Helping hands

To the editor:

It seems that all of the news we read and hear these days comes from the west side of Massachusetts and south of 15th Street. I just wanted to let you know good things happen on the east side too.

On March 12, I heard the hail, rain and wind. Then I heard my neighbor’s car alarm go off next door. I went outside and saw trees had crashed onto cars and houses and the litter was everywhere.

Our old diseased trees provided good fodder for the winds.

A couple of minutes later I heard the warning sirens, way after the fact.

In the middle of the chaos, our little East Lawrence neighborhood in the 1300 block of New York Street showed a sense of community.

A friend from two blocks away on Connecticut Street came over to check on my welfare. At least a dozen neighbors went to a nearby home to check on a woman who needs oxygen 24 hours a day and our electricity was out. More than one person called for an ambulance to get her to the hospital.

Strangers walked down our street helping folks remove limbs from homes, cars and the streets to make them passable. Just a lot of people showed up to help.

We suffered small losses and had some large problems just like other parts of the city.

Perhaps your reporters could come by and check on us every now and again.

Liz Maggard,

Lawrence