BillLindau

hurricane benefits

Here, There and Everywhere with Bill
So much owed by so many to so -- many
By Bill Lindau
We wouldn’t wish anything like Hurricane Katrina on our worst enemies. Most of us in Montgomery County, in North Carolina and in every other place in the world including Sri Lanka weren’t personally affected by the event, except for those pain-in-the-neck soaring gas prices. But so many of us pitched in to help all those people in the Deep South who found their homes destroyed and their loved ones dead.
To put a variation on Winston Churchill’s famous comment on the Royal Air Force fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain, never has so much been owned by so many to so -- many.
It has been such a treat to see so many merchants, so many religious organizations, so many individuals taking up collections of money, food, anything to help the refugees from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. And you cannot say enough about the firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police officers, military personnel and just plain compassionate people who have gone down into those areas and gotten out the people -- and animals -- who couldn’t get out in time.
Rave reviews go to the Rolling Stones, P. Diddy, Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow and other artists for putting on concerts to benefit all the hurricane victims. We don’t care what a bunch of sanctimonious right-wingers says about those celebrities. They donate and raise about as much money as anybody in the world. They don’t do it with anybody’s taxes and they keep us entertained in the process.
I was astounded to hear of so many countries -- including those in Europe and Asia -- pitching in to help out the richest nation in the world. They may have a huge problem with that cretin in the White House and his gang of yes-person, but they know that’s not what the American people are all about. So many people in the world still love us, “Simpsons” and all. I knew that when I went abroad a number of years ago and met a lot of people who thought we were pretty cool, all things considered.
It was sad to see so many dogs, cats, horses and other animals left behind to fend for themselves. It was also good to see so many people caring enough about them to go in there and find them. The newspapers, magazines and TV programs are full of stories with happy endings -- namely, animals reunited with their owners.
A recent issue of People magazine ran a front-page photo I’m not likely to forget: A rescue worker carrying a large dog on his shoulders through chest-deep water. I think somebody should put that photo on a T-shirt, Jim.
This is a problem I have with certain rescue organizations: They won’t let anybody using their shelters bring their pets with them.
Somebody said people come first. But I think these groups should make allowances for dogs and cats. It so burns me up to see some vapid bureaucrat who doesn’t have any companion animals make rules like that. Some compassionate individual that is!
If I had been down there with Blackie, my oft-reported on black tomcat, nobody would’ve been able to separate us. If somebody told me I had to leave him behind, I’d have said, “Fine, then you can leave me behind, too.”
I mean, I’d want them to take my parents (if they were alive), my lady and any kids I may have. Of course I care about the members of the two-legged species in my life. But to leave one of my best friends behind, on two legs or four?
As my late friend Pete Walls would have put it, I have two words to anybody who’d tell me to leave Blackie behind, and they aren‘t “Kiss me.”
You might say, “Well, somebody will have to go back there and find them.”
Yeah, right! Those rescue workers and other volunteers were having a hard enough time finding three-to-six and one-half foot tall individuals, let alone six-pound cats and 20-pound dogs.
Responders in the American Humane Association deserve medals for what they did, rescuing as many animals as they did. The American Red Cross has been taking care of people, while animal-welfare groups such as the AHA dealt with the companion animals those people left behind.
The AHA cites one incident in which two of its responders heard what sounded like a human crying.
“They notified the federal emergency team in the area (Gonzales, La.), which broke into the house, followed by American Humane,” a Sept. 12 AHA log said. “Then, mystery solved! Inside was a tiny Chihuahua, happy to get food and water and be rescued to safety. Needless to say, John (Marrett, the AHA responder) and his partner got a little ribbing from the federal emergency team.“
The log also said three volunteers in Gonzales had been doing relief work for 14 days. They were about to catch some shuteye when some of them saw a dog running around and went after it. Although it was about 1 a.m., “they wouldn’t be getting into their beds until they’d gotten the dog to safety.”
A log from Sept. 8 describes how much tougher it is to do water rescue operations that require breaking and entering, than to just get people and animals off roofs of flooded buildings.
For one thing, it takes a lot more time, the AHA said.
“In situations where animals are just plucked from roofs, etc. a good team can average 4-6 animals an hour but a difficult access may take an hour just to get in,” the log stated.
“You need to remember that in floods, your platform is your boat and that is not the most stable area to put a ladder. Couple that with never really knowing what you are going to find on the other side and you have all the ingredients for a scary rescue.”
The writer recalled a situation years ago when responders had to break out the front window of a home to look for something inside.
“As we were shining our light in, out jumped a 100-lb German Shepherd taking the remainder of the window and frame with him,” he said. “He had had about enough of the water rising in the home and decided to take his chances outside.”
Rolling Stone says these groups are the best bet for anybody who wants to help:
* The American Red Cross. It is the largest non-government organization handling the crisis in New Orleans. Call the area office in Albemarle to help, at 1-704-982-0070 or long on to www.redcross.org to donate, find out further developments or otherwise help out
* Moveon.org now has a Web site, www.hurricanehousing.org, than links refugees with people offering spare beds
* A nationwide food-bank network called Second Harvest. It feeds people in situations such as this. Its Web site is www.secondharvest.org.
The same issue of Rolling Stone, dated Sept. 22, listed several benefit shows that have already taken place. The major TV networks carried one of them on Friday, Sept. 9. Man, I am so mad! -- but let me explain: I was at home and so zonked that I fell asleep right before it came on. I missed the whole thing. I really needed the sack time because I had a really busy morning the next day, and that Saturday night we were going to see Coldplay in Raleigh, at the Alltel Pavilion (by the way, they were bloody awesome!).
That same night, the Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, the Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow, Green Day and other performers got together for a telethon on MTV, VH!, CMT and VH1 Classic, Rolling Stone reported. Proceeds are going to benefit the Red Cross and other relief groups. On Sept. 2, NBC aired a telethon that sparked a real brouhaha, when Kanye West said “George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
Black Entertainment Television put on a benefit show as well, on Sept. 9, featuring Stevie Wonder, Chris Rock, Jay-Z and P. Diddy, among others. A show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre took place Sept. 12, with Dave Matthews band among the acts.
We believe there are more benefit concerts that will take place these next few weeks, with Coldplay among the other groups committing.
Man, that is so great. This is what human compassion is all about. Rock on!
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Contact reporter Bill Lindau at blindau52@yahoo.com or (910) 975-3073.

posted by Bill Lindau @ 5:32 PM