To Those in the Path of Destruction

Words cannot provide comfort when homes, loved ones, and entire towns and ways of life are destroyed.  This is the second year in a row that extra-seasonal violent storms have impacted the central and southeastern states.  To those who do not live in temperate/tropical convergence zones, do not let that stop you from giving to charitable organizations such as the Red Cross.  Weather can affect anyone in life altering ways, especially as our climate continues to undergo rapid and violent change.  Even well after "problems" have subsided, communities are still in need of assistance.  Joplin, Missouri, has still not completely recovered from their tornado run in last year, but has been largely ignored by the media.  Even in this time of economic distress, we simply cannot afford to ignore the needs of our neighbors.  There may indeed come a time when we will need help ourselves.  At the very least, give blood if you are able to, as it is in short supply even in relatively tranquil areas.  I passed through Joplin myself back in July, and I can assure anyone who asks that the devastation was brutal.

The Red Cross is a particularly helpful organization to donate to.  They do incredible work and even help to provide non-disaster related, basic medical care to people in many countries, but they are mainly well known for being beacons of assistance and stability in otherwise chaotic conditions.  The founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, actually braved raging battlefields during the American Civil War.  She and her people would find themselves in the line of fire time and again to assist those in agony and panic, work that the organization continues unceasingly to this day.

Oh, and she also had a house in Maryland not far from Washington.

Of course, she never asked for it, and she turned it into an office so she could keep on doing what she did best.  It is one of the under-visited sites in the National Capital region of the National Park Service.  Hopefully, while the 150th anniversary of the Civil War is being commemorated, the contributions made by this woman and the people like her will not go unnoticed.  Hopefully our friends and neighbors in the path of destruction will be able to see that sort of help around the corner.