notice that it increased her foot speed. But it's hard to say. Some of the other students wore similar bracelets. No doubt, all that "bead power" may have clashed.

Still, she was enthusiastic about the bracelets. She proudly showed me the bracelets as she waited to compete in another race.

I immediately gave her "style" points. I had to admit, the bracelets looked good and weren't any the worse for wear despite having come all the way from China.

I admired them as if I were looking at a sparkling diamond. Becca smiled broadly.

But not everyone's smiling.

All those bracelets in America's school yards clearly have added to our trade deficit.

The president and many in Congress think turnabout is fair play. They want a chance to sell more American stuff in China.

No doubt, we'd need to sell a lot of stuff to compete with those "Power Beads."

So what could be marketed to the Chinese? Perhaps we should market random acts of kindness.

In Cape Girardeau and other communities around the country, people are promoting kindness.

In our area, we just completed our annual Random Acts of Kindness Week.

Kindness, we've found, can be as contagious as a smile.

It doesn't base its power on an act of Congress or a president's speech.

Admittedly, it can be habit-forming.

I'm convinced it is even more powerful than those beaded bracelets, if only we would wear it more often.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.