Charity is Not the Only Thing that Begins at Home

When we think of community, we typically think of our neighbors, our local shop keepers, our teachers, our religious leaders – those who create the environment in which we live and work. But community, I’ve found, actually has its beginnings closer to home.

I alluded to relationship changes within the Goldsworthy family at the end of 2012 and those changes are still in progress. A tough situation, we are working our way through and I found last week the need to call out to fellow Goldsworthys in the area for a show of support.

Without going into great detail, I’ll explain.

I sent out an email to family members – and those who are like family – that their presence was requested on Thursday afternoon in Pasadena. Before the request was an hour old, I began getting responses.

One of my nephews who was working in Long Beach at a new job took the afternoon off to drive to Pasadena. A niece who teaches in the area booked a substitute so she could be on hand. My best friends took time off work to lend support. My mother-, sister- and brother-in-law drove in from Indio and LaVerne. In all, more than a dozen people showed up in answer to our call. And those who couldn’t come either emailed or texted in their well-wishes and prayers.

Talk about a community of love and caring. I am so proud to call myself a Goldsworthy and hope to live up to the standard set by my family members.

Thank you for being there for us.

_____________________

I learned of an example of community on a broader level earlier this week.

As you might remember, we did a story in December about a hit and run at the intersection of Briggs Avenue and Shields Canyon. Greta Pruitt owns property that seems to be a target for drunk, reckless or inexperienced drivers. She has documented numerous occasions over the past couple of years that drivers bashed into her property, then took off. Thankfully she had images of the incident that she was able to us to create a wanted poster in the hopes of flushing the driver out.

Mrs. Pruitt came to CV Weekly in the hope that we could help in her efforts of discovering who was behind the wheel in the early morning hours of Dec. 15. After listening to her story, we were eager to get the word out and did a comprehensive story that included publishing an image of the driver.

But if nothing else, Mrs. Pruitt is tenacious and she paid to have the poster published in the paper the following week.

Not getting a response, Mrs. Pruitt gave us a call on Monday this week to say that she wanted to again pay to have the poster printed in the CV Weekly.

Monday afternoon she visited our office and when I came out to greet her, I couldn’t help but notice a playful smile on her face.

Turns out that she didn’t need to have the poster printed again – the driver had turned himself in. Apparently the publicity generated from the newspapers and the posters installed in the area plus Mrs. Pruitt visiting neighbors with the poster was too much. Someone recognized the driver and he surrendered to law enforcement.

It gave me a sense of pride that we may have had a hand in that situation. Sort of what a community newspaper is all about.