Kindness Diaries (2017–2019): Season 1, Episode 3 - The Gift of Inspiration - full transcript

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[Leon Logothetis] From a
distance, the world probably
seems

like a big, bad scary place.

If you listen to the news,
or even ask the person next to
you,

they will likely talk about war,
poverty, corruption, and hate.

And, they are right,
from a distance.

But, I believe that up close,
there is enough good, enough
love,

and enough pure kindness
to make the world go round,

and that is what
inspired my journey,

a journey where random acts
of kindness are repaid

with unexpected and
life-changing gifts.

And, these are The
Kindness Diaries.



[Leon] We'’re closing
in on Times Square.

I love you, Kindness 1,
but I really need to get off
you.

Times Square, baby!

The first continent
has been crossed.

[Leon] There I was,
in the middle of the

largest and arguably
toughest city in the world

with no place to
sleep and very hungry.

Can I come and live
with you in Brooklyn?

-Today?
-Yeah.

I live with friends.
A lot of people. There's no...
uh....

Can I stay in your
house tonight?

My dog hates the Union Jack,
so, it'’s not gonna work.

That'’s ridiculous.

No, I don'’t think so.
My husband is Sicilian man.



Doesn'’t really like... [laughs]

-Bringing other men?
-[woman laughs]

Is there any way that you would
be willing to put an Englishman
up in your house?

No, I can't do it. [chuckles]

[Leon] New York, New York.

It is a heck of a town and it
seemed like I was not going to
make it there.

I'’ve been walking around
for quite some time in the Big
Apple

without any luck.

But in a New York minute,
everything changed.

I need someone to put
me up for the night.

You mean, like to
come stay in my house?

Y-Yeah.

[chuckles]

Yeah, the sleepover
is a little odd.

I am compelled by the
"kindness of strangers" story.

-All right.
-All right what?

Let'’s do it. [chuckles]

[Leon] Not only was this kind
New Yorker named Taso

willing to put me
up for the night,

he also offered to make
sure I had a nice dinner.

New York has a rap for being
a mean city, but it'’s really
not.

It'’s the multicultural
capital of the world.

It'’s probably the
most tolerant city.

Tell me, were you
here during 9/11?

I was standing so close
that when plane 2 hit--

See, plane 1 we saw, it came
right over me, and literally, I
mean...

you could... like
that far, you know?

And plane 2 you couldn'’t see it
coming '‘cause it'’s coming from
the other side,

so it was so close that when
plane 2 hit coming the other way

and the fireball came out,
it actually burned the hair on
our arms.

That'’s how close we were,
and that's a true story.

What you really saw,
along the lines of what you'’re
doing, is

you really saw a kindness
that you never saw before.

Like if you needed a place to
stay, you probably wouldn'’t have
even had to ask-

Someone would say, "Where are
you going? Here'’s water. Here's
food."

And that happened, I walked
from the World Trade Center

all the way back
to Queens that day,

and the whole way I had water
and food and I didn'’t even ask
for it.

People were giving it out
on the streets, outside of
restaurants.

So the city really
came together.

[Leon] Taso'’s experiences
in the aftermath of 9/11

epitomized exactly what had
inspired my journey to begin
with,

human beings rising above
and showing mankind at its very
best,

even in the face of
mankind at its very worst.

I feel very grateful and I'’m
looking forward to a good
night'’s rest.

[Leon] The next day I was off to
catch my ride all the way across
the Atlantic

on a big, beautiful...
cargo ship.

Let me back up for a moment.

Before I left Los Angeles, I
realized I could not very well
drive to Europe...

A big ship to take
me across the ocean.

So I decided to
make sure that I had a ride

and after countless
rejections, I got lucky.

And while she might not
be the Love Boat, for now she
was home.

Wow! In 11 days I'’ll
be in Barcelona,

and so will Kindness 1...

which is somewhere
in all these containers.

[Leon] Now, at first glance,
she might not look like much,

but she is actually quite
beautiful in her own way,

especially as she stretched her
legs against the backdrop of the
open ocean.

[Leon] It'’s so beautiful.

It feels like I'’m on a movie set
and not in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean.

- [Leon] But my favorite view of
all... -My lovely home.

...was of this beautiful bed.

Ahh!

[Leon] Over the next few days,
I relaxed and read

and looked at the ocean and,
of course, I just had to do
this.

King of the World!

[Leon] And, the next day, I
relaxed more, read more, and
looked at the ocean.

And repeated this process
till I just couldn'’t take it
anymore.

Captain, it'’s been
a great pleasure,

but I must tell you that
I am very, very bored.

You can work.

You go to the Chief Officer
and then to the Chief Engineer

and... they will give you work.

[Leon] I had never been so happy
to have something to do.

What else shall I feed the crew?

[Leon] Being able to cook for
the crew made me feel like I
was,

at least, pulling my own weight.

Chief Cook, thank you very much.

[Leon] So, over the next few
days I helped out wherever I
could.

They started me out
with the basics.

I mean, the very
basics of deck work.

And as I proved myself, I got to
do more and more complex work

with greater responsibility.

Let'’s get to work.

We have the diesel generator,

and after that we'’re going to
adjust the fuel pump on number
two cylinders

in the main engine...

These guys have to do this every
day for months and months on
end.

[man]
It's not easy.

You have to adjust
to the loneliness.

To be far away from home.

[Leon] Tell me about it.

[man] You miss events
in your family life...

like the birthday,
like marriage.

I think it'’s not for everyone,
to be a seaman.

I'd really like to
give you a present

because I heard
about the Kindness motorcycle

and made for you a
cover from leather.

Oh, my God, thank you so much.
Wow, you really did.

Yes.

That is so cool.

[Leon] In the ten days I'’d come
to know the crew, I was truly
touched

by how welcoming
and generous they had been,

but I knew our time together
was coming to an end.

So we are close to
getting to Europe?

-Yes.
-How far away are we?

[quietly]
A few hours.

Are we gonna see land?

-You see land now.
-I can't see land.

Oh, my God!

This is land!

[Leon] I learned that, at the
end of each leg of their
journey,

the captain hosts a
party for the crew

and they were gracious enough
to ask me to join them on our
last night.

I couldn'’t thank them enough.

I want to thank you all,
especially the Captain,

for allowing me
onboard this ship,

and to the crew, thank you
for being so kind, so generous,

and feeding me
this amazing feast.

To the crew!

[cheering, shouting]

[man] The crew!

I never have met
some guys like you.

You are very brave.

You are crossing the
world... like birds.

It'’s very nice, it's very nice.

[Leon] As we pulled
into port, the rising sun

made for the perfect moment
to end my 11-day Atlantic
crossing.

Now I just had to wait for
Kindness 1 to be offloaded from
the ship

and transported so
I could continue on.

But first I wanted to say
goodbye to the man that made it
all possible,

Captain Mario.

-Thank you.
-OK.

[Leon] Thank you.

After ten days at sea
I am about to touch land!

[Leon] Arriving before sunrise
made me optimistic that I could
get into France

earlier than expected.

Even if it took a couple
of hours to get Kindness 1

I'’d still make great time.

So much for my best laid plans.

[Leon] I cannot actually
believe this is happening.

I don'’t understand because
she didn'’t speak English,

but there'’s something wrong with
the paperwork and they won'’t
give me the bike.

I just crossed the Atlantic
Ocean and now I'’m walking to
Barcelona

and Kindness 1 is stuck
somewhere in bureaucratic hell.

[Leon] To be fair, there are a
lot worse places to be stuck

than the beautiful
port city of Barcelona.

Someone told me that "aduana"
means customs in Spanish,

which basically means that there
is someone in that building

that has the power to get
Kindness 1 out of its
imprisonment.

[Leon] Although customs would
have to wait, finding something
to eat couldn'’t.

Barcelona'’s food markets are an
abundance of colors, smells, and
tastes,

but going there while starving
and with no money is a very bad
idea.

I just came off the
ship from New York.

My bike is stuck
in Spanish customs.

I have nowhere to stay
and I have no friends.

I was wondering
if you could give me some food?

Why not? You are my
friend right now.

Why don'’t you tell me what
you think, after that, OK?

Jose, the world'’s
greatest cod maker!

[laughter]

-Gimme five.
-Thank you, thank you.

[Leon] Unfortunately, finding
something to eat proved to be a
lot easier

than finding a place to stay.

It'’s impossible for
you to live with me.

Uh... I don'’t have a house here.

No...

Good luck, good luck.

[Leon] The day was almost over
and I still hadn'’t found a place
to sleep.

Clearly that chap
didn'’t wanna help me.

[Leon] But that isn'’t to say
I didn'’t have any good luck.

-You look American.
-I am.

Can I live with you tonight?
Just for one night--

No!

[chuckles]

I can help you with lots of
things, but accommodation is not
on the help list.

[Leon] As incredible
as it may seem,

my random encounter with
an American ex-pat named Anne

quickly felt more like
divine intervention.

I can call customs.
I know someone in customs.

You have an "in" at customs?

This is going to affect the
entire journey if this lady can
pull this off.

[woman] Adios.

OK, ya está.

It'’s all sorted out.

Tomorrow morning, you can go
to customs, ask for Manuel,

and you'’ll be able
to get your bike.

Okay?

That simple.

[laughs]

I'’m glad I could help.

The bike could very well have
stayed in Spanish customs for
weeks, if not months.

If I hadn'’t bumped
into that lady, who knows?

[Leon] Despite the
great news about Kindness 1,

as the sun began to set, my
anxiety about not having found a
place to sleep

began to rise.

If I get desperate, I may very
well go and knock on the prison
doors

and say, "Please, one more
inmate just for the night."

-Are you English?
-Hi. Yeah.

-You'’re English?
-No, I speak English.

Oh, you speak English.
I'’m Leon. How are you?

Is there any way that
I could stay at your house?

We'’re not a hostel.

-You'’re not a hostel?
-No.

-Have you ever seen a grown man
cry? -Yeah.

[Laughter]

[Leon] Hercules, and, yes,
that was really his name,

agreed to let me stay, but only
if his roommates also said yes.

We have also another
roommate, we have to ask her.

You have to ask her? Okay.
But you'’re okay?

We are both OK. No hay problema.

[Leon] So far, so good.

[woman shouting
indistinctly in Spanish]

[Leon] Though I didn'’t
understand what she had said,

I knew that technically
she didn'’t say no.

We are three people,
here in the flat.

We have one no and two yes.
Who cares? You can stay.

-I can stay?
-Yes.

Thank you, man.

[Leon] The next day
I was off to customs,

hoping that the bureaucratic
red tape had, indeed, been cut.

Kindness 1!

Hey, Kindness 1!

But there was still a little
more prying left to do.

I hope you didn'’t
get too seasick.

And now we will see
if she'’s gonna start.

[Leon] How about some good luck
vibes from the tire cover that
Pascal made?

And, from now on, Kindness 1,
you look a little bit cooler.

[engine sputters and dies]

That'’s not a good sign.

[engine cranking, knocking]

[engine purring]

[Leon]
Purring like a kitten, Kindness
1 and I

are ready to say hasta la vista
to Spain and bonjour to the
south of France.

Here I am, I arrived in Aix
-en-Provence, the capital of
Bohemia, in France.

[Leon] This beautiful city,
with roots going back to 123 BC,

is now one of the most
important cities for music,

boasting two major
music festivals annually.

So, it was little surprise
that I quickly found myself

as an audience member
to an impromptu concert.

[singing in African language]

♪ Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa fa-fa-fa

♪ I love you, baby

♪ Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa fa-fa-fa-fa

♪ Fa-fa, I love ya, now, baby

♪ Yeah, fa-fa-fa

♪ Fa-fa-fa

[scattered applause]

Thank you.

Merci beaucoup.
Thank you very much.

[Leon] As I watched
them pass the hat,

it struck me that these guys
and I had much in common.

We were all travelers,
hoping that random strangers

would offer us some kindness
in exchange for our stories.

Only their stories
were set to music.

I would love to have the chance
to sit down with you two and
chat with you

because just listening to your
music and seeing the emotion in
your faces...

I just feel that there'’s a lot
of story behind where this music
comes from.

[Leon] So, where are you from?

-We are from Benin.
-Benin.

Benin?

You have family in Benin?

Yes, our fathers, mothers....

children, everything.

[Leon] It turned out Tchale
and Finesse had left Africa

in the hopes of finding
better opportunities

to provide for their families,

so I asked them about the
challenges they faced at home.

Tell me, is Benin dangerous?

-Is not dangerous.
-No danger.

-Is Nigeria dangerous?
-Oh, yeah.

Why did you leave Benin?

[Tchale] We leave our country

because...

in Benin we have a lot
of cultural things:

rhythm, songs...

It's very rich, but...

Politically, the government

don't get--
don't think to help

the musicians to go

or artists to go far.

They look to put
money in their pocket.

And we have to move.

What has stopped you
from reaching your goal?

Concert.

Video clip.

So, some kind of music video?

-[both] Yes.
-Interesting.

Because I think that video

is the only thing that can
make you known to the world.

[man] They play music
all day, every day.

Everybody loves what they do
because we know that they do
with passion.

When they sing, I don'’t
understand because they sing in
their languages,

but I know what they sing
because they sing love, we hear
love.

You feel the passion.

[Leon] It'’s incredible to me
how much they have affected you.

I would like to have the same
passion that they have, for one
thing,

and guys like them don'’t
have to play in the street.

They have to be on TV.

They have to... to sell discs
because they are real musicians.

We'’re having this conversation
and then you basically
corroborated

everything that
they'’ve been saying to me.

-Thank you, man.
-Thank you.

We would like you
to, to pass the night

To say with us.

To stay in our house.

Really?

-Yes.
-Thank you, thank you so much.

Thank you guys.

-The bedroom.
-This is the bedroom.

-Yes.
-OK, great.

But where, where are
you going to sleep?

No, we want to sleep...

but anyway, don't
worry about us.

[Leon] That night,
they offered me

some traditional
African clothing in which to
sleep

and they insisted that, as their
guest, I take their most
comfortable bed.

Their kindness reminded me
that sometimes true generosity

isn'’t about giving
when you have a lot.

It can be about giving when you
have so very little for
yourself.

And, in the morning, I wanted to
try to repay their kindness

with a gift that I hoped
could change their life.

-Guys, good morning.
-Hey.

-I wanted to tell you something.
-Yes.

Thank you very much for
letting me stay in your house.

Thank you very
much for feeding me

and for sharing your
passion of music with me.

-You enjoy inspiring people
through music. -[Tchale] Yes.

And, in order for you
to get to the next level,

if someone helped you
to create a music video,

that would get you
to the next level.

So, what we have decided to do

is to help pay for
your music video.

[Tchale] Very good.

God bless.

Thank you.

With this video
our life is going to start.

[Leon] And, so, I left my new
friends and hoped the gift I
gave them

would allow them to be
more successful as musicians

and as providers for their
families that they missed so
much.

But one thing was certain,
this was a great way to start
the day.

I got a ticket.

135 Euros.

I'’m going to keep the ticket as
a memento and they can come and
chase me in India.

[Leon] Oh, well. It
was still a great day.

Europe started out a bit rough,

and there were times I thought
my adventure was over,

but kindness prevailed,
and it showed itself to me in
many forms,

and I learned that music is the
one common language that
connects us all.

[singing in African language]