Support the Red Cross

I am dead tired exhausted. Frankenstorm was renamed Superstorm Sandy when she officially died as a hurricane.

My heart goes out to those affected by the storm.  It's the aftermath that is worse than the storm itself. The chaos, the lack of power.  Business and lives interrupted   Watching people you thought were sane and nice turn ugly and crazy. It happens sometimes.

If you want to help victims of the recent storms, donate to the RED CROSS. They are the best. Founded in 1863 they know how to help people the fastest.  I am always leery and amazed at the sheer number of  "new" charities that pop up after any and every disaster. So many have overpaid administrators hiding behind their facade. They can't possibly open up overnight and have the  manpower, experience and organization skills that the Red Cross has.   I've seen the Red Cross in action.  No charity can do what they do on a worldwide basis on a moment's notice.

I can't believe for the last 2 mornings it's been 43F degrees in Florida. I've had to pile up on the clothes and worship my little electric heater. My furnace won't come on and I haven't figured out why yet.

The night they evacuated the campground here, they asked for my keys to the little ATV I drive. They moved it maybe 100 feet, then lost the keys for the next 3 days. Poor Harley, as soon as they found the keys and moved it 100 feet back to my campsite, he ran over, leaped into it and acted like he was thrilled to have it back. Such a funny dog!

In the wee hours of the morning we had a unique fire at the campground, twenty feet up in the air!  Pictures coming soon...

The American Red Cross is continuing a major relief operation throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast to shelter and assist people affected by Superstorm Sandy. Millions awoke this morning to power outages, fallen trees, scattered debris, and flooded neighborhoods and the Red Cross is working hard to get help where it is needed.

Nearly 11,000 people spent Monday night in more than 250 Red Cross shelters across 16 states including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Indiana, and Michigan. These numbers could increase as the storm moves into cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee with heavy wind, rain and snow.

“Our first priority is to get people the help they need – providing families and individuals with a safe place to stay and food to eat,” said Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of Disaster Services for the Red Cross. “While it is too early to know the full extent of Sandy’s damage, we expect to be working with a variety of partners to help people for the next several weeks.”

The Red Cross has mobilized 1,700 disaster workers from all over the country who have served more than 25,000 meals and snacks so far. We have also activated 167 response vehicles and shipped in more than 230,000 ready-to-eat meals. This is a huge disaster, bigger than any one organization can handle and the Red Cross is working closely with multiple partners including a variety of civic groups, advocacy organizations, professional organizations and houses of worship to share their expertise and volunteers.

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