Paulette Brown-Hinds
When you are the type of person who loves to give to others, it is very difficult
to receive…even in times of need. You can be kind but have difficulty in
accepting the kindness of others.
I suffer from that condition.
I come from a legacy of givers, from my grandparents Floyd and Essie Brown to
my grandmother Melba Minter to my parents Hardy and Cheryl who have committed
much of their adult lives to community service. In my family, at an early age, we are
trained to give to others.
So the recent fire that devastated us and destroyed much of our business and
personal property left me scrambling, trying to maintain my daily routine of running
the paper while dealing with the enormous loss as well as with insurance adjusters,
contractors, environmental consultants and others.
I kept my head down and just kept working with the rest of my team, trying
not to think about the tremendous clean-up and rebuilding process I was about
to go through. As the news started trickling out, I started getting text messages,
phones calls, Facebook posts and shares, and general hugs and well-wishes from
our friends in the community as I went about my regular work day.
A serendipitous encounter at the Regal Movie Theater in Riverside with
Professors Deborah Wong, Christine Gailey and Carole Nagengast shortly after
the fire, netted us some supplies and a loaned computer. And Deborah called our
friends in the media prompting The Press Enterprise to visit our burned out structure
and publish a story on our tragedy.
I say serendipitous because when Elizabeth Balistreri told her boss Richard
Roth about our situation after she read the article, he immediately thought to offer
his underutilized law office as a temporary office for the VOICE. It is a tremendous
savings for us as well as a comfortable landing place as we continue to sift through
the rubble for tear sheets, art, awards and a few other items of value – some literal,
some sentimental. I hadn’t cried throughout this entire ordeal, but Mr. Roth’s gesture
brought tears to my eyes. We are now in that space and are extremely appreciative
of his kindness. This will allow us to continue to provide vital news and information
to you – our community – from a great space on the first floor of the Innovation
Building on the corner of Spruce and Chicago in Riverside.
We are open for business Monday thru Friday 9 am to 5 pm. Please stop by
and visit us…we’ll give you a newspaper, a cup of coffee or tea, and a smile… and
if you smell what seems to be smoke when you shake my hand, or give me a hug,
it’s probably because I just returned from the old office trying to find something else
I just discovered was still missing.