There’s Still Time

In the remaining 32 or so hours left in 2006, I’m encouraging my small but loyal readership to head out to One House at a Time, and make whatever contribution you can to help rebuild Pearlington MS.

Whether or not you are from a small town, I think there’s a longing for smaller, slower, and sustainable living conditions in each of us.

SWMBO and I gave as we’ve been blessed, and I’d encourage you all to do likewise. The Feds aren’t helping, so we have to do it ourselves.

-k-

Technorati Tags: ,

Born in a Small Town

Clayton Cubitt, of Operation Eden fame, has a new post where he discusses to ongoing efforts to restore the Katrina-devastated town of Pearlington MS.

There is a project aptly called One House at a Time, whose charter is to help the people of Pearlington get back on their feet, with affordable housing.

Being a small town, kinda’ in the middle of nowhere, Pearlington doesn’t get the press, either good or bad, of New Orleans, Biloxi, and other larger places. They have very little voice and they are easier to ignore I guess because few people had heard of Pearlington from the git-go.

The last paragraph of the post hit me where I live:

As I write this winter is almost upon us in the Gulf. Did you know that the FEMA trailers people waited so long to get are being taken away in February? Will the citizens of Pearlington be back to living in tents then? Not if One House At A Time can help it, and you can help them. Like I said, Pearlington was never much to look at. It’s no New Orleans. It’s no Biloxi. But it’s a part of America that’s fading fast and deserves to survive. Because if you go far enough back, all our families come from some place like Pearlington.

I come from a small town myself; my parents and grandparents came from even smaller towns. As the year end approaches, SWMBO and I donate to a few mutually-agreed-upon worthwhile causes. This year, I think we’ll add One House at a Time to the list. Because small places like it do deserve to survive. Go read Clayton’s post. Maybe you’ll agree.

-k-

Technorati Tags: ,

Operation Eden at one Year

Clayton Cubitt is back, on this, the one year Katrina date. He has an absolutely beautiful picture of his Mom, and some of his great writing here. He talks about the outpouring of support his mother has received. I’ll cite one paragraph from the post:

One day there’s a moldering heap of rubble, the next day hippie volunteers from Burning Man bulldoze it and take it away. One day it’s a flat slab of concrete, the next day a pre-fab home kit is delivered by One House At A Time and New Hope Construction. One day there’s a jumble of materials, the next day a church group from Oregon shows up and builds the frame and shell. A little later a group from Pennsylvania shows up and paints it my mom’s favorite shade of green, and puts a tin roof on so she can hear the rain fall at night. And not to be outdone, a group from Alabama comes over and sheet rocks the interior, then comes back and builds her a deck for good measure.

Read the whole thing.

-k-

Technorati Tags:

Operation Eden: Merry Christmas From Pearlington

Check this out: Operation Eden: Merry Christmas From Pearlington.

We’ve all posted our Seasons Greetings on our blogs; we’ve left comments conveying best wishes on our friends’ blogs. This is right and proper. All of our mutual best wishes, heartfelt though they are, are rather meager compared to the joy and the good news in the piece herein linked. Read it. I’ll quote a small part:

This is a story the major media hasn’t picked up on yet, but it’s one you need to know about. If you’ve been feeling helpless in the face of all the destruction, as I must confess I have, this shows you one way you can help save lives, one way you can help rebuild lives. This movement is happening right now, in your own backyard, and it’s people like you that are behind it. They need your help.

If you’d like to join this movement, one house at a time, if you’d like to offer your support in any way, please contact Habitat For Humanity of Walton County at 850-835-0067, or visit www.waltoncountyhabitat.org

Check out the phone number or the link. One house at a time. One family at a time. One gift. One that keeps on giving. Do it. I plan to.

Merry Christmas.

-k-

Technorati Tags: