Neighbors in Gloucester, Massachusetts, are rallying to restore a house after its owner received a nasty note.
The home on Perkins Street needs a paint job. As obvious as that is, someone felt the need to leave homeowner James Curcuru an insulting message.
"It said, 'Paint me. Eyesore. Your neighbors. Perkins Street,'" Curcuru said.
That's cold and cruel, and it upset Curcuru because the person who wrote it has no idea why the house is in this shape.
"I've had quadruple bypass, and then I had kidney problems after that, and she got diagnosed with MS 30 years ago," he said of his wife, Marilyn, who is confined to bed.
Their children decided to post the note on social media with an explanation.
Their daughter, Michelle Curcuru Baran, posted it in her Facebook page and wonders.
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"How could somebody be so mean?" she wondered. "When I posted it, it was, 'Let's hope the person sees this and realizes the reasons behind all of this."
That drew a lot of attention, with people offering to come paint the house. A fundraising effort is now underway to help them get that and more done.
James Curcuru doesn't believe a neighbor wrote the note, and he's not the only one.
"Somebody probably drove by, and you know the people that write 'Wash this car?' One of those guys probably did it," said Steve Sallah, who lives nearby. "Kind of rude to the poor man, not knowing the situation, to put something like that, a note up there."
But Curcuru says he's let the note go, focusing instead on the good it inspired.
"It just reaffirms the fact that there are a lot more good people in this world than bad people," he said.
