Bruce Springsteen’s new single, “We Take Care of Our Own,” could easily serve as the soundtrack for reporter Dan Barry’s story about a little town in Maine, where neighbors depend on one another to survive the long, cold winters. (See The last word.) Retirees Robert and Wilma Hartford, who live on $1,200 a month, had nothing left to pay for the fuel oil they needed to heat their old home. Desperate, Robert went to see Ike Libby, a co-owner of a small oil company called Hometown Energy, pleading with him to take the title to his 16-year-old Lincoln as collateral for some heating oil. Libby, who is known around town for the largeness of his heart, had already extended the couple $700 in credit, and he didn’t even know them personally.
When the story first appeared last week in The New York Times, it unleashed a wave of generosity from readers. Thousands of donors—“from everywhere,” Libby said—called and sent envelopes full of cash and checks. When I phoned Hometown Energy this week to see how things were going, Diane Carlton, who works the front desk, said that after four days the total had surpassed $180,000—and donations were still coming in. “Unbelievable,” she added. The Hartfords’ oil tank is filled, and a local company is winterizing their 19th-century wooden home for free. Libby is now creating an emergency trust fund for others who need assistance. “We’re going to be able to help a bunch of people,” said Libby, fighting back emotion. “You can’t even put it into words. America’s got a heartbeat, and we are hearing it.” The Boss couldn’t have said it any better.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Editor's letter: Dealing with the fiscal clifffeature Lincoln, the new film by Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, is a timely reminder that sometimes we must cast off our sanctimonies and compromise to get a big job done.
-
Editor's Letter: Of hearth and home
feature In spite of all the turmoil during the last few years, Americans continue to think that buying a home is “an important part of the American dream.”
-
Editor's Letter: If the Tea Party were black
feature For the sake of this exercise, imagine that members of Congress in March had been surrounded by thousands of angry African-Americans, yelling insults at white, Southern politicians.
-
Editor's Letter: It seemed like a good idea at the time
feature Dear Reader: Okay, okay, we should not have sacrificed the Music Page for the Puzzle Page.
-
Editor's Letter
feature Want proof that the TV writers’ strike is really over? Saturday Night Live is back in the controversy business. In its first new show of the year, SNL chose non-black cast member Fred Armisen to portray Barack Obama in a presidential debate skit. It wasn’
-
Editor's Letter
feature White House Press Secretary Dana Perino should have gone with “no comment.” Engaging in some good-natured bantering about her job on the NPR news quiz show last week, Perino confessed that when a question about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis came up during
-
Editor's Letter
feature When I’m in a masochistic mood, I survey the 8:03 into the city to see how many of my fellow drones are passing the time by reading. Only about half the people have their noses in newspapers, magazines, and (rarely) books. The rest are either dozing or en