Hurricane Heroes

It has been ten-days since the landfall of Hurricane Ike, which for many living along the upper Gulf Coast of Texas caused time to stand still.
Much has happened in that time…and little has changed.

The politicians are still fussing and fighting over what to do about the economy and the federal bail out of financial giants deemed too big to fail…

The two Presidential Candidates and their running mates continue to astound and amaze the general public with their wealth of knowledge about why their opponent would make a lousy choice in November…

And here in the Houston-Galveston corridor, the clean-up continues, the lights are coming on slowly but surely, and I am reminded of a phrase that was told me by an acquaintance this summer, Belinda Postman-Kaylani, who said, "not all heroes wear capes."
Think about that.

Not all heroes wear capes.
Some of them wear hard hats and heavy gloves and ride cherry-picker lifts to dizzying heights to clear tangled power lines, or replace blown-out transformer canisters…

Not all heroes wear capes.
Some of them wear ball caps and knee-high rubber boots, and push water, and muck, and mud out the front door of convenience stores, ground-floor apartments, and hotel lobbies that were inundated by Hurricane Ike’s storm surge…

Not all heroes wear capes…
Some of them wear sneakers, shorts and t-shirts imprinted with their employer’s logo, or their college fraternity or sorority letters--or just anything they happened to grab--before they headed out from their house with no electricity or water or roof…and lined up with other volunteers at the POD locations around town to help distribute ice and water and M-R-E’s…

No, not all heroes wear capes.
And not all heroes think themselves to be heroic.

But to each of you who lent a hand, climbed up on a roof to tack down a blue plastic sheet, cooked a meal, washed a load of dirty laundry, or carved up a fallen tree…to someone, you are a hero.

You are heroic.

And Houston-Galveston is home to some of the most heroic people on earth.

One of those heroic groups is The Lighthouse Charity Team, which is one of the non-profit 501 (c) 3 organizations that has been providing the behind the scenes support for those providing support behind the scenes. That means The Lighthouse has been providing 3-meals a day for the Office of Emergency Management, City Employees, Police, Fire and EMT crews as they responded to the community of Friendswood.

The Lighthouse teams and equipment are now stationed at the Del Papa Distribution Center in Galveston, providing 2 meals a day for 250 emergency workers, including Galveston Police, Fire fighters, National Guardsmen, and other recovery groups.

These are heroes helping heroes…and they are in need of—and worthy of—your financial support. Those of you with your lights on, you can still help. If you, your business, your neighbors, or anyone else you know is in a position to donate time, contact The Lighthouse today.

Volunteers are the strongest asset of The Lighthouse. If you’ve got your hands full, putting your own life back together, but can provide financial assistance, you can be a hero in that way, too. Pay Pal is set up now on The Lighthouse website—or you can call Scott Gordon this morning at 281-482-9400.

There are lots and lots of our neighbors still in need of help.
There are lots and lots of ways that you can provide help.
This is your opportunity to be a hero, too.