Japan needs our help in many ways. They will need clean drinking water, clothes, shoes, blankets, basic first aid, medical professionals, food, contractors, help getting in touch with loved ones in thier country and around the globe and much more. These are just some of the basics. We can all help with donations, physical labor or emotional support. Please find a local charity that you trust and believe in and donate your time or money. The American Red Cross is always in need of volunteers to help pack and ship items and your local churches are collecting donations and will also need volunteers to help with packing and shipping boxes.  As you can see there are many ways we help. You don’t always need to donate with cash. I urge you to get involved today.

If you have never felt lucky, then the events of last Friday should give you a wake up call. I know it did for me. I was depressed and moody because I haven’t been able to work because of an ankle injury. I am going to have surgery soon and will be back on my feet and to work, so that has turned me around a bit. BUT… The earthquake that hit Japan could have easily happened anywhere and the tsunami that hit within fifteen minutes of the quake could have been more devastating that it was for a whole lot of people. So I for one, consider myself very lucky that I was in my neck of the woods and escaped that disaster. My little problem, as much of an issue it is for me on a daily basis, is nothing as compared to the bigger picture of what Japan is facing today. The effects of the quake on their society and culture and the impact on their lives on many levels is beyond our comprehension. We should all thank G-d, our lucky stars, our guardian angels or whoever you pray to, that we are alive today and be grateful for whatever we have and how we have attained it. It could be gone tomorrow in the blink of an eye. Just like that. Just like the people of Japan.