To the Editor and my dear Clevelanders,

     First off, I want to thank the Cleveland Police Officers that found the van that was stolen from my brother, Chuck Hoven.

     The van is used in service of bringing the Plain Press to you.

     I believed that the van would be found because my mother’s prayer: “Tony, Tony turn around, something is lost and must be found.” (Tony AKA St. Anthony.)

     So, the fools that stole the van also did ridiculous damage, costing repairs: such as a hole in the gas tank; key damage to both the door and steering column; removed catalytic converter; cut battery cables to take the battery; plus to-be-discovered repair needs.

     The tow into the impoundment lot creates costs of $69.00 to get it out, and due to the damage another $85.00 to move it from the lot to the street for Triple A to take it to a mechanic.

     It would be helpful for the City to support its residents by having the City impoundment lot create the service of moving a car to the street given the lot fee.

     So given that the van is in service to the community and Chuck is not the only one in the city or state dealing with the hassle of stolen vehicles and cost incurred, I challenge my Clevelanders to look out for each other better.

     Karma has a way of dealing with the fools that took my brother’s vehicle. One hope is restorative justice. Anyone who has acted out in such a negative way in their community can work to do 10 to 1000 good deeds to clear their Karma.

     Poverty itself can be a mindset. Lifting each other up by random acts of kindness can change the perspectives and the dynamics.

     Clevelanders, the joke in my youth was “Cleveland, best location in the nation, or mistake on the lake.”

     My question for you is what can you/we each do today to make the world a better place.  One is stop stressing each other out and don’t take and wreck stuff that isn’t yours. Change begins at home. Cleveland, I learned to love my roots.

     Do better!

Mary Jo Hoven