Find some chalk. Spread some love.

That was part of the message a woman left in the Salisbury Post newsroom a couple of weeks ago.

After two young men lost their lives in a July 29 shootout downtown, a bucket of chalk soon appeared on the sidewalk. Beside it was the same message — Find some chalk. Spread some love.

Some people did just that, filling part of the sidewalk in the 100 block of West Fisher Street and even writing on the pavement.  They drew hearts and wrote messages. “We love everyone.” “You are deserving of love.” “Too many fallen brothers.”

Amen to that.

After a weekend of anguish and sorrow, the chalk messages provided a counterpoint, a ray of hope. They demonstrated that there are good people in Salisbury who care for each other and the community.

Shortly after that, the woman mentioned above dropped off a flyer and a bucket of sidewalk chalk at the Post. She refused to give her name and quickly left when staff members persistently asked.

Here’s the rest of  her message:

“Dear Salisbury Strong Community:

“Find some chalk. Spread some love.

“I would like to propose that we, the entire Salisbury community, dedicate the upcoming Labor Day weekend to ‘Find Some Chalk. Spread Some Love.’

“At each of our homes, businesses and places of worship, fill our city with art, love, words of peace and unity.

“This could bring some much-needed healing and unity to our city.”

The flyer was signed, “The Sidewalk Chalk Lady.”

She’s could be on to something, that Sidewalk Chalk Lady. In addition to fatal shootings, Salisbury-Rowan has been dealing with a deadly spike in opioid overdoses. And since the Unite the Right clash in Charlottesville, questions about the meaning and future of Confederate monuments have rumbled across the country. Locally, there’s been talk of a gathering where people could air their views. Nothing has come together, but many have presented their views through letters and columns in the Post.

The new school year starts tomorrow, and Labor Day weekend will be close behind. Whether we scrawl it on sidewalks, write it in a letter, type it online or speak it to a child, we could all stand to deliver a message of encouragement. Words of love, peace and unity could fall like rain on parched soil. Let it pour.