Hurricane Relief

So here's the deal. I mentioned in passing the other day that my cousin Sam recently moved to New Orleans a couple weeks before I moved here to Georgia and that I was more prone to send him cash in an envelope than to donate money to the Red Cross and hope it finds a way to touch him. At the request of one of my friends and loyal readers, Saybolt, I am going to expound on Sam's story and provide a temporary mailing address for him just in case others feel the way that I do.

My cousin Sam Landherr is a member of the Coast Guard, as is his lovely wife Heather. In May of this year they relocated to a suburb outside of New Orleans and decided to buy a home that they could grow into over the coming years. Sam and Heather are hitting the late 20's and are beginning to think about starting a family. For the past week and a half they have been living in a hotel in Alexandria, Louisiana and working 14 hour days to help with relief efforts. I guess it kind of sucks to be hit with the devastation on a personal level by having to evacuate your newly purchased home, have it destroyed while you can do nothing and then on top of it all, selflessly continue to do your job. Having Sam down there I get to here about all the stuff that the media isn't portraying on TV and I can tell you, this disaster is a lot more incredible than you or I think it is. And today I found out that Sam and Heather are being split up by the Coast Guard, Sam is staying put in Alexandria and Heather is being sent to Baton Rogue, since there just aren't enough people to help out in all the areas that need support. I think about what these two are going through right now and feel completely shallow and self centered to always being whining about crap and talking about what movie was good or bad. Not that I'm going to stop with that, it's just this event is putting things in perspective for me. While I mull over whether I will go see a movie or shop for shit I don't need today, Sam is driving to his home for the first time since the hurricane hit to assess what the damage is, i.e. tally up EVERYTHING that is gone.

Anyway, I'm putting some cash in a card and sending it Sam and Heather. I'm sure they aren't expecting it, and in the grand scheme of things it's a small act that won't make things much better for them. But I want them to know that I care about their situation and like I mentioned before, I know first hand that they are in a position to use all the help they can get. If the urge strikes you to donate some money, perhaps you would consider sending them something directly as well. Or maybe you could take the time to write up a little card to say that you are thinking about them. It's just a thought.

Samuel and Heather Landherr
c/o Louisiana Convention Center Hotel
2301 N. MacArthur Drive
Room 253
Alexandria, LA 71301