( ( ( Kindness Ripples ) ) ) is about bringing more kindness and joy to the world. ~ ~ Your ripple could be featured next!
A year after the first drawing, the next one was done for TWO people who inspired me with their kindness, Ellen DeGeneres and “Lou, The French On The Block.”
When I visited Los Angeles, I was biking near Warner Brothers and stopped at a shop to order a sandwich. I realized I forgot to bring my wallet. The owner, Lou surprised me by saying, “It’s ok, you can pay me later.”
I was shocked! Doing business on trust makes me very happy because I want to trust the people around me too! This rarely happens in such big cities!
I had an important meeting after lunch and if I didn’t eat, I wasn’t going be on my “A” game. Speaking of games, Lou was a former professional basketball player in France. After retiring he decided to reinvent himself and become pastry chef with his lovely wife Karima.
For the French people, coming to Lou’s shop is like coming “HOME.” Their breads are exactly like you would find in France, which is a rare treasure to find. Burbank is blessed by their presence and I hope they find many blessings in their own life journey.
They inspired me to do a chalk drawing in front of their bakery to honor the vibe they create with those around them, including Ellen DeGeneres and friends who work about 4 blocks away.
It was fun seeing the smiles and receiving kind words while creating this. 
THIS IS A NEON DRAWING was created on May 25, 2017 at 4007 W Riverside Dr Burbank, CA 91505 at Lou’s French on the Block.
You can visit the front page to see the making of the first 2 ripples (including this one). The song used for the second drawing will make you want to dance. ~ ~ I PROMISE!
20 years ago Ellen bravely took a stand and told the world she was gay. Her sitcom was cancelled as a result because she lost advertisers. As a consequence of her standing for what she believed in, she was without work for 3 years. YES… 3 YEARS!
Hear in her words why Dory was important to her. Most people don’t know this about her, but most do know her as a very funny, sweet person that loves everyone, no matter what color they are. 😉
I think though, Ellen would rather that you read THIS and I would too. (( IT IS POWERFUL )) It was life affirming of how I try to live. And we all need good people to lighten our hearts… no matter WHO we are!
"In her mind, the biggest threat to civility is ignorance. "When you don't understand something, it becomes a battle. Fear makes people defensive, aggressive and judgmental," she says. "But if you can see that while we're all different, our basic needs are the same — we all want love, safety and understanding — then it's easy to be kind."
.."Anger and aggression weaken you, because they take so much energy to hold in place," she says. "But kindness is a strength [that] makes you more serene."
Ellen played with many different ideas to bring love and light to the world, but one of the things that has remained consistent is the last thing she says to us all is “Be kind to one another”
Song is “Dream” by Priscilla Ahn. Tribute by Andrea Welly with modifications by me.
This entire website is my ((echo back)) to her to remind her how much she matters in inspiring others. The kind of love she stands for is about respect for all life, no matter how it manifests… It was never really about being gay, it was about being UNDERSTOOD.
As the ripples are published, you will find them in the blog posts links below and many will be featured in special communications to inspire others.
You can visit