Anything Helps

Buddha once said, ~Let us rise up and be thankful, for is we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful.~ Hurricane Katrina devastated many lives by leaving people homeless, sick, seperate from, looking and grieving for lost family members. Yet, within the ashes of tragedy there comes the joys of hope as domestic, as well as, foreign aide pour in without even an afterthought. With so much that many families have lost from Hurrican Katrina, its nice to see on the news and in person people contributing whether its digging deep into one's pockets or giving their free time to help in any way.

All across the United States, people are opening their homes to complete strangers even though they themselves may or may not have the space for them to reside. Personally speaking, a friend/co-worker of mine has 17 displaced family members, from her husband's side that lived in New Orleans, living with them, which truly has been a test in patience for her, her family, and the family dog as well. However, the funny thing that was mentioned to me was that its humorous to see the sibling interaction between her husband and his family, which show her husband in a different life. Anyways, in the whole scheme of things, it doesn't matter because people are not just opening their homes but also their hearts as well.

With so many displaced families, there are also many displaced family pets, which are considered part of the family who practically grew up with the family. Without a doubt, ts a difficult decision indeed to leave one's pet(s) behind to weather the storm, so to speak, by themselves. For some, most, or all pet owners they consider their pets as one of their children, an absolute best friend, or both. Fortunately, many pets did amazingly survive and were evenutally reunited with their family, which some saw rescued on the news or other television programs such as Oprah. Let me ask you this question, if the choice had to be made by you and you alone, would you leave your pet(s) behind when or if a Hurricane is vast approaching?

Unquestionably, the entertainment industry and sports entertainment is doing all it can to help in any way by donating thousands/millions of dollars to bring food, water, medical help, and clothes to those that need it. New Orleans own Harry Connick Jr., almost lost his voice trying to give a voice to his hometown and its people. Due to this, he has agreed to be honorary chair of Habitat for Humanity's "Operation Home Delivery" and in his own words Connick said, "It is hard to sit in silence, to watch one’s youth wash away,” said Connick. “Everything that I have professionally, and so much of what I have personally, is because of this great, fair city … to see it being drowned like this is almost unbearable."

As said before, many displaced families are located all across the United Stated getting good meals to eat, clothes to wear, and a warm bed to sleep in. One of the places is in my backyard of Pensacola, Florida mainly Naval Air Station Pensacola. Over the labor day weekend, myself and my best friend had the opportunity to open the asylum to the displaced families, mainly the kids. Let me tell you something, its a humbling experience to see those kids happy and playing together with seemingly insignificant toys such as a hula hoop or frisbee, which "my kids" tend to fight over on a constant basis. Ultimately, I am thankful for the several hours I spent with those kids because it was truly an eye opening experiencing. So I urge you to do whatever you can to contribute in any way because in the end, anything helps.