Day 67
There is nothing like a catastrophe to keep one’s mind off of consumerism. I used the term catastrophe in place of natural disaster which I want to use, but it’s possible the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs was set by some wanker, in which case the term natural disaster isn’t particularly accurate. The term, heinous crime, comes to mind. But, since they haven’t quite determined the origin, I will just stick with catastrophe, or tragedy.
Although, the airlines don’t agree with my assessment of the situation. I had a quick trip to Dallas scheduled for Wednesday and didn’t really feel good about leaving my kids with a babysitter while fire and brimstone rained down, just across the highway. But, when I called American Airlines to ask if they would refund the ticket or, at the very least, waive the change fee, I was told, “we don’t have a policy for fire, just hurricanes, tsunamis and tornadoes.”
It probably didn’t help my case any when I snapped, “What about plague and locusts? Do you have a policy for any other biblical disasters?” She didn’t even miss a beat when she said, “No, but I do see blizzard here as well.”
OK, that’s funnier now, than it was then.
Colorado Springs has really rallied to support all those affected. Everyone wants to help and many local agencies have really picked up the ball.
So many things have been lost and of course, even worse, two lives. All the news coverage includes encouraging people to donate money to the various agencies, The Red Cross seems to be the primary one, also a local Care and Share food bank and The Humane Society are often mentioned.
Which I certainly understand, I used to be the assistant director at a food bank. We could always use the cash in a more efficient fashion than a direct donation of a pallet of light up Christmas jewelry or a case of neon scotch tape. It is not that the locals didn’t appreciate a nice pair of blinking Santa earrings in their food box and scotch tape always comes in handy—I guess even if you’re homeless. So I am a proponent of the cash donation, these agencies can buy necessary items at a bulk savings and store them appropriately.
Having said that, it does seem like there are so many of us with so many extra things that we could easily share them with those people that are displaced and/or have lost their home if we had an appropriate outlet. But, there doesn’t seem to be many agencies interested in this kind of help.
Except—Goodwill Industries, I was in one of their thrift stores a couple of days ago and an evacuee was using a voucher to pick up a few things. I think it’s human nature to want to directly help. For instance, we would like our towels and bedding to go specifically to a fire victim, but I guess the logistics of that are not always possible. And at Goodwill they could go to a fire victim, but even if it didn’t go directly to them, the proceeds will still support some great programs and that is true no matter what city you live in. Plus, Goodwill does a great job of finding new life for all kinds of things.
A note from Goodwill’s local website.
Through a partnership with El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs, Discover Goodwill is assisting with Waldo Canyon’s fire emergency response by accepting material donations and providing voucher assistance for those impacted by the fire. If you need voucher assistance, please call 867-1117. Thank you.
Nice use of “wanker” and completely appropriate.
Always entertaining and informative too:) Keep the smiles coming!
Loving all your tips. Getting Mckenzie, (granddaughter), ready for college by going to Goodwill and finding wonderful surprises for her room. We are painting baskets, good mirror and revamping a lamp. Keep up the good work. I find your blog fun and informative. Enjoy your week with your Mom.
You always brighten my day! Keep the faith sister.
OK, reading your past blogs that I missed. I thought you would find this amusing but, while I was sitting in the court room, I could only think “%#$&!! REALLY?”
Luke and I have had a 5 year old foster daughter for the past 14 months that we hope one day will be a permanent part of our family. I find myself going to court when either of her biological parents are there regarding her case, even if I am only to sit in the back and state my name and “foster parent” at this point. As one parent has been incarcerated since before this child could crawl and is currently chained to the court room floor, his lawyer requests a clothing allowance for the future jury trial that will be taking place regarding his ability to parent this child. The Judge ordered an allowance for 2 shirts, one pair of pants, and one pair of shoes from, you guessed it, GOOD WILL!! I have been told that they will also cover the table with a nice table cloth to hide his chains as they don’t want to bias the jury. Really? The fact that he is in jail should not be considered when the jury is deciding if he is worthy of being this child’s parent?
I always donate to Good Will as it is an excellent non-profit with a valuable mission. Sadly, that day, my vision of my items helping fire victims or the average hard working parent trying to make ends meet was smothered by visions of my husband’s clothing replacing the orange jump suit for the Big day for a man from the Big House.