Forever grateful

Acts of kindness resonate with Monroe woman this Thanksgiving MONROE — Sometimes what seems to be the simplest acts of kindness are those which have the biggest impact. Just ask Monroe resident Lilu Li about her recent experience coping with the rare October Nor’easter, which dumped more than a foot of snow in the area. While many businesses and homeowners were unaffected by the brunt of the storm’s fury, others spent days without electric or heat and were left to figure out ways to cope as repair crews worked feverishly to restore normalcy. And during this season of thanksgiving, Li wants people to know she remains forever grateful for the help of strangers - who she now considers to be her friends - who assisted her and husband Qingshan Qu as they sought help. The Oct. 29 storm created havoc at Li’s Island View Drive home, where trees and power lines fell. A fallen tree on Li’s driveway took live wires down with it, creating a serious situation. The fire department roped off the area, Li explained, and she was not able to access her car. Eventually, they were able to tip toe around the wires to get out of their house, but with no power or telephone service, the immigrant couple - who moved to Monroe in 2002 - were left with a loss at what to do. Never, said Li, had they encountered a situation like this before, including when they lived in Tuxedo or even when they lived in China. 'We are immigrants’ So the couple decided they would bundle up and walk almost 1.5 miles to the Monroe Town Hall where they hoped to get some help. “I feel like we didn’t know anybody here,” said Li. “We had this kind of problem and we didn’t know who could help us. It was scary for us. We are immigrants. We don’t speak English very well.” They walked into the town hall and met Ginny O’Neill, secretary to Supervisor Sandy Leonard, where they were quickly put at ease. The simple act of allowing Li to recharge her cell phone in O’Neill’s office had a big impact on Li, who works for the Orange County Rural Development Advisory Corp. “That made me feel so good, I so appreciated it,” she said. “She told me I could come over anytime to charge my cell phone. She used the Internet to connect us to Orange & Rockland.” Leonard also made a call to O&R to see if she could expedite getting the fallen live wires removed. But there were so many similar issues throughout the area that Li - like others - was told to be patient as crews sought to restore power. 'Always give back’ Li was thankful for her chance encounter with O’Neill and Leonard and also with Jimmy Madison, program coordinator at the South Orange YMCA, who happened to stop by the town hall the same time as Li and Qu were there. When Madison learned of Li’s plight, he gave them passes to the Y so they could take hot showers. “He said that he can give the hot showers to the people who have no power,” said Li. “He gave us passes. He was nice to do that. He even told me to take a Zumba class beforehand. Someday I will do that.” What he didn’t realize was how significant that was to Li. “To see the smile come to their faces, it was a beautiful thing to see,” said Madison. “I was very happy to help, that’s how I was raised. And our motto at the Y is to always give back.” On Tuesday, Leonard stopped by Li’s home to assess the status of her situation, and later called O&R to assess the status of repairs in Li’s neighborhood. “They wanted to see how I was doing and what was going on,” Li said. 'A warm thanksgiving’ Her power was restored at midnight on Wednesday. O’Neill said they were happy to provide the assistance they did and would have done it for anyone. She was taken back when advised of how grateful Li was. “We would do this for anyone,” said O’Neill. “And she just walked into our office. She’s a nice lady.” That didn’t matter to Li. “American people are so nice,” she said. “I’m so happy. I am thankful that people in this community care. They took care of us. We are proud to live in Monroe. It was very cold outside but their hearts were warm. How can I say thank you enough?” In China, thanksgiving is not a holiday, but Li understands the significance of the day. “They have given a warm and nice thanksgiving to us,” she said. “They are a very good example to our community.” American people are so nice. I’m so happy. I am thankful that people in this community care. They took care of us. We are proud to live in Monroe. It was very cold outside but their hearts were warm. How can I say thank you enough?” Monroe resident Lilu Li