Sad Times

Today was a rough day as a father. My city is one of the cities accepting the Louisiana flood victims. In addition to donating money...I'm hearing and seeing many children in need of toys, coloring books, crayons, dolls, cars/trucks, and school supplies that they lost in the flood. These children are really in bad shape...taken out of their homes, nothing to do, faced with attending new schools with none of the comforts of home.

So, I figured this would be a great opportunity to get my daughter to help out by giving up some of her toys, books, crayons, and paper to these children in need. Needless to say her reaction to hearing about the children losing their homes and belongings and the subsequent abundant giving up of her favorite toys broke my heart. Something I thought would take up just a short amount of time ended up being an all night event. I actually had to stop her from giving away everything. Then spent the rest of the night explaining who took their toys away and who took their homes away. She didn't want to go to bed because she was worried about these children. I wasn't prepared for this.

I cannot, for the life of me, imagine what questions the parents who lost their homes and possessions to Katrina are having to answer to their kids this week. My heart goes out to them.

Please do what you can for the flood victims. And please, please do what you can for the communities supporting them. Many of the communities across Texas are taking in way more than they can handle. This will effect schools and teachers which are already maxed, budget-constrained hospitals, and small churches hosting them. Money is always good but get creative with your help. Often everything goes to the food, clothes, water area. But, there are kids that will need lunchboxes, backpacks, and other school supplies that will begin starting a new school from kindergarten up to college. Think also of the teacher's needs...teaching and supporting more kids. Some of these schools already don't have enough money for textbooks, computers, etc. The list goes on and on.

Realize most of the people are staying in large stadium-like places, sleeping in cots, with little to no privacy. While it's better than nothing...local hotels would surely be better. In fact, I'm amazed at the random acts of kindness going around where the local people are buying a few day's hotel stay for the people they meet. Doesn't sound like much...but think about it...after what they've been through...wouldn't you want a nice warm shower and soft pillow to lay your head? In privacy? Even if it's just for a night or two.

Take care,

MT