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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

World of Good, San Diego Fires Style

Welcome to another World of Good (WOG) entry here at The Scratching Post. This week we'll focus on the volunteers that are helping out the fire victims all over San Diego. Well, we won't really focus on them, but instead show you about 0.001% of them. The open-hearted charity of this city has been absolutely fantastic.

All through my neighborhood, families have opened their homes to evacuees from the fire areas. There are at least three families who have taken shelter in homes on my block alone.

Yesterday, the kids and I went out to bring needed items to the one of the refugee centers at Qualcomm Stadium. We stopped at a local COSTCO and found the place full of people buying drinking water, toiletries, sleeping bags, paper goods and food for the evacuees. We talked to one couple as we shopped and they told us they were on their way down to San Diego High School where a senior citizens rest home had been evacuated. They said that Qualcomm was filled with donations, but these rest home residents needed help. We all coordinated what we were buying and headed out.

Costco was crowded and on our way out the door, I asked the woman checking receipts how many people were there buying items for donation. She said, "Everybody." It was enough to get you all choked up. My son donated all of his money to the cause as well. That was also enough to get me all choked up. :-)

When we arrived at SDHS, here's what we saw.

There was talk of moving the senior citizens to another facility, one with air conditioning. The owner of this truck offered to take our goods to the new site.


While we were there, cars with donations kept pulling up.


These folks had volunteered to guide donations and direct traffic. They were not city employees.


We were there only about ten minutes, but people just kept coming with more donations.


This couple had bought a brand new cot/sleeping bag and some Depends for the seniors. Fantastic!

I'm not sure how to close this post. It was a fantastic example of free citizens taking care of each other with only administrative support from the government. Things got done quickly and cheerfully. Others on the Internet have complained about FEMA and other agencies. That's silly. We're here to help each other and we can all act faster than any bureaucracy. We're here to do a World of Good.

For more WOG posts, a description of why we WOG and how to join the fashionable and chic WOG Squad, visit this post.

Update: I forgot to mention this little anecdote. A family from the Catholic school my daughter attends wrote an email out to everyone on the school mailing list offering room in their house for any family or relatives fleeing from the fire areas. It's been that kind of reaction here in San Diego.

10 comments:

  1. KT, WoG? Is this similar to what Jim Rome calls "niiiiiiice radio"?

    Seriously. The public response has been staggering.

    All the more reason to keep leaning forward and continue fighting with a happy heart.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KT.......Don't blush, but You are a World of Good.

    People who needed information didn't get it from the MSM knuckle heads.

    You gave it to them. Give Jacob a pile of shaved carrots. Send the bill to me.

    (sorry, can't help the humor)
    Respectfully,
    Wolf

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, howls. I got paid back in spades the last few days. Three days of absolutely monster hit counts. Almost a thousand on Tuesday, 4,000+ yesterday and about 1200 today. I was glad to help.

    As for niiiice radio, well, not really. Here's my underlying concept.

    ReplyDelete
  4. K T, I know. But I still resent you because that post reminded me of what Ayn Rand was whispering in my ear the other night... and it was you that set us up at that science-fiction writer match-making website you posted on last week.

    I realize that it was actually "Which Sci-Fi writer are you?" but I was, you know, lonely and just looking for a little clean fun. And now the woman won't leave me alone. Thanks, KT, thanks a million.

    Suckered in San Diego

    ReplyDelete
  5. 'howls, speaking of MSM... my fingers slipped and I wound up at MSNBC watching Olberman interview our esteemed lt. governor. Garamendi couldn't help but inject the War as a reason for National Guard shortage here working the fire.

    Paraphrasing: "... and I've had to write too many letters to families of family members who won't be coming home..." Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

    He then had the nerve to call Bush's visit here tomorrow a "photo op". Oh really? And what would you call your own visit here Governor Lite? What are you bringing to the table except your own agenda?

    OMG... I wish these people would just go home and let the firefighters, medical techs, Guard, police AND citizens alone to do their job.

    ReplyDelete
  6. that really is a great example of people pitching in to help others. While I do believe that humans can't live without the help of fire fighters and other emergency workers, it's true that in a tragedy like this fire, ordinary people must also get involved.

    ReplyDelete
  7. dean.......100% agreement on
    Gare-Offends-me. Actually, it's difficult to think of a politico that "doesn't" offend me.

    That's why I avoid writing politics. I get to worked up in the wrong direction.......

    Everybody has an agenda, unfortunately, these Twit-Weasels,(Copy Write Pending), also have Microphones.

    Hey......KT runs a "dating" service? Hmmph, always the last to know....

    Wollf

    ReplyDelete
  8. No dating services here! Only shedding, snoozing and running endlessly in a wheel.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. howls', I'm a voluntary evacuee in Vegas, right now. I never thought I'd leave San Diego for cooler, cleaner air in Las Vegas.

    If I get a chance, I'll link to KT's Sci-Fi writer dating service - I want everyone to be as miserable as I am right now.

    ReplyDelete