Simple acts of kindness go a long way

I thought about the content of this column at around 2 a.m. I had woken up and for about an hour I wrote it in my head.

As we all know, sometimes thoughts at 2 a.m. sound great but by 9 a.m., no so much.

For some reason an act of kindness, of sorts, that occurred nearly 40 years ago popped into my head and I thought I’d share it, especially when acts of kindness are not very common these days. There are different levels of kindness and if we’re ever going to be one nation again, we all need to do our part.

As I have often done, I’ll take you along with me in my Boulder City Time Machine.

It was my freshman year at BCHS. I had taken home economics in sixth and eighth grade at Garrett Junior High. I learned skills like cooking and sewing that I use to this day, especially as a single guy.

By the time my freshman year rolled around, electives were kind of scarce for ninth-graders. So, I thought I’d take home ec, since I had aced it the other two times. As a dorky freshman, as is the case for most boys that age, I didn’t appreciate that the female-to-male ratio in home economics was about 10 or 12 to 1. I would, of course, appreciate that same ratio by the time I was a senior and I took yearbook class.

The home ec class could be taken by a student in any grade. There was a nice mix of students from all grades and there, I met some very nice upperclassmen. I highly doubt she will read this column but I want to mention one particular upperclassman because she is at the heart of this column. I mention her with great fondness. Cheryl Hafen was a junior and, in my eyes, one of the prettiest girls in school. And turns out, one of the sweetest as I got to know her.

It was around this time four decades ago that I was walking down the hallway, and as she approached coming from the opposite direction, she smiled and said, “Hi.” She recognized me from class but I doubt she knew my name. For all I know I was just a classmate named Don Neland. I think I managed a “hello,” at least I hope I did.

At that moment, that was one of the best things that had happened to me early on in my freshman year. I’m sure I looked around to see if anyone I knew witnessed or heard her say hi. I realize at this point in this column I’m sounding like the voiceover in the TV show “Wonder Years.” At that moment I was Kevin Arnold or Don Neland. Both were fine with me.

The moral of this story is that sometimes a simple act of kindness can stay with someone for 40 years. Last year I wrote about, when on a walk, a little girl ran up to me and gave me a pine cone. It now sits on my shelf at work.

So, in this era of divisiveness, don’t be afraid to provide someone that simple act of kindness, whether it’s a friendly “hello” or a pine cone. Because, take it from me, Don Neland, it means a lot.