How the Jimi Norberg story came about
If you read the comments under my story about Jimi Norberg, you'll notice he inspired many people by doing what's right.
Jimi is the young man who found a wallet on the ground outside a Wendy's restaurant in Hawthorne a couple weeks ago and turned it over to police, who contacted the owners and returned it.
They were suffering their own financial difficulties, and losing the money in the wallet would
have hurt. (It would hurt anyone.)
Jimi had no idea the wallet contained $3,000 until I told him. He chose not to look. Imagine if somebody else not so reputable had found it.
When I interviewed Jimi, I asked him why he chose not to take the money. He started to cry as he spoke, talking about being a role model for his daughter. He had me tearing up.
I told him he was the greatest person I had ever interviewed. I meant it. I left work in a terrific mood that day, honored to have spoken to such a fine man. It was the perfect story to end my year.
A number of commenters on our website suggested we do more stories like this. You know, stories about positive things.
We actually do more positive stories than you imagine. If you really examined things, you'd see the stories in the paper and website. They sometimes go unnoticed in between all the murders and celebrity garbage that regularly make it into our Top 10 most popular stories.
In the same New Year's Day edition, my colleague Douglas Morino wrote about a Hawthorne man winning Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest's championship ring in a raffle. Artest raised more than $600,000 for mental health organizations. Positive news all around.
My story and Doug's story have remained in our Top 10 for two days. That's a positive sign that people are choosing to read the good news.
As far as the Jimi story goes, kudos to Lt. Gary Tomatani at the Hawthorne Police Department for telling me about it. He didn't know the back stories on Jimi or the Valero family that lost the money, but he asked me during a phone call if I wanted a "good news" story.
He told me someone had found a wallet full of money and returned it. He was expecting the owners to arrive later that day at the police station to retrieve it.
Yes, I said, knowing there was a wonderful story to tell. The lieutenant provided me with contact information for the people involved and I took it from there. I interviewed David Valero and Jimi on the phone and arranged to meet both of them for photos. (We couldn't get them together for one shot.)
I wrote the story up, but it was held to run on Saturday.
Many of you have said some nice things about Jimi. He deserves it. (It is kind of amazing that he did what was right and everybody is surprised, but that's a subject for another day.) I've also received some e-mails from readers and I might have more info for an update in the coming days. We'll see. (An envelope did arrive at the Breeze today and I'll be dropping it in the mail to Jimi tomorrow. Yes, Jimi, it contains a check.)
Jimi, by the way, was greeted as a hero when he went to work at SpaceX on Sunday. Well deserved.
Jimi is the young man who found a wallet on the ground outside a Wendy's restaurant in Hawthorne a couple weeks ago and turned it over to police, who contacted the owners and returned it.
They were suffering their own financial difficulties, and losing the money in the wallet would
have hurt. (It would hurt anyone.)Jimi had no idea the wallet contained $3,000 until I told him. He chose not to look. Imagine if somebody else not so reputable had found it.
When I interviewed Jimi, I asked him why he chose not to take the money. He started to cry as he spoke, talking about being a role model for his daughter. He had me tearing up.
I told him he was the greatest person I had ever interviewed. I meant it. I left work in a terrific mood that day, honored to have spoken to such a fine man. It was the perfect story to end my year.
A number of commenters on our website suggested we do more stories like this. You know, stories about positive things.
We actually do more positive stories than you imagine. If you really examined things, you'd see the stories in the paper and website. They sometimes go unnoticed in between all the murders and celebrity garbage that regularly make it into our Top 10 most popular stories.
In the same New Year's Day edition, my colleague Douglas Morino wrote about a Hawthorne man winning Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest's championship ring in a raffle. Artest raised more than $600,000 for mental health organizations. Positive news all around.
My story and Doug's story have remained in our Top 10 for two days. That's a positive sign that people are choosing to read the good news.
As far as the Jimi story goes, kudos to Lt. Gary Tomatani at the Hawthorne Police Department for telling me about it. He didn't know the back stories on Jimi or the Valero family that lost the money, but he asked me during a phone call if I wanted a "good news" story.
He told me someone had found a wallet full of money and returned it. He was expecting the owners to arrive later that day at the police station to retrieve it.
Yes, I said, knowing there was a wonderful story to tell. The lieutenant provided me with contact information for the people involved and I took it from there. I interviewed David Valero and Jimi on the phone and arranged to meet both of them for photos. (We couldn't get them together for one shot.)
I wrote the story up, but it was held to run on Saturday.
Many of you have said some nice things about Jimi. He deserves it. (It is kind of amazing that he did what was right and everybody is surprised, but that's a subject for another day.) I've also received some e-mails from readers and I might have more info for an update in the coming days. We'll see. (An envelope did arrive at the Breeze today and I'll be dropping it in the mail to Jimi tomorrow. Yes, Jimi, it contains a check.)
Jimi, by the way, was greeted as a hero when he went to work at SpaceX on Sunday. Well deserved.
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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