Letter: Please consider performing a simple act of kindness

Posted 12/21/22

To the editor:

Truth be told, my initial reaction last year when my wife said she was going to put a holiday tree up at Barrington Beach was, "some kid will light that on fire." She did it …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Letter: Please consider performing a simple act of kindness

Posted

To the editor:

Truth be told, my initial reaction last year when my wife said she was going to put a holiday tree up at Barrington Beach was, "some kid will light that on fire." She did it anyway, as a member of the Barrington Lions Club. 

Shells with string attached were left at the base of the tree, along with magic markers. Through the holiday season, people wrote all sorts of messages on the shells and hung them on the tree. We'd see posts about the tree on social media, and it seemed to make people feel good. It was a simple act to represent community, kindness, and giving. My wife collected the shells when the tree came down and the messages would indicate the community appreciated it. It was a beautiful thing, and I was happy to be wrong.

Year two of #barringtonbeachtree kicked off last weekend. As we finished packing the sand around the base of the tree, we urged a couple who was walking by with their dog to be the first to add a shell with a message. We chatted for a bit. They are new to town, we made some connections, they took a picture. It was nice. It was community. More shells with messages went up over the following days.

Unfortunately, my cynical prediction from last year became reality. My wife received a picture via text of what was left of the tree after it had been set on fire. While I can't claim to be surprised, I am disappointed.

I don't know who lit the Barrington Beach Tree on fire, or what their motivation was. I'm going with my gut and believing it was a silly act by kids who weren't thinking about what this symbol was meant to represent. Been there, done that. I hope at some point in the future, the person who did it reflects on their actions and does something kind for another to counteract this thoughtless act. And that brings me to my ask of anyone reading this. The tree was meant to represent community, kindness, and giving during the holiday season. Please consider performing a simple act of kindness for someone, in the name of #barringtonbeachtree.

Happy Holidays,

Bill Horn

Barrington

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.