Eric Dahl’s latest random act of kindness received media attention over Remembrance Day for cleaning veteran’s graves in the local cemetery but it goes much farther and deeper than that.
Dahl said to The Mail, “It doesn’t matter, the media attention. It doesn’t make a difference to me, I would still be out there doing what I am doing. Nobody even caught on for a couple of weeks.
We all get so wrapped up in our own little worlds and we just don’t think outside the box or for others. It’s a shame when good deeds make the news because it should be like this all the time.”
Dahl explained to The Mail that his act to honour veterans came about after he was asked to visit a friend who was struggling adjusting back into civilian life after serving in the Canadian Military. When Dahl arrived at his friend’s apartment in Edmonton he found that all the man had was an air mattress and a backpack full of clothes and that was it.
“This man’s apartment was a tiny, tiny place with only an air mattress in the corner. This didn’t sit well with me, not as a veteran of our country,” Dahl said, “I came back to Drumheller and wondered what we could do. I knew the people of Drumheller were very giving and so I went back the next weekend and someone from Drumheller went with me with his truck full of stuff. The people of Drumheller filled his truck with stuff like a dining room table and a few chairs, new toiletries, new dishes, a futon and other goodies. When my friend found a bag of homemade cookies someone in the community had sent, he just said, ‘Thank you. You have restored my faith in people.’”
The first time Dahl was given much attention for his random acts of kindness was the acts he committed as The Sticky Note Bandit which turned to handing out roses to strangers. Since then he has spread more kindness in the community and also brought honour to Veterans through his out of the box thinking.
Dahl said, “It really bothers me when people tell me that we need more people in the world like me. That really bugs me because, well, you’re like me, she’s like me, the lady sitting across from you is like me. You’re all like me. It could've been anyone that thought of this and acted on it. If you wish there were more people in the world like me, stand up and be one!”
Dahl explained that spreading kindness doesn’t have to be complicated. You can buy the next guy in line’s coffee, smile at someone or say something nice to a stranger. According to Dahl we are all part of the human family.
“Just don’t let it stop. Keep spreading the love. Don’t just take and not give back, you kill it by not giving back.” Dahl said, “You might be passing by your next best friend and you wouldn’t even know it. You never know unless you talk to them.”
Dahl told The Mail that he has plans for another “random act of kindness” that he will be putting in place soon within the community. He hopes that others will also think outside the box to keep it going.
