It is late afternoon in the city of Santa Cruz. The parking attendant is making her rounds, and she stops at a meter that has just expired. She draws out her pad of tickets, ready to cite the owner, when out of nowhere, a boisterous, red-nosed, colorfully adorned clown jumps in front of her, drops some change into the meter and gives his trademark Bozo laugh.
Mr. Twister (a.k.a. Cory McDonald), the Good Samaritan clown, was cited and fined $13 on Oct. 9 for breaking the meter feeder law of Santa Cruz, which basically stated that it was illegal to randomly place change in parking meters.
While people laughed at the story on the news, Mr. Twister was busy battling the foolish ordinance that threatened his generous and harmless hand-outs.
The law was finally dumped last Tuesday night, much to the excitement of McDonald, his lawyer Ben Rice, who worked the case for free, and Santa Cruz Mayor Mike Rotkin. To thank the city council for its decision, he made balloon animals for all of them.
Why was this law written in the first place? Did the city council fear a surge of generous people giving out money?
These sorts of Good Samaritan acts should be promoted, not prevented, and the banishing of this law shows that Santa Cruz still believes in human generosity. Mr. Twister claims he will continue his six-year crusade, knowing the city is behind him. Hopefully, the incident will motivate other citizens to go out of their way to do something nice for somebody they may not even know.
Random acts of kindness have all but disappeared in today’s society. Everybody is so concerned with their own daily routines that nobody offers free change, an anonymous note of praise or a kind word.
It is so simple to shed a little sunshine on someone’s life, like Mr. Twister does. He takes a mere 35 cents out of his pocket, drops it into a meter and saves the owner a parking ticket that would cost at least $30.
Mr. Twister makes helping irresponsible motorists a lifestyle; all we have to do, as busy American citizens, is take a minute out of our hectic lifestyles.
You can even do something nice while driving on the freeway. Instead of cussing out that negligent driver who was supposed to have merged five minutes ago, you can take a deep breath, slow down and let him in. You will feel much better, and so will the other driver.
If this is too difficult a task, you can just consciously smile at people. While walking to campus, the dorms or even the grocery store, just flash those pearly whites at every single person you see. Although it may be easier to stare at the sidewalk and dodge oncoming pedestrians, what is the worst that can happen by offering a smile? Sure, a senile stranger may pull a gun, but this is not likely. You will be surprised at how many people will smile back.
For those who have a chronic fear of strangers, you can begin with a friend. A simple, kind-hearted gesture can make a friend realize they are loved and wanted. A note in their mailbox, an invitation to lunch or a pat on the back are good ways to thank a friend or acquaintance who may be feeling down.
One of the places where stress is abundant is on campus. The hectic travel to and from classes leads to discouragement and more frowns than smiles. When a student drops a book, bend over and pick it up with a smile. If a professor comes up behind you when you are entering Miller Hall, hold the door open and ask him how the semester is going.
It is so easy to make somebody else’s day brighter. Whether a friend or a total stranger, everyone needs to feel special. Mr. Twister sets an example for us all—he even fought a meter feeder law so that he could continue his generous crusade. All we need to do is take two minutes out of the day to leave a friendly note or smile that says “Hi, you’re special and I love you,” to have the same effect.
