What do you do when things don’t go right?

Original Post From 2025

Last Friday we made a mistake. We painted over an artistic mural on one of our wastewater pump station buildings. The work order was to touch it up in preparation for some local school children to carry the project toward its final phases. But the order was misunderstood, and several days’ worth of meticulous brush strokes were erased in the span of ten minutes.

It left the lead artist and our entire community heartbroken, angry, and incredulous. Understandably.

So what do you do? You roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. On Monday I commissioned an inquiry to learn where communications broke down and institute corrective measures to prevent recurrences. But before that, on Saturday morning I was out at the site to apologize to the artist and pick up a paintbrush. The gathering got noticed, and before long a series of impromptu volunteers were joining in an effort to recreate the artwork. A neighbor bought us lunch. Another a box of popsicles. And a steady stream of passers by honked their horns in support.

We turned lemons into lemonade that day. And I went back to continue the next weekend. You can’t lead in a community if you’re not willing to be a part of its highs AND its lows.

An unfortunate error, for sure. But for how it brought previously unfamiliar neighbors together in the spirit of resilience and forgiveness, I have never been more proud to be a Newporter.