THE HEART IS IN THE MIDDLE!

I am going to step away from my usual "wacky" blog so WE in the MIDDLE can try and help make a difference. Remember "THE HEART IS IN THE MIDDLE" (somebody artistic make us a logo or logos - about five of you come immediately to my mind). Most of you know of my love of the ocean and wildlife. You also know that I want my final resting place to be amongst the waves and coastlines so this blog and this disaster is close to my HEART and necessary for me to help how I can.

My, practically life-long, friend Sue pointed out yesterday that our country was so quick to run to the aid of Haiti and other parts of the World during crisis but are not seeming to do as much about the oil-spill crisis in The Gulf. It’s great that our country is so big-hearted and willing to jump in and help when there is trouble in the World but this is threatening our entire eco-system not to mention the countless people’s means of earning livings and millions of animal's lives. Is it because it is not a natural disaster like a tsunami or an earthquake? Is it because it was caused by a multi-bazillion-dollar company and we feel it should be their responsibility? We know who is to blame but blame isn’t solving the problem. We need to ban together as a national community and do what we can be it: donate money or supplies or wash birds and turtles or whatever can be done to help. I know we all have commitments but we have a commitment to our country and our planet to get this fixed. I am actually considering heading down to see how I can help. I have made a commitment to coach baseball this summer but I, being without a job, am a perfect person to offer assistance. Not to mention that I have a boat. As I type this now I am coming up with so many excuses of why I cannot do this in my mind but our entire country was founded by people that should not have done what they did yet they knew it was the right thing to do and they did it anyway. We are a country built by bootstraps and blood and sweat and a callused helping-hand. We need to help ourselves and our neighbors now.

I have researched where the help can be offered and it appears that it may be too soon for John and Jane Q. Public to get directly physically involved but the time will be here soon enough. There are talks between President Obama and B.P. of providing clean-up jobs to unemployed Americans and college students to be funded by B.P. but they have to find a way to make the jobs safe first. This seems to be the difficult part now. As I get older I feel a need to provide a legacy; I would be willing to risk my health and life so my children and descendants can prosper. It’s a pay-it-forward philosophy that our ancestors had and it has served us well as a nation for the most part. It seems better sometimes when we citizens get involved because we are just looking to do the right thing rather than to advance our corporate strategy or turn a buck.

The "GULF AID: Concert for the Coast" benefit concert was held May 22nd at Madison Square Garden and raised over $300,000. According to www.gulfaid.org, "proceeds from the concert will raise funds to stop the oil from destroying our wetlands and provide financial aid to affected fishermen and their families as oil continues to affect the Gulf of Mexico from the site of the collapsed deepwater horizon." The concert was broadcast on FUSE. Where are the Farm Aids and Aids for Africa and Feed The World songs and concerts and videos that we all heard and knew about? Where are the Hands Across America that the entire planet knew about? There was Aid for Hurricane Katrina and it seems to me that this will become, if it isn't already, more devastating than Katrina was. I didn't even know about the Gulf Aid Benefit Concert until researching for this blog. I couldn't escape some of those other benefits and the media presence is so much more prevalent now with the blogs and social networks and texts and instant updates of everything. Why did I not hear about this benefit?

There are millions and millions of people smarter and more qualified than I to help with this project but I guess I can blog this and hope it sparks some of those smart people to help us. If you know smart people or "giving" people send them this blog and maybe you and I will have done a small part to help get the word out but I do want to go to the bayou and help when it is time. My car seats 7 and we can fill the boat with supplies "so hurry up and bring your jukebox money" (sorry, it’s in my DNA). I want to put together a rag-tag team of volunteers to help save the planet...dream big! Who's in? If you're not able to, or if the opportunity doesn't actually become practical and safe, we can still get the word out and find a way to help.

Donations for Gulf Relief can be made to:
Gulf Relief Foundation
A 501 C3 Non-Profit Corporation
P.O. Box 61035
New Orleans, LA 70161
PH 504-841-2380

You can also visit www.gulfaid.org for other ways to donate like: texting a monetary donation or purchasing Gulf Aid shirts and caps.

As recording artist Lenny Kravitz put in on a recent CNN interview, “These people are locked down, out of business, they don’t know what's going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, next year...It’s a tragic situation for them, a lot of them are having to go work for BP now for pennies on the dollar and try to survive...These people are shut down man, and as you know it, it trickles down...It's not just people who are catching the fish or the shrimp, but its the driver’s and the packing houses, it's everything, and it’s just the whole industry.”

When asked who should be responsible and and what he'd like to see be done Karvitz said, “I mean first of all they need to get every genius they can get together and figure out how to stop this thing. First and foremost I think that they [BP] need to compensate these people. The amount of money that they are making is tremendous, and it wouldn’t cost them anything to take care of these people, to support them, and they’re not doing that.”

The Heart is in the Middle; let's show what the Heart is about!

** I stole all of the photos and art from the web and hope someone tries to sue me so the blog gets more attention for the gulf coast relief **