Emma Lazarus once wrote, “‘Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she with silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’”
This has been a year filled with hardships and strife, frustrations and sadness, pain and loss. Our bodies have aged only 12 months, but our hearts and souls have aged decades, and the empathy that unites us has been shouted down by the demons that divide us. The demons of doubt, fear, and loneliness. The demons of helplessness and we’re all tired.
A man far better than I once said, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
The better angels of our nature…storied pomp, indeed.
Growing up, my father would tell me something very simple.
“When somebody needs help, you help them,” he would say.
So, this begs the question; what can we do to help those who need it?
Well, other men — also far better than I — are trying to answer that question.
“There’s been a lot of hurt lately. COVID has taken its toll on a lot of us, financially and emotionally. We want to help our community in the only way we know how. That’s why we’re introducing Petunia’s Tab.”
That is what Caleb Arwood, David Bostic, and Clay Elkins said in a recent post on Road Hog’s Barbeque’s Facebook page.
“Need a hot meal?” The post goes on to ask. “Just mention Petunia (our team will understand) and we’ll put your meal on Petunia’s Tab. No questions asked. Have a little extra to share? Just tell us you want to pay down Petunia’s Tab. Whatever amount you’d like. We will only use Petunia’s Tab proceeds to feed our community.
Love y’all. Take care of each other.”
No storied pomp…only the better angels of our nature.
Bostic and Elkins are the owners of Road Hog’s Barbeque in White Sulphur Springs and Caleb Arwood runs the restaurant. The response they have received since they first posted about Petunia’s Tab on Tuesday, Dec. 15, has been truly inspiring. To date, their video message has been shared by 316 people and viewed over 13,000 times.
“I’m continuously blown away by how amazing our community is,” Bostic said. “Everywhere I went today, people would hand me money. The grocery store, the gas station, the bank. It didn’t matter. One person handed me two dollars and said I hope this helps, one says here is five dollars, wish I had more. Some with tears in their eyes, not only because what we are trying to do means something, but because we all do it together and they get to be part of it.
We are truly a community (White Sulphur Springs) that takes care of each other. I’ve got tears just thinking about it.”
“We were talking about it and we all knew we wanted to do something, but we didn’t really know what. What could we do to help? We’re just a restaurant,” Elkins said. “Well, we can feed people and we can connect people. Most people are willing to help and they want to help. But some just don’t know-how. So we realized that we can facilitate that.”
Elkins went on to say, “when people need help, we’re here to help them. No judgments. We’ve all been there…we’ve all been in that tough spot.”
There is a story that I heard several years ago. The version that I heard was told by a writer far better than I.
“This guy is walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep and he can’t get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, ‘Hey Doc, can you help me out?’ The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down into the hole, and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, ‘Father, I’m down in this hole! Can you help me out?’ The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down into the hole, and moves on.
Then the guy’s friend walks by. ‘Hey Joe, it’s me! I’m down in this hole, can you help me out?’ So the friend jumps down in the hole, and our guy says, “Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here!’ The friend says, ‘Yeah, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.’”
White Sulphur Springs needs a friend. Sometimes we all need a friend, a friend who understands because they’ve been down in the hole before, too.
Anyone who would like to help the team at Road Hog’s be that kind of friend can donate to Petunia’s Tab online at roadhogsbbq.com. Click “Order Online” from the top menu. Scroll until you see “Contribute to Petunia’s Tab.” Select any amount from $1 and up.
Following the example set by Bostic, Elkins, Arwood and the entire team at Road Hog’s Barbeque, the West Virginia Daily News has created our own version of “Petunia’s Tab.” While we may not be the best cooks, we can certainly help connect people.
If you are struggling right now and unable to find work, we want to help. After all, it wasn’t that many months ago when we were down in that hole ourselves. And if not for the support of our amazing community we would probably still be down there.
Maybe you’re a plumber or a painter. Maybe you’re a mechanic or a roofer. Maybe you have a plow on your truck or the ability to deliver groceries. Maybe you can babysit, walk dogs, rake leaves, cut grass, organize basements or drive your neighbors to and from their doctor’s appointments. Or maybe you can do one of a million other things.
If so, then we want to hear from you. We have some space in our newspaper, and would love to advertise your skills and help connect you with other members of the community who may be in need of your services. We understand that advertising isn’t the most inexpensive thing in the world. So if money is tight, just mention Petunia and we’ll get you covered. No questions asked.
This has been a tough year, but we cannot let our demons shout down the better angels of our nature. There are some people in White Sulphur Springs, people far better than I, who are willing to be the kind of friend that jumps down into the hole. And who among us has never needed a friend like that? Road Hog’s Barbeque may not have a golden door, but they sure have lifted a lamp beside it.
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