Love/Haiti

It doesn't take very long to forget. To move on. To get wrapped up in what Tiger is doing, or Leno, or our kids or our friends or our exes, and blessedly fall back into the habits that make up our day-to-day lives.
I remember, just a few short weeks after watching the 9/11 attacks from a block away and then seeing those two symbolic, people-filled buildings succumb to the evil that had ripped into them, realizing that life goes on. It was important, that realization. A relief I suppose, but somehow sort of unbelievable. People were going back to work, back to school, back to the malls, even as those of us in lower Manhattan were still cocooned, still inundated by the smell, the taste, the very aura of fear and death. And then, before too long, even we were back to work. Back to the business of living. That's good. That's healthy. That's life.
From an emotional standpoint, September 11th, 2001 will always be the worst thing I will ever experience. But to know that just a couple hundred miles away from where my beautiful best friend lives is devastation on a scale that makes Ground Zero look paltry is almost too big for me to take in. It's not the same for me. But it's the same for them. They're not watching Madonna sing, or hearing Halle Berry ask for help on their behalf. And tonight, because I'm lucky enough to have this outlet where a tiny little group of people actually tune in from time to time to hear what I have to say, I'm making my own plea for their help.
Give what you can.
I'm guessing your cell phone is probably somewhere within ten feet or so of you, no? Have you taken the mere seconds to text a message that will help?
We live in a country where one of our biggest problems is obesity.
We have an entire network devoted to food.
I have no shortage of complaints, y'all know that. I don't work very much, so I'm always broke. But I'm lucky enough to have a loving, supportive family who think it's mostly fantastic that I write instead of having a real job. I get my heart broken on a weirdly regular basis. I just decided to not eat anything for eight days, because I was tired of not having cheekbones and because I could squeeze a happy face into my stomach if I was sitting at the right angle. These are real problems. But sometimes a little perspective comes into our lives. It's a humbling perspective. A demanding one.
I have ten dollars. I gave.
If you have ten dollars, give.
If you have a job, give.
If you have somewhere to go should you lose your job, give.
If you have a child, give.
If you are someone's child, give.
If you took a shower today, give.
If you ran to the grocery store this week, give.
If you'll take a vacation this year, give.
If you'll rest your head on a pillow tonight, give.
If you are healthy, give.
If you are home, give.
I don't want to sound bossy. I don't mean to be preachy. But please, please my sweet readers, my generous friends, give what you can.

Visit HopeForHaitiNow.org.
Text YELE to 501501 to donate $5, and visit Wyclef's Yele Haiti site for updates and more ways to help.
Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross, directly on your cell phone bill.
Help Habitat for Humanity rebuild Haiti's shelters and homes.
Support the children of Haiti by donating any amount to UNICEF.
Download songs from the Hope for Haiti Now event at iTunes.com/Haiti.
Or simply go to Google, search for a cause that means something special to you, and contribute in the way that is most meaningful to you.

Spread the word. Spread the love.

Yanick, wherever you are, I'm praying for you and your family.