MEET ROBERT

Robert of Madison, Wisconsin never got to wear America’s uniform.

He wanted to. He loved his country and wanted to serve it, but many years ago a heart condition meant he couldn't pass the physical. 

He lived with a broken heart in more ways than one.

Life eventually put him behind the wheel of a truck instead.

Robert is homeless now. I met him outside a mall on my recent trip across the country.

Somewhere in the conversation I told him about my drive. Where I'd started. Where I was headed. The long haul home to Virginia.

Robert had been everywhere I'd been. All of it. He saw the world from the cab of a truck instead of from a base overseas, and he loved every corner of it.

We talked a while. We listened. And thanks to those of you who support the Kindness Card Movement, we left him with a few meals and a reminder that people care about his story.

Then something happened that had nothing to do with me.

That's Tere in the second photo. She's followed my work for years, and while I was in Wisconsin 

I invited her along for a few deliveries.

She wanted to learn how to approach someone safely and respectfully, how I start conversations, and how I listen.

Robert gave her the first lesson.

Somewhere in it, Tere stopped watching and started doing it herself. She asked questions. 

She listened. She cared. She was a natural!

Then she asked him one more question before we left.

"When's your birthday?"

Robert told her. Just a couple of weeks away.

"I'm coming back," she said. Lunch. Ice cream. Something to mark the day.

In a couple of weeks, long after I'm hundreds of miles away, this story will keep going without me. 

Tere will be there. Maybe lunch. Maybe ice cream. Hopefully both.

And Robert will know that someone remembered.

Isn’t it miraculous that kindness can introduce three strangers and then get completely out of the way?

So here's an invitation. 

If you've been reading these stories and thinking you'd like to come along sometime, say the word. Partner up with me for a few deliveries. 

You might make a friend whose birthday you suddenly need to put on your calendar. And 

if you ever wanted to serve and couldn't, Robert would understand. 

Here’s to the men and women like Robert who have served America, and to those who wanted to and couldn’t. 

We love you