IF there is one thing I hate, it's to see some one or some animal go unloved (albeit humans are more of a priority). I keep wanting to donate my time to the Humane Society, but I know I would come home with every cute kitten, and I would beg them not to euthanize any older, unadopted cats. So, I've been trying to watch for the coupons in the papers to score free pet food and supplies and when I get enough, take them down there.
I also keep wanting to see if the crisis pregnancy center needs help, but I'm not sure what their stance on life is (i.e. does it offer pro-life services or something else...)
But more pressing, I want to help the people and animals on the Gulf Coast. My family is from the Gulf, and my cousin wrote me a letter talking about the oil spill. She knew some of the people out there on the rig, but they came back ok. But she was telling me about the people who didn't. Little boys and girls who lost their fathers. And she was telling me that for a lot of people down there, working the rig is a way of life. Now what will they do? How will they pay the bills? Where is their family's food going to come from? Moreover, news reports are saying that this spill will wipe out most of Louisiana's seafood supply for the next year, and it's continually getting worse by the minute.
I told Joshua that we don't have anything to do for the next couple of weeks and if they were taking volunteers, we should go down and help. However, I don't think they are taking volunteers. But so far, this is the most practical thing I've found: if you're getting your hair cut or you cut your own, DON'T THROW OUT THE HAIR. Make sure you wash your hair before you cut it, then cut your hair, then sweep it into a ziplock bag. Hair naturally soaks up oil, and these nice people take the donated hair and old stockings and make what is called "booms." Volunteers then use these booms to soak up the oil from the spill and clean up the ocean for all the little critters.
What really irritates me is all this talk about going green and green this and green that and environmental responsibility, and then something like this happens, and it just doesn't feel like everyone (and by everyone I mean talking heads in the media) has a sense of urgency about Nashville or the Gulf. I feel like they just mention it because it's on the teleprompter.
But this is something I have firmly believed about the South, and something I discussed in my Master's thesis that you learn about the South and shows in its literature: The South may not be Christ-centered, but it is certainly Christ haunted. The reason we haven't flown away from the Faith is that as a region, we experienced our Fall in the aftermath of the war. We had nothing. All we really had to turn to after the war was our Faith. And whenever something like this happens to us as a region, we don't go praying to the government to fix us. We fall on our knees and pray, and then we do as God commanded us to do: Love your neighbor. I've never known of any good, true (notice the qualifiers there) Southerner to refuse to give help to someone in need, especially when it's our own.
I implore you, if you're cutting your hair anytime soon, save it because this spill is not letting up anytime soon because of the inability to cap the hole. And if I come to mass any time soon and my hair is significantly shorter, you'll know why. :)
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