I walked around downtown Fort Wayne today singing the lyrics “I got a little change in my pocket going jingle lingle ling”. That song, a Georgia Satellites classic, played in my head as I moved through the city with a pocket full of quarters on a mission to help others. Today was Day 4 of our 25 Days of Giving and our task was to fill parking meters in the downtown area with change. A simple, but controversial task. We had many people in different parts of the country express concerns about this particular deed. We have been told that loading empty space parking meters with change is illegal in some cities. These reports did not deter our plans. I filled meters in different parts of the city. I saw parking control, or the meter maid, on multiple occasions. At one point, I thought she might be following me. Maybe she is an Impact 52 follower and she knew that I was coming. Maybe I was just paranoid. Regardless, I transformed into ninja mode and silently slipped from space to space depositing coins. On two occasions, I filled the meter as individuals were getting out of their cars. Each gave me a huge smile and expressed their gratitude. They both talked about paying it forward later in the day. I hope they walked that talk when the time came. In all, I donated 20 hours of parking to citizens of Fort Wayne and my Day 4 mission was completed.
Day 5: Kind Gesture is tomorrow. Spend the day performing kind gestures for others. Hold doors open, let others cut in front of you in line, or carry another’s groceries. It is up to you. Just be kind. For many of you, day 5 will just be another Wednesday because you do these things all of the time. I hope that is the case. I am looking forward to seeing how creative I can be in being kind to others.
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