Hard times for the Big Easy

We're holding on by a thread.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin

As I watch the residents struggle to survive, I cannot conceive of their suffering. As I sit comfortably at my desk in my air-conditioned office, I cannot imagine what it is like to have witnessed the devastation firsthand. I cannot fathom what trials lie ahead. Yet this disaster still touches me in a personal way.

New Orleans will always be a special place for me. When planning our honeymoon, Sharon and I had two criteria. It had to be warmer than New Jersey in February and there had to be a train that went there. That's how we ended up spending an unforgettable honeymoon in New Orleans. Eleven years later we still remember all the little details of the places we saw, the music we heard, and the wonderful food we ate. The city is like a dear friend.

I've been at a bit of a loss as to what to say about this. Anything I have to offer seems insignificant or trite. But I'll take this moment to join the Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Weekend and ask anyone reading this to help out this dear friend of mine, and its neighbors, in their time of need. But then, you probably already have.

As for me, I'm donating to Habitat for Humanity. Katrina has left countless people homless. Habitat has been helping people get new homes for thirty years. Credit Sharon with the choice.