Sometimes There is Good News

On Saturday Columbia Community Care put out an urgent call for food and personal care items due to serious depletion of supplies at their Long Reach pantry. I wrote about it on Sunday.

Image from Columbia Community Care Social Media

Yesterday’s pictures were astounding. This represents some of what has arrived since Saturday:

Image from Columbia Community Care Social Media

Are you connected to Columbia Community Care on Facebook? They are good folks. They remind us that we can be good folks. Right now is a remarkably good time to be reminded what community care looks like: it is powerful.

We can be powerful in support of one another.

In that same vein, you may recall that I mentioned some examples of human kindness about a week ago.

Despite the enormity of Tuesday’s election bearing down on us, I’ve seen some lovely things unfold on social media in the last twenty four hours. Not political, but examples of genuine human kindness. They aren’t my stories to tell but I would if I had permission. We’ll see if I can swing that.

In the case of one if those stories, the Baltimore Banner got to it first and I’m happy to be able to share it with you.

The Dish: When a Howard County mom asked for help, local restaurants offered a hand, Christina Tkacik Prudente, Baltimore Banner

This story unfolded on the Howard County Eats Facebook page and I was lucky to watch it happen in real time. Here’s the gist of it:

So Erin went to the Howard County Eats Facebook page with her plea: “My daughter who is battling cancer really wants to experience cooking with a real chef,” she wrote in a post.

The offers from local eateries came in fast, restaurant after restaurant. Phoebe could learn to make Hawaiian food at a local poke spot, or cook at a cafe in Ellicott City, or a pizza place, or a high-end eatery in Columbia. Someone with the fire department offered to let the young girl come to the firehouse and help out the shift chef.

In a sense, it was a different kind of community care. And, yet again, the community came through. I held back on writing about it because 1) It was one family’s personal story and 2) it concerned a child. What a joy it was to see the food writer for the Banner undertake this and give it the kind of treatment that only a professional journalist can give.

In a week where I have been feeling singularly helpless, the power of these two moments is not lost on me.

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. - - Aesop

Village Green/Town² Comments

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Today in Local HoCo: Many people recommended “anything on Main Street” in Old Ellicott City for your holiday shopping. Are there any places that you would particularly recommend?

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