Raw Emotion and Thoughts

Greetings. Its funny how a natural disaster, or a disaster of any kind, can put things in perspective for you. I'm sitting here contemplating doing any number of things: putting pictures up from my trip on my site, considering groceries I need to get in the next couple of days, looking at the pile of clothes left to sort through and put away, get a Braille display ready to send back to Freedom Scientific; and yet I'm drawn to CNN and their coverage of people affected by the hurricane.

As the title says, these are raw emotions and may not be in any sort of order. Anyway, how can I consider getting groceries when there are people in affected areas or heading to other cities that have agreed to help, such as Houston or Dallas, who need those groceries just as much, or more, than I do? It's probably impossible to help everyone, but yet I feel like I should do something. I would consider this disaster on the same level as the terrorist attacks in 2001, the main difference being that in this case, we knew the storm was coming and could prepare. But are we any better off for that knowledge? We're still going through lots of economic and every day affects because of the hurricane, and the people who did live in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama, will likely be feeling the impact of Katrina for weeks, months, or even years to come.

I suppose that this leaves me with two things to say: donate and don't forget. I have information on my website with regards to making secure online donations to the Red Cross, or calling to make a donation. Please donate; do what you can, even if you can only give a few dollars. Or, if you would like to give in a more tangible way, then many groups will likely have fund raising events where they will accept food, clothes, and other practical items. Or, if you know someone affected by these events, then help them out.

And second, dont' forget. Its my guess that though it seems like the hurricane is all over the news right now, as it should be, after a week or two, the media will move along to other news. When that happens, or even several weeks or months from now, don't forget about those affected by Katrina. Continue to donate and/or pray for them.

I don't know what else to write, so I'll stop for now. I plan to donate, even if its just $20, but every little bit counts.

Remember: donate, and don't forget.