In Search of the Human Spirit

Hurricane Katrina has left a trail destruction throughout Louisiana and nearby states. Levees broke in New Orleans wiping out the city. Looters acting without conscience robbed the stores and homes of their neighbors. Meanwhile, the dead must be left behind in order to save the living. In the midst of all this chaos, many Americans are lending a hand to the relief efforts.

Chris Duhon of the Chicago Bulls is a native of Slidell, LA. He knows most of the victims first hand. He has set up the Chris Duhon Hurricane Relief Fund which will work in conjunction with FEMA. The fund will provide food, money, clothing, and whatever else is needed to Slidell’s survivors.

The Arkansas National Guard left Tuesday to help rescue efforts. They’ve sent two Black Hawk helicopters and 35th aviation brigade to provide search and rescue aid. Other troops will be put into action in the next week or two to assist in cleanup.

Peggy McNery of the Salvation Army Emergency Radio Network has been handling the role of controller. She has been working with Ham Radio Operators in an effort to get those trapped in their homes in contact with local rescue officials. The Ham Radio Operators fill in where telephone lines are out of operation.

Jerry Ostendorf of Pleasantville, Iowa is an emergency management official. His job is to coordinate relief efforts in the aftermath of the hurricane. His role is vital in coordination teams coming in from throughout the USA to alleviate the immediate problems such as water and sewage service. They’ll begin work on restoring vital roads and bridges and treatment facilities, so that the reconstruction can begin.

Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters left Fort Hood, Texas for Louisiana and Mississippi. They are loaded to the gills with vehicles, food, and more. These things will be used by soldiers so that they don’t drain local relief agencies. The helicopters will then be used to evacuate people.

Battered Floridian communities are lending a helping hand. Though they’ve had their share of hurricane troubles, Floridians are thinking of their neighbors in other hurricane devastated states. A 31 vehicle convoy has headed to Alabama and Mississippi with over 100 volunteers. The volunteers are part of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

Operation Katrina has been established by radio stations in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are collecting such necessities as flashlights, tarps, batteries, water, baby formula, and more. Trucks have been graciously donated by Planes Moving and Storage owner Jim Baugham. He is also paying for the drivers to transport all the donated items.

Rescue teams from Menlo Park, California have left for Louisiana. Also, the California Urban Task Force 3 of Solano County is joining in rescue efforts. These teams bring with them inflatable boats, jet skis, and an air boat. The teams are made up of paramedics, scuba divers, firefighters, and helicopter pilots who are trained specifically in water rescue operations.

Elise Crawford of Westland College in Indiana felt the need to help hurricane victims. She worked with fellow students to collect money for relief. They set a two week goal of $15,000. They met a similar goal last year and are confident they can do it for the people of Louisiana.

New York Cares has set up a call center in New York City. The call center will takes calls throughout the nation. New York Cares is coordinating this effort with the American Red Cross.

This is only a small list of the local efforts going on throughout America to provide needed aid. There will always be some fools taking advantage of a crisis. But, most Americans know when to pull together and we all extend our thoughts, prayers, and assistance to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and other affected states.

[Aerial photograph taken from a Navy Helicopter helping in relief efforts in New Orleans was taken by Photographer's Mate Airman Jeremy L. Grisham, http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=27553]

Young Neighbors in Action, a Catholic organization, sent 60 teenagers and 20 adults to Tijuana, Mexico for a chance to help the poor. The volunteers were from California, Nebraska, Illinois, and Connecticut.

The people they helped were very poor. They lived in cardboard shacks that had dirt floors and no roofs. Sheets made up walls. There was no in door plumbing or electricity. Their clothes were hand me downs that were handed down many times. Their meals were comprised of foods we would toss out because they had expired.

Each group was assigned tasks for the week. The Nebraska group helped repair homes, planted gardens, and dug trenches. The Connecticut group worked in the soup kitchen and renovated a chapel. The Illinois group built a house. The California group helped at the food bank. The volunteers had a chance to meet with the people of Tijuana as well.

There was a stark contrast to the abject poverty of the people of Tijuana and the modest wealth of the volunteers. While those volunteer did not feel rich, they realized just how much they had compared to those in Tijuana.

Tijuana is not the only place that YNIA goes to. Each summer they go to several locations with different groups of volunteers. They help provide needed services and give their volunteers a sense that they can affect change even on a small level.

[Photograph of a ghetto in Tijuana, Mexico courtesy of Roy Compatible, www.sxc.hu]

Many Japanese Americans lost out on the opportunity to finish high school, and thus, never got their diplomas. While many of us can’t even find out diplomas, many Japanese Americans have waited patiently for decades for the honor of receiving one.

In 1988, an official apology came from the United States Government and monetary compensation was given to some. However, it wasn’t until Sally Lieber sponsored legislation that set up the “California Nisei High School Diploma Project” that those Japanese Americans got their diplomas .

The project hopes to locate Japanese Americans who lost out on their high school education during 1942-1945. They will then honor these individuals. Another goal of the project is to educate current high school students about the internment camp period. Many lives were interrupted by the detainments and those affect were unable to finish their educations. Many went to work after leaving camp and never went back to school. Others earned their diplomas while in the camps, but it wasn’t from the school districts they had spent their lives in.

High Schools around California are beginning to hold ceremonies for these special graduates. In August 2005, 58 Japanese Americans showed up at Los Angeles Trade Technical College just for that purpose. This was the high school graduation ceremony they never got. They walked with canes, sat in wheelchairs, and smiled proudly as they received the piece of parchment they missed out on 60 years ago.

Japanese Americans look back on the internment camp period with sadness and bitterness, so the ceremonies start a healing process that has been on hold since the 1940s. The ceremonies have been mostly symbolic. But,the honorary graduates gain a sense of pride and many share the experience with their children and grandchildren. This opens a dialogue about a period of their lives they may not have spoken about.

You can learn more about the California Nisei High School Diploma Project at: Nisei High School Diploma Project

[Photo from the www.canisei.org website press releases shows Tom Okumura and Mary (Okumura) Kitahara, at their Mountain View High School commencement ceremony in 2004. Photo courtesy of Dan Miranda/Los Altos Town Crier.]

Grieving friends and family were not pleased to find anti-gay protesters at the funerals of two Tennessee soldiers killed in Iraq. The soldiers were Sgt. Ashbury Fred Hawn II of Smyrna and Spc. Gary Reese Jr. of Ashland City.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas showed up at the funerals. They converged on the Smyrna United Methodist Church and the Ashland City National Guard Armory to spread their hateful message. They carried signs with slogans like “God Hates Fags”. They claim because America harbors gays God is taking vengeance on its soldiers. This was one of many protests at military funerals throughout the country.

But, this time they met their match. The people of Smyrna and Ashland City, Tennessee were not amused. It was plain wrong for the church to use the funerals to further their agenda. Hundreds of residents of Smyrna and Ashland City showed up at the church and armory to counter the protesters. They then chased them out of town.

There is a time and a place for everything. And, this wasn’t it! What Westboro Church did was completely disrespectful to the memories of the soldiers and to the mourners who came to honor them. Cheers to the people of Tennessee for standing up to them!

[Veteran's Memorial Photograph courtesy of Philip Sasser, www.sxc.hu]

Offshoring and outsourcing are bad words in most parts of America these days. People see their jobs being sent to India, China, and elsewhere and wonder who is watching out for them? Who is preserving their ability to bring home a paycheck and provide for their family?

A native of Arkansas and alumni of Corporate America wants to help rural communities. She is trying to bring tech jobs back to rural America.

Kathy Brittain White was Chief Information Officer of Cardinal Health when she retired at the age of 55. She wanted to do something to help rural communities like the one she grew up in. She then founded Rural Sourcing.

Rural Sourcing provides tech training and jobs to Americans. The idea is to create a “virtual workforce”. These individuals are employees of Rural Sourcing and do the work that corporations are sending offshore. The jobs are in the tech field and are geared towards providing Information Technology support. The work can be done anywhere , which is appealing to corporations that are constantly downsizing and closing up buildings.

RS has three locations in North Carolina, New Mexico, and Arkansas. They hope to build work forces in areas with universities that have strong computer science/IT programs but no jobs. There are plenty of areas fit the bill.

One of the artists at Honolulu Art Center’s 2nd Annual Fundraiser (27 Aug 2005) is Daniel Wang. Wang was born in Shanghai, China in 1937. As a child, he spent alot of time with his mother as she was his teacher. She realized very early on that he was very creative. She arranged for him to be tutoredin painting, which is how he learned Lingnan style painting.

He gave his first exhibit at the age of 12. Throughout his teens he studied with Chinese masters. His work has been shown in San Francisco, Canada, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and elsewhere.

What sets Wang apart is that he is deaf. Painting has become a way for him to express himself without the spoken word. His specialty, Lingnan, is done on rice paper with watercolors, pen, and ink. this style was created in 1879 by Gao Jianfu. Most of Wang’s designs involve animals, landscapes, and anything to do with nature. He paints from memory.

Being deaf creates some difficulties. While others can speak about their art, Wang must use sign language. He can’t always communicate with customers and admirers which can complicate matters. When Wang moved to San Francisco in 1977, he taught himself English and American Sign Language, which helped out.

He currently lives in Honolulu. He teaches traditional calligraphy at the Honolulu Waldorf School in addition to painting. Part of Wang’s collection includes t-shirts which he has hand painted with acrylics. His work has also appeared on a 2001-2002 wildlife stamp. You can view examples of Wang’s work at the Hawaii Art Board Website.

[Photo of Shanghai courtesy of Kathy de la Cruz, www.sxc.hu

One of the problems soldiers returning from war face is finding a home. Soldiers with disabilities face an even more difficult hunt for housing. Individuals and organizations are trying to help these soldiers.

Michelle Senatore of Wheaton, Illinois has raised enough money to give one soldier a home for free. The soldier is Sgt. Joel Gomez and he was injured in Iraq. He’s paralyzed from the neck down. Gomez currently lives in an apartment which is in no way fit for his wheelchair. The Veterans Administration has done what they can but with so many soldiers in need and lack of funding, they can’t do much about the situation. They have a program which includes a $50,000 housing grant, but Gomez needed a special house that could handle his wheelchair and other special needs.

Michelle Senatore met Gomez a few months ago. She felt she should do something to ease his plight. She needed to come up with $500,000 to build a home adapted to his special needs. With community backing, she pulled it off.

Then there is the group in Massachusetts, Homes for Troops, which is also trying to fill the void left by the Veterans Adminstration and the government. They’ve already built five homes for injured soldiers. This is a small dent. They expect that hundreds more will need to be built as their are so many in need at this time.

Without people like Senatore or organizations like Homes for Troops, those who have put their lives on the line for this country, but came back severely injured, would not even have a place to live.

A mysterious man named Philip Geddens has become the newest artist on Oakland, California streets. The man was invisible to society, sleeping among his possessions until a few months ago. Then he started making papier mache sculptures on the sidewalks.

The sculptures are made of water, flour, and newsprint. One is 7 feet tall! They depict humans in everyday poses. One shows a man in coat and tails, pointing his finger. Another is of a man holding hands with a smaller female figure.

Local office workers have taken quite an interest in his works. He has been working on them for months. Some workers have watched each day as the sculptures come to life. Most have gotten used to Gedden’s daily rituals and look forward to seeing him.

No one really knows where he came from or what his story is. He may be homeless. However, everyday he shows up at the same spot and works on his creations. He never asks people for anything, but his creations give them something to smile about during their mundane work days.

Graduate student, Rowdy Boeyink, has made the discovery of a lifetime. While doing research for his thesis on Paul Ehrenfest in the archives of the Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics (Leiden University), he found a copy of one of Albert Einstein’s manuscripts. The handwritten manuscript was dated December 1924.

The manuscript was published in January of 1925 under the title “Quantum Theory of the Monatomic Ideal Gas”. Thelength of the handwritten document is 16 pages. It is considered one of Einstein’s greatest theories.

The timing of the discovery is interesting. This is the 100 year anniversary of the publishing of some of Einstein’s key scientific papers.

Leiden University was one of Einstein’s haunts. A position was created for Einstein in 1920. He was one of many important scholars, including other Nobel Prize winners, to grace the halls of the University. Einstein did not return to the University after he fled from Europe in 1933.

The 1925 manuscript has been digitally reproduced. It can be found in the Einstein Archive’s section on the Leiden University website. View the 1925 Manuscript Two other documents composed by Einstein are also in the online Einstein Archive.

[Photo courtesy of Steven Parry, www.sxc.hu]

Bill and Kathy Bossley of San Leandro, California take recycling seriously. They have built the garden of their dreama and every item in it is used. Everything in their garden comes from salvage yards, garage sales, or was given to them.

The couple really enjoys being outdoors, so they got the idea to create a garden that allowed them to be outside even in winter. By using other people’s throwaways they’ve been able to create their own vision. Bill Bossley works with each new item: painting it, reshaping it, and reusing it. The design of the garden mutates several times a year, so visitors never know what they’ll see the next time around.

The Bossley have let their imaginatiosn run wild. Some areas are just for the kids with sandbox, slide, and other kids stuff. Other parts of the garden are divided into rooms with plants as walls and various materials for roofs. They use different type of flooring in each of the areas. One of these rooms has an outdoor fireplace. Instead of waiting for the weather to change, they can be outside whenever they choose. And, they’ve been able to add living space without spending a bundle on contractors and building materials.