What It Means To Be A Neighbor: Thank You, Patch Readers

TAMPA BAY, FL — It was my grandmother, rather than a history teacher, who introduced me to the Great Depression.

Nana Ree loved telling us stories about raising my mom and her twin sons, one of whom had epilepsy, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, during the Dust Bowl. Using her distinctive Texas drawl, she'd joke about how they were the original Oklahoma dirt farmers, working from sun up to sun down to grow anything that would take root in the mineral-depleted Oklahoma soil.

She described how she'd wrap boiled potatoes in bandanas and send each of her kids off to school with one for lunch.

On Christmas Day, she made sure Santa brought her kids two gifts — a fresh orange shipped all the way from Florida and a candy cane from the Ben Franklin dime store.

I couldn't imagine being so poor. Later on, after reading John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and seeing the photography of Dorothea Lange, I realized my grandmother hadn't exaggerated for dramatic effect.

But those days were long gone, or so I thought.

It wasn't until I began my career as a journalist and started my own family that I realized how wrong I was.

The Dust Bowl may have disappeared but the abject poverty my grandparents lived through never dissipated. It was just better hidden.

I finally saw it for myself when I volunteered with the San Jose Homemakers in southeast Hillsborough County providing beds for the children of migrant farmworkers who usually bedded down on moving van blankets.

I saw it in the eyes of the homeless men, women and children in Tampa as I worked alongside volunteers of Kay's Ministry, serving up helpings of turkey and dressing on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But it wasn't until this year that I truly understood what it meant to be on the brink of despair as families lost homes and livelihoods due to the coronavirus.

I was excited when my employer, Patch, an online hyperlocal news site covering communities around the country, launched its Neighbor Posts feature, giving residents an opportunity to communicate directly with one another, exchanging advice, discussing issues of concern and building community awareness.

Unlike the letters to the editor commonly used in print media, it allowed residents to engage instantly with one another.

And, for the most part, Patch readers have used the Neighbor Posts as intended — to answer one another's questions, offer advice and reach out.

What I didn't anticipate was that it would become such a critical instrument to help neighbors in need as the holidays approached.

The value of the Neighbor Posts feature became evident a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving when I posted a simple question: "What are you most grateful for?" One of the first responses was from Thomas Larsen of Clearwater, a man I've never met, but now consider a friend.

He responded that he was homebound and disabled, and would be grateful for a Thanksgiving meal.

No sooner had Thomas uttered his Thanksgiving wish than Jodi, Desia, Susan, AnnMarie and a host of other Patch readers responded with a vow that Thomas would have his Thanksgiving meal.

Over the weeks leading to Christmas, Patch readers continued to reach out with humble requests for food, toys for children whose parents had lost jobs and help for families evicted from their homes.

When one reader's request for a Thanksgiving meal was inadvertently overlooked, I sent out an 11th-hour plea on Thanksgiving evening for help. Within an hour, a hearty meal was delivered to the reader's home.

Thomas not only received his Thanksgiving dinner, but our Patch angels promised him Christmas dinner, as well. Jodi was due to deliver his meal when her car broke down. Fellow Patch reader Desia came to the rescue, dropping everything to pick up the meal from Jodi's house and deliver it to Thomas.

I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the kindness of these people who were strangers just weeks ago and were now friends.

But it was the simple act of a group of siblings that brought me to tears on Christmas Day.

Angie, the single mother of five children, needed help providing Christmas for her family.

Once again, Patch readers came through, providing gift cards and depositing funds in her PayPal account, so her children would have gifts to open on Christmas morning.

But it was her kids who truly demonstrated the meaning of the season for me. When they learned they would be receiving gifts on Christmas Day, they gathered their old toys to give to "the poor children."

Angie emailed me a photo showing the pile of toys ready to deliver to children who weren't as fortunate as they were to have gifts to open on Christmas morning.

Toys for the poor children

I broke down when I saw the photo of those toys accompanied by a drawing by Angie's 16-year-old daughter (the only girl in the family). The beautifully rendered drawing depicted a pair of hands in prayer topped by a dove carrying an olive branch. It was her gift to all those who made Christmas possible for her younger brothers.

Frankly, I received so many emails with offers to help these families in need that I lost track of everyone who donated, so please forgive me if I fail to name everyone.

But I want to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for so beautifully demonstrating Winston Churchill's memorable words, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

This article originally appeared on the Clearwater Patch