A Call for Help

I, like another member of this blog, am from the Gulf Coast. Seeing the images of destruction on television still has not completely sunk in. It's like watching a seen from one of those disaster movies, but this time it is all too real and this time it hits all too close to home. As I observed the reports from this past week and the ones that I am sure to come; I cannot fully reconcile that this is the place that I grew up in, where I played, where I went to school, where I first fell in love. It is the place that I carry with me in my heart no matter where my travels lead me. It is the place that will forever be home.

Watching the utter destruction of Hurricane Katrina, followed by the dereliction of duty of the federal government to help those who could least help themselves has been especially painful. But I’m not here to critique the government, I'll have plenty of time to do that later. I'm here to ask for your prayers and to plead for your help. Not for my family or for me, as we are all safe and away from harm. No, I’m here on behalf of all of the people that didn't have the means to escape, the ones that do not have families in states far away to take them in; basically, I'm asking each of you to help all of those that were left behind.

Please go to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-HELP-NOW to find out ways that you can make a difference. If you cannot make a donation to the Red Cross, then get involved with your local church group or civic organization that may be putting together an assistance campaign. Anything that you can do would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

-AIR