I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.
~Maya Angelou
The young man on the corner was waiting for the walk signal. While waiting, he jumped up like a basketball player and tossed a crumpled paper bag into the garbage pail. It bounced off the rim and landed on the ground. He could have pretended not to see where it landed, especially as the traffic light had just changed, but he slowly walked around the pail, picked up the crumpled bag from the ground and placed it gently inside. I dug around quickly in my purse, pulled out one of my green Caught Doing Good pencils and gave it to him.
“I saw you pick up the bag and throw it away for a second time, and I want you to know I appreciated that,” I said.
He looked at me quizzically. “Is this a new movement I haven’t heard about?” he asked. I explained it was my own thing, at least so far, and took out one of my special appreciation cards to give him. “This is great,” he said. “Do you have another set so I can keep one and pass along the other?” You bet I did.
This idea began some years ago. While shopping for children’s gifts at a teachers’ store, I bought a bunch of pencils imprinted with the phrase: Caught Doing Good. These pencils would be used by elementary school teachers to acknowledge their students’ good work. What I envisioned, however, was another use for these pencils. After all, grown-ups deserve recognition, too. We all want to be appreciated. Since it “takes a village” to raise an adult, I thought these pencils would start a conversation in the “village.”
I designed a vertical business card on which was printed:
Caught Doing Good
I saw you.
You did a nice thing.
It was appreciated.
Your decision
to share a kindness
will inspire others
to do the same.
THANK YOU
Whenever I observed ordinary people doing what was, to me, the right thing, I’d give them a pencil and a card, and then tell them what I’d seen them do.
One bone-chilling, rainy evening before Christmas, on a bus that seemed filled to capacity with people rushing home from work, the driver spotted a woman across the street running to catch the bus. She was pushing a child in a wheelchair. The driver waited, put down the ramp, and had everyone squeeze even more tightly together to make room for this mother and child. When I got off the bus, I gave the young driver one of my Caught Doing Good pencils and let him know I recognized and appreciated what he had done. The driver replied, “It’s really nothing. It’s how I was raised.” Even if it was part of who he was, the deed was so thoughtful and kind, it just had to be acknowledged.
Another day, as I was walking home, I passed two boys, about twelve years old, playing catch. When one threw the ball, it came too near my face, and I moved quickly out of the way. Suddenly, the other boy rushed over. He said, “So sorry, miss. I hope we didn’t hit you. Are you okay?” He was very worried. I reassured him I was all right and gave him a Caught Doing Good pencil for his concern. In addition, I said he must have wonderful parents who’d taught him to be so kind and polite. He beamed.
It takes so little to make people feel noticed, appreciated and valued. Last year, I gave a bunch of those pencils to the entire pharmacy department of a local drugstore. In my experience, everyone who works there is respectful, kind, and helpful. It was time to let them know how grateful I was.
Another time, I observed a little girl sitting across from her mom between a young man and me on the bus. She was diligently reading advertisements out loud for her mother. At one point, she glanced up at the young man’s hat. “Brooklyn” was printed on the cap in sparkly rhinestones. “I like your hat,” she said.
Without missing a beat, the young man nodded and said, “And I like that you are reading.” Before I got off that bus, I gave the young man one of my Caught Doing Good cards. I told him I’d heard what he’d said to the little girl, and that it was so important for adults to encourage children to read. He was taken aback for a second, but then he said, “Thank you,” and read the card. “This is great,” he said. “I’ll pass it along.”
I’ve shared these card-and-pencil sets with friends and family, and at meetings. Everyone reports how much fun it is to give them out. My granddaughter gave one to a customer where she was working. The man had helped an older woman with a wobbly shopping cart by giving her his more stable one. My granddaughter asked for more cards and pencils because “this is so much fun!” My sister gave one to a ladies’ room attendant at a rest stop who, after mopping the floor, remained there to warn patrons to be careful on the wet floor. The overworked woman was so grateful for the kindness and recognition that she began to cry. My sister told her she deserved this because she was doing her best to protect people.
Whenever we are together and see someone being kind or thoughtful, my friends and family say to me, “Give that person a pencil.” As a result, I now carry my green pencils and blue cards wherever I go. What a wonderful way to make my way through the day, always looking for the good in every situation and the good people in every crowd!
~Judith M. Lukin
