Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
In the late teens or early 1920s, when my dad was still a kid, his family’s home burned to the ground.
That home wasn’t much more than a shack, but it held everything he, his parents, and his siblings owned.
Homesteaders’ makeshift dwellings dotted our area fairly thickly at the time, so a number of folks came to their support.
The one my dad remembered best showed up with five dollars.
“A lot of people are going to tell you that they’re sorry this happened,” my dad remembered that neighbor saying. “I’m sorry five dollars’ worth.”
I’m sure there was a name attached to that kind-hearted soul. That’s been lost with time.
The story of his simple act of generosity has stuck with me, though, because I love the notion of being “sorry five dollars’ worth.”
Five dollars was a not insignificant gift from someone who had few resources of his own, but this was so much more than the money.
In times of trouble, it’s easy to say, “Tell me how I can help,” or “Let me know if you need anything.”
We offer condolences and we dole out “thoughts and prayers.”
But when this crusty old guy (at least that’s how I’ve always pictured him) heard that his neighbors were in need, he dug deep and he showed up.
I have no idea how my grandparents spent the five dollars, but I know they never forgot it, and neither did their children, and neither will I.
Being sorry five dollars’ worth … I’d call that priceless.
Betty Williamson is grateful one column’s worth to a neighbor she never met. Reach her at:
