RANDOM KINDNESS AND ACTS OF SENSELESS BEAUTY

What's a random acts of kindness?

No one says it better than Daphne Rose Kingma of Santa Barbara, Calif., who wrote the forward in the first of a series of Random Acts of Kindness books.

Kingma observed: Random Acts of Kindness are those sweet or lovely things we do for no reason except that, momentarily, the best of our humanity has sprung into full bloom...... you are doing not what life requires of you, but what the best of your human soul invites you to do.

Actually the phrase, "Practice Random Kindness and Acts of Senseless Beauty" was first penned by Berkeley writer Anne Herbert in 1982. It surfaced again in 1991, around the time of the Persian Gulf War, and came to the attention of a small publishing company in Berkeley, Calif. Conari Press published its first kindness book in 1993.

The first national Random Acts of Kindness Week dates back to 1995. It was just a year later that Southeast Missouri observed its first Random Acts of Kindness Week on Mother's Day 1996.

It's not too late to join the local celebration. It begins May 14 and runs through May 21.

Participation forms appear daily in the Southeast Missourian. Free smiley face stickers, bookmarks and signs are also available at the newspaper, 301 Broadway.

For more information, contact Joni Adams at the Southeast Missourian, (800) 879-1210 or (573) 335-6611, Ext. 121.

Kindness list

Those participants that signed up in the past week include:

Mrs. Edward's Kindergarten Class at Nell Holcomb School

Jefferson Elementary School

Oran CTA

Marian and Cole Moxley of Scott City

Digitron, Inc. of Cape Girardeau

Castor River Park in Grassy, Mo.

Riverside Regional Library in Benton

Smith Stop in Dutchtown

Chaffee Accelerated Elementary School

Johnson Concrete Finishing, Inc.

L.J. Schultz Middle School

Dariel Borgfield of Cape Girardeau

Royal N'Orleans Restaurant

Spirit Boosters at Southeast Missouri Hospital

Karen Cook's Grandbabies and Home Child Care

Wink's No. 8 in Scott City