Easiest way to feel good

Random acts of kindness? Pay it forward?
Positive thinking?

One of the great ways to change your day, to feel great, is to help or be nice to someone else. All you have to do is look around, and there is probably somebody nearby you could help. It won't take long, and it won't cost anything. Just a little effort. Maybe just a smile.

I was at Wendy's in Woodstock today and noticed a group of four leaving. One of the women was in a wheelchair. Three were posing for pictures, and the fourth was taking the pictures. One of the things I know is that it's doggone hard to be fast enough to click the shutter and jump in front to be in the photo, so I quickly finished my sandwich, grabbed the Jr. Frosty, and went outside. I offered to take a group picture and that was just what they wanted.

And the treat was a quick visit with the woman in the wheelchair, who by that time was seated in the car. She asked a few questions about my motorcycle and asked my age. Then she told me that her birthday will be Monday. Of course, I didn't dare ask which one, but she told me ... No. 96.

It was easy to calculate the year of her birth. Just add 4 to 2011, and then subtract 100. What was life like back in 1915? No computers; no cell phones; no air-conditioning. No Wendy's. No TV. And, for many, no indoor plumbing. She was very bright and happy, and she surely made a difference in my day.

We didn't exchange names, and they may have been just passing through. But I thank her for brightening my day.

Now, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to do something nice, something unexpected, for someone else.