Reading about the recent hate attack perpetrated on Michael Collins and Tony Palumbo, owners of Colrain's Green Emporium restaurant, has caused us to think. In case you hadn't heard, the incident happened on Independence Day morning, the 32nd anniversary of Collins and Palumbo buying their Heath Road home, when the pair awoke to find homophobic and racial slurs spray-painted on their property.

The fact that this happened in the Pioneer Valley and to two people as respected in their community as Collins and Palumbo has given many people pause. And while we sympathize, we also have to say "Grow up!" There are all manner of hateful, misguided characters in this world, and the Pioneer Valley isn't immune to them. We in Western Massachusetts would all like to think that we live in the land of goodness and light. But as hard as we might try, civilization does creep in every now and then. And all we can do is try to educate our children and each other about the harm that racism and homophobia can do. And try to accept one another for who we really are.

But there's another side to this story – a good side. Ever since the attack, Collins and Palumbo have been overwhelmed with cards, letters, phone calls, even notes at their gate offering support. Deborah Parker of Northfield was so moved that she was compelled to take out an ad in the Recorder to defend her friends. The fervor has been likened to "a community hug."

But we say it's more than that. It's simply the way of life in the Pioneer Valley. Just when we start to take our lives for granted, something happens to one of our own and we rally. We pitch in to help in whatever way we can. In the short time since we moved here, we've seen it happen it again and again. An orchard burns and donations are offered to the owner. A young girl loses her leg in a near fatal car accident and meals and cooked and errands run. A boy gets cystic fibrosis and events are organized to raise money. An elderly gentleman is looked after so his wife and caregiver can so away on a retreat.

We think this is the true meaning of community. It's also the reason many of us moved here. And it's why most of us wouldn't live anywhere else.

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