The last thing Kim Powell-Woods wanted for her birthday was a newspaper story. But her day on Wednesday was just too unusual to 1 . Instead of a traditional 2 with gifts and a birthday cake, the Limestone woman wanted smiles. She planned that for her 35th birthday, she would do 35 acts of random kindness for 3 . "I thought of it a couple of weeks ago, and I sat down one afternoon and 4 making a list of things I could do, " she said. She added that her job, as a 911 5 , put her in touch with people who were having very bad days. She wanted a day when she might help people have a brilliant day. "And, as a single mother of two, I know a lot about what it's like to be in all kinds of 6 . So, I wanted to give people a little boost, " she explained.
She started at 5 a. m. At a gas station, she helped a woman who was trying to 7 some household things. She needed money to buy gas to get to work in Momence. Kim 8 that gas. Kim made some sandwiches the night before and packed lunches for other 9 strangers. She gave them away at the bus stop at noon. She remembered what it was like to 10 the bus and have no plan for lunch.
The only 11 she hit was a laundry attendant who 12 to make change for her. While Kim may have brought smiles to 35 faces, at least one woman wanted none of Kim's 13 of goodwill. "I'll probably do this again, and I'll wait for a(n) 14 one, like my 40th birthday, " she said. And she might get her 15 at a bank.
