Laurels (and no lances): Some reminders of goodness
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Laurel: To a different kind of greens. It’s nice to know that as some golf courses close down, that doesn’t necessarily mean the landscape will change dramatically — becoming a sea of subdivided homes or vast expanses of pavement.
The Timber Ridge Golf Club in East Huntingdon has found new life with someone who learned to putt and swing there. Mike Smetak, his wife Lindsay and Geno and Rhonda Gilbert have turned the course into Yinzer Valley Farms, an organic growing operation and store.
The greens growing there now might be a little less landscaped, with zucchini and pumpkins replacing sand traps and water hazards, but wide open spaces are still appreciated.
Laurel: To stepping up when it’s needed. Restaurants and small businesses are facing a lot of tough choices and uncertainties because of coronavirus.
That’s what makes it amazing that several restaurants stepped up when schools closed and threw a wrench in the way many kids get fed every day. They offered lunches on the house for kids.
“Some kids, they rely on those lunches that they do get for free,” said Rocco Pifferetti, owner of Rocco’s Pizzeria in Youngwood.
It’s good to be generous when things are going well. It’s the measure of character to be generous when times are tough.
Laurel: To showing support. What’s even better than a business that offers to help? When people come forward to help that business.
Lelulo’s Pizzeria was one of those restaurants feeding kids. That could have been derailed by a burglary, but the rock thrown through the Plum shop’s window didn’t stop anything. As soon as people found out about the damage and theft, money started rolling in, including a $1,000 donation almost immediately.
A GoFundMe has raised more than $4,000, and some people put their backs into assistance, helping to clean up the damage.
It’s nice to know that social distancing doesn’t have to mean severing connections.