I went through a hurricane once. Hurricane Gloria hit Massachusetts in 1985, when I was 8 years old. I remember being pretty scared that our house would get flattened and I'd squished by a flying oil tanker running for cover. That didn't happen of course--as far as hurricanes go, Gloria was rather weak. We had a large tree knocked down in the backyard, but beyond that, no property damage and no one was hurt. But I still remember how scared I was crouching in the basement.

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans this week. I think everyone underestimated what happened--we all knew there would be flooding, property damage, and loss of life. But looking at the news no one could have predicted this.

New Orleans is gone. It may take years to rebuild. They may never recover. If you lived in New Orleans, everything you had--home, possessions, maybe even family--is gone. Now looting and violence has broken out. I saw a picture today of a dead body just floating in a flooded area. It's like Armageddon playing out in one pocket of the world.

Anything we do seems so meager. Even if I sold my possessions and gave every dime I had, it's like trying to remove sand from a beach and taking three grains.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't give--give til it hurts, food, money, blood, clothes. A little hope and a prayer would be nice too.

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