I have watched in utter heartbreak the homes of neighbors and friends, the businesses of my own wife and others get destroyed by what now appears to be a surprise hurricane over the past weekend. Last night a reported 200,000 people were still without power and/or were unable to get to their homes, and some people will not be able to even get to their homes until tomorrow. Even with the difficulty they have faced this weekend, this is only the beginning. As the water subsides and streets begin to look normal again, the lives of these people will be far from normal. Water has destroyed their homes and everything in them as well as their businesses and everything associated with them.
So, I am combing through the Internet searching far and wide, and I can't seem to find an outpour of aide for these poor people. Homeless, without food and clothing, possibly without a way to earn a living. . . Oh. . . that's right, we are still helping people in Haiti and Chile. I guess we will have to get in line behind New Orleans. . . Ooops, I forgot, they must be OK because they aren't in the news anymore. . .
Maybe because we aren't a third world country that doesn't have a government with a pot to piss in we are not "Sexy" enough to help. Who wants to help those who are from Wayne, Pompton Lakes, Fairfield, Sussex, and the surrounding neighborhoods? They have front lawns and cars and running water and electricity. They have lived in the lap of luxury for years. Maybe it is time that they appreciate what it is like to be impoverished. BOLONEY!!
Our country is in a recession, most of these people are living check to check (If that) and I have seen NOTHING over the past 4-5 days remotely resembling the outpour we had for Haiti. Our governor just obliterated the budget, people are getting laid off, schools are losing money, and now these people are expected to fend for themselves.
So New Jersey is good enough to give you the Sopranos, Jersey Shore, the Cake Boss, the Housewives BS, Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Sinatra, Frankie Valli, etc.. . . With all it has given throughout the years, how about a little bit of appreciation?
Oh I forgot Haiti gave us Wycleff Jean. . .I guess we're even.
I'm waiting to hear from my wife about the damage to her kettlebell gym. She and her partner are going to assess the damages this afternoon.
A sad side note. The NJ homepage mentions nothing regarding helping our neighbors.
I did find this link that leads to a state page. Those who want to help might want to check out here:
http://www.state.nj.us/whattodo.shtml
Hi Randy,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Rich Taylor and you met with my father at a business lunch. I was going to wait to contact you until my dad passed along an email address or phone number, but once I saw this post, I just HAD to chime in.
It seems as if you and I share a similar path that led us to take a chance on doing what we love. Now, it also seems as if we share VERY similar views on world, national and local affairs as well.
You are absolutely correct in your assessment of this emergency in New Jersey. I assure you a bit further south in the New Brunswick area, Princeton and down by us in Mercer county and Bucks county that there is widespread damage as well.
I actually thought Haiti WAS in fact back to normal... I have not heard it mentioned on the news for a few days, so that automatically must mean that all is well there, right???
Well, since we have all these problems here in New Jersey, I'm sure they will re-do "we are the world" for NJ, right???
No, of course not. The sad fact is that the celebrities in the Hollywood scene and the media by and large do not give domestic problems the coverage and support it deserves. I got into big threads on facebook after Haiti urging all of the people in my network to take half of whatever they were considering donating to Haiti and give the other half to a local charity.
Here in the Trenton area and in New Brunswick where I am building my business there is widespread hunger and poverty every single day. The children suffer especially and I really think it is shameful for us to be out gallivanting around the globe when there are extreme conditions here at home.
I am involved with a charity called the Aaron Joseph Dornan Foundation.
http://www.ajdfoundation.org/
I know the people who operate this and they have been huge supporters of my family and my business.
These people are true saints. In a nutshell, their son was killed in a car accident and they took his college fund a started this modest charity, formed a 501c3 and got to work. Over the years they have fostered many children and been mentors in their community. Most impressively, they pay the entire operating cost of the foundation, essentially meaning that the entire 100% of all donations go directly to the groups that they work with, mostly benefiting under privileged children in the Hartford, CT area where they live and ironically, also in Haiti.
Anyway, I am pleased to make your acquaintance here and refreshed to know that there are still folks out there that truly care about things here at home and are not afraid to let it be known. I look forward to future contact and would love to find out more about what you have going on at NightStand.
GREAT post!!! Have a good day and congrats on being recognized for your all your work.
Rich Taylor
rmtaylor@studio3nj.com
Sadly, Randy, I think the global perception of America as a rich, stressfree nation is as inaccurate as the perception that all Italians are mobsters and that people from New Jersey are rude and heartless. I have seen a lot of love this past week as my own basement was destroyed - yes - valuable lessons learned: my son realized mommy isn't crazy for wanting him to put toys away in the bins as those bins saved his toys, Daddy realized mommy wasn't so crazy for being a nut about organizing - as little of the house stuff was ruined - and mommy - mommy saw her life in film and photos float by because my bins were crates - ha ha ha. Meanwhile, the outpouring of love from my neighbors extended not just to me but to other neighbors who had flooded basements.
ReplyDeleteMy builder rose to the occassion - even though our 'one year warranty' expired in December - and he and his crew worked for almost 12 hours straight to get us out of our dire situation with the least amount of damage.
I don't expect to watch anyone raise money for NJ. I am going to think twice about supporting all of the actors and actresses who encouraged people in this county to give to those countries. Hey - with their salaries - what they do is their business, but much like ABC holding me a hostage so that as a cablevision subsciber they could squeeze a dollar out of me got me thinking that I don't really need to watch ABC or patronizing their advertisers ... maybe I don't need to watch so many movies either - get my drift.
Consumers drive the market and the most effective way for consumers to get attention is to boycott purchases. It may not make a difference to NJ as a whole, but I know I'll sleep better buying from my local vendors and helping my fellow neighbors with a bag of groceries from that local vendor.
Peace to you my friend and I hope your wife can salvage some of her business.
Anne Marie