Last week I had thought of writing up a big post about Texas. I chose not to do so at that time. The impact and the scale of the storm just seemed to get worse every time I saw the news. I didn't feel it was appropriate to share my ramblings here when so many people had lost so much.
I don't know that now is a particularly "better" time to do so with Hurricane Irma headed to Florida and already having devastated some islands. It is what it is.
As I've mentioned, my brother lives in Corpus Christi, out on Padre Island. He and his family are fine, thankfully, as they were away at the time Harvey hit. They were lucky to only suffer minimal damage at their home from the storm.
Port Aransas wasn't so lucky. 13 miles. That's the difference from the minimal damage my brother got, and the people of Port A. I love Port Aransas! I visit every time I am down there. My heart goes out to the people who lost their homes and their livelihoods. I can't even imagine what it is like to go home and see nothing recognizable left.
Even scarier? This is even closer to my brother and his family. It's owned by the family of one of my niece's friends.
And then the flooding in Houston! It was like the storm was hell-bent on making sure everyone knew just how many different kinds of damage and horror it could cause.
I know many of you have already donated to a charity to help the people who lost loved ones, their homes, and/or their livelihoods. Thank you for doing so -- from the bottom of my heart.
Maybe you haven't donated yet. Maybe you just don't have the money. That's totally understandable. It doesn't make you a bad person or heartless. Everyone has their own circumstances to consider. Maybe you plan to donate in the future and just can't swing it yet. That's fine too. There have been fires in L.A. (still burning actually, about 80% out last I saw), and Hurricane Irma is on a path of destruction as we speak. Lots of people, all over the place, are going to need to help. Choose an international charity if you wish. I'm sure the people in Mumbai could use your help as well.
Maybe you want to help, you want to donate, but you just don't know what to do. There's been a lot of conflicting and (in some cases) misleading information floating around online in the last week as to which charities are "good". Go with whichever one makes you happy. Personally, I think it takes a special kind of asshole to berate someone online for where they chose to make a donation to help other people. But that's just me. It's seems to have become a constant thing in the last week.
If you have a little extra money, let me share this: Laguna Little League
That's a link to the fundraiser for my nephew's little league in Corpus Christi. Their fields got destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. As you can imagine, baseball fields are kind of low on the priority list with all of the damage that happened in the area.
I'm not saying baseball is more important than people. By all means, please give as generously and as often as you can to help the people who have lost everything! As covered above, a lot of people need help. Consider this an option being offered. It might just seem like a baseball field, but it could help bring back a sense of normalcy for some kids in Texas.
Let's try to end this on a positive note, shall we? I went back through my pictures from various trips to Texas over the years. These are some of my favorites.
My brother and sister-in-law got married on the beach in Port Aransas
Sandcastles on the beach on Padre Island
Schlitterbahn when it was still under construction
Pelicans at the National Seashore
Bob Hall Pier as seen from Mikel May's
Moby Dick's in Port Aransas
View from the tower in the park in Port Aransas
Palm trees at sunset
While waiting for the ferry in Port Aransas
The National Seashore
Taking a stroll with my brother
This is one of my favorite parade floats ever!
I'm not big on "selfies", but here you go, for those curious souls amongst you. From the Dia de los Muertos Festival in Corpus last year. This was taken after we had left, so the makeup is looking a bit rough. No judging.
No comments:
Post a Comment