IN SOME WAYS, kindness resembles a kaleidoscope. It’s ever-changing, surprising and delightfully-beautiful. So is music. Combine the two, and you have a harmony of kindness.
Attendees at a recent blues concert in Faribault’s Central Park were extended a kindness by the Minnesota Blues Society via the gift of a free harmonica and a short lesson in playing techniques. The Everett Smithson Band had just completed its performance when folks gathered in the park’s center for the give-away. I grabbed two harps (a synonym for harmonica) for my elementary-aged grandchildren, but didn’t stick around for the lesson. An interested group of concert-goers, though, circled Smithson, a Minnesota Blues Society Hall of Fame inductee, for instructions.
Decades ago as a child, I had a metal toy harmonica, with not a clue how to play it. My attempts at music were more noise than anything. Yet here I was, many years later in the presence of a professional harmonica player and vocalist willing to teach a bunch of strangers harmonica basics through the Blues Society’s “Harmonica Lessons for All Ages” program. The group, with a mission in part of promoting blues music in Minnesota, has given away more than 500 harmonicas. That’s a whole lot of kindness spread to music lovers across the state, including right here in Faribault.
KINDNESS IN A SHOE STORE
It was during a previous concert in the same Faribault park that I once again witnessed kindness, this time in the words of a 10-year-old, the daughter of a friend. I don’t recall how the subject turned to shoes. But this young girl, who’d been cartwheeling across the grass and playing Frisbee and kick ball with her sister and friends, declared that her favorite store is Burkhartzmeyer Shoes. That’s a third-generation family-owned shoe store and repair shop in Faribault.
Now when a kid tells you they like a shoe store better than a certain Big Box retailer (which shall remain unnamed), you take notice. Turns out Bruce at Burkhartzmeyer Shoes allowed my young friend entry to the shoe storage space behind the curtains. She was impressed by all the shoes in the back room and by the free sucker you get whenever you buy a pair of shoes. Oh, and by the fact the Burkhartzmeyers know your shoe size just by looking at your feet.
So here I was in the park listening to a story about a kind shop owner who left such an impression on a 10-year-old that she was now promoting “Shop Local” without even realizing it. Kindness in action repaid with kind words.
KINDNESS IN A BOOKSHOP
Another shop in Faribault, this one open not even two years, also excels in exceptional customer service and kindness. Last week, when the grandkids were staying with us, we popped into Books on Central, a used bookstore run by Rice County Area United Way. All proceeds benefit non-profits which the local United Way supports. My granddaughter, who is very much in to dragons, was looking for a dragon book she hadn’t yet read. There were none to be found despite the best efforts of the volunteer staff and myself to locate one.
The next day, though, I received an email from volunteer Dave Campbell that the graphic novel, The Dragonet Prophecy, was just donated. Did I want it for my granddaughter? Izzy, who previously wanted nothing to do with graphic novels, quickly said, “Yes.” Did I mention she loves dragons?
Dave said he would hold the book for me. If not for his wife, Jeanne, who was volunteering on the day we shopped at Books on Central, the Wings of Fire graphic novel would have been processed, shelved and quickly sold. It’s a popular series. But Jeanne remembered Izzy’s dragon interest and, in this act of kindness, a girl who loves to read now has one more dragon book in her collection.
Kindness exists everywhere. I saw it in a harmonica give-away. I heard it in the story of a 10-year-old praising a local shoe shop. And I received it in a book held for the granddaughter I love, the girl I want to live and grow and thrive in a world of kindness.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Shining kindness, beginning in Minnesota July 29, 2025
Tags: acts of kindness, commentary, Damsite Supper Club, Faribault, kindness, kindness rocks, Kindness Rocks Inspiration Garden, Make America KIND button, Minnesota, Pine River
WHEN MY FRIEND SUE rummaged in her purse for something she wanted to give me, she pulled out a button with the message “Make America KIND.” Perfect. I am all for kindness. Sue’s simple act of gifting me with that button, which I pinned to the faded 1970s vintage denim jacket I was wearing, was an act of kindness in itself.
That got me thinking about kindness, not only because of the button, but because Sue and I, along with our husbands, had just finished lunch at the Damsite Supper Club in Pine River. Every Wednesday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., veterans eat for free. So Sue’s spouse, Charley, enjoyed a complimentary meal as did other vets. The restaurant honors the veterans for their service with the kindness of a meal and then by inviting them to sign a dining room wall.
Right across the road, my friend reminded me, sits the Kindness Rocks Inspiration Garden. The memorial garden honors Bryce Mink, 11, who died in 2023 of undiagnosed lymphoma. Painted stones decorated with inspiring words and art fill the rock garden. The garden is a visual of kindness.
Before we went on our way, Sue had another gift for me. A bag of books. Fiction, nonfiction and poetry books she felt a “Prairie Lady” would appreciate. She’s downsizing and set aside Visibility: Ten Miles—A Prairie Memoir in Photography and Poetry, Light on the Prairie, Pioneer Girl—The Annotated Autobiography of Laura Ingalls Wilder and several other books. Sue knows me well and I’m grateful for her kindness.
KINDNESS DEFINED
What does it really mean to be kind? By my definition, the word means “being nice.” In actions and/or in words. Being generous, caring, compassionate. Being thoughtful. Giving without expecting anything in return. Doing what is right and good. Listening. Encouraging. Supporting. Many words define kindness.
My sister-in-law Rosie showed kindness to Randy and me when she surprised us with a homemade caramel roll upon our recent arrival at her lake cabin. She knows how much we love these rolls from Valeri Ann’s Family Foods, an eatery just down the highway in Merrifield. What a thoughtful gesture given these sweet treats sell out quickly. Rosie got the last two, saving one for us.
KINDNESS IN A HUG
Then there’s the kindness Randy and I recently extended to a stranger via a vintage desk we carried to the curb. When a passerby stopped a while later, I stepped outside to greet her. She wanted the free desk. I also invited her into my living room to look at a table we no longer need. Because the woman spoke limited English, we struggled to communicate, finally resorting to pen and paper until her friend arrived to interpret.
Eventually, the woman decided she wanted the desk only. So Randy helped load it into her friend’s car. And then I spontaneously hugged this Somali immigrant who graciously and gratefully thanked me. It felt like the right thing to do. We held each other for a moment, our embrace warm, genuine.
Kindness came full circle. It didn’t take much effort for me, Randy, Sue, Rosie and the Damsite Supper Club to “Make America KIND” in our own unique ways. Just imagine if every single person extended kindness to family, friends and strangers. This would be a much gentler, compassionate and caring country.
TELL ME: I’d like to hear about a recent act of kindness you either gave or received.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling