Charity & The Great Firestorms Of 2003

[HARDCORE]

Well, it?s all over down here in San Diego (almost), save for the crying and the heartaches! A few of the TV Networks are now starting to dwell upon the work of the charities and the inevitable hucksters that slither to the surface to digest the tattered flesh of hurting humanity, left in the wake of any national disaster! That and the charges that some State & Federal fire-fighting assets were left unused and un-called upon during the massive fire. ?I think that heads are yet to roll here!!?

I also know that the community center and a church or two here in our small town, and down the mountain apiece, did a magnificent job in relief, with the exception of one small incident, during those trying times! There is, however, one scenario that I feel needs airing out, as it brought to mind a situation that took place about six decades ago, and half a world away! It had to do with the Red Cross ?SELLING? sandwiches to the troops that were getting ready to invade North Africa in 1942! ?But that is another story, for another time!?

I ran headlong into this particular incident, a couple of days back, while down in the foothills of the mountains. Portions of that particular town too, had been lambasted by the firestorms, and not being able to find a place to park near one little market, I opted to pull around a nearby corner.

After settling into a scarce parking space (almost everybody in the area was out buying a few foodstuffs to partially replace what was lost in the fire, either by flames or power outages), I noted that a tent had been set up by several national charities to help deal with this catastrophe! My wife and I meandered over to that tent, having ourselves lost (like everyone else up here) all of our food (No Power), and having nearly everything else smoke and ash damaged!

Well, within a moment or two, the Red Cross advised us that they were only dealing with people who where burned out, and FEMA pretty much echoed this same sentiment!

In disgust, we pointed ourselves away from that tent, but not before I let my feelings be known! As I have a voice that is as loud as my writing, I assume that anyone within 500 yards knew how I felt, especially the disaster worker that was standing right beside of me!

Well, no sooner had my words bounced off of every surrounding building in the region, than up rushed a Salvation Army worker? I had not seen the Salvation Army?s desk, which had been set up outside of the main tent like orphans, apparently!

I was invited to take a seat and told them of our situation. I signed a form, and lo and behold, they helped out with a nice voucher for food and clothing - ?No gloating, no genuflecting, and no slapping themselves on the back!? My father had always told me that the Salvation Army was A-OK in his book, and that was the charity that he favored to help. ?I now agree with that analogy totally!!?

As for President Bush Himself, he apparently visited one particular portion of the afflicted area that I know of, and has vowed help in rebuilding to those who lost it all, save for their lives. ?Unfortunately, however, some down here lost that too!!?

VERITAS