a friend of mine in Alabama has 4 people from New Orleans at her place

Their dog is playing with her dog in the backyard right now. Her guests have a couple of loads of laundry in the machine, and she is going to take them out for a nice supper tonight.

I am so darned proud of her right now. One person, on her own, has managed to make four others feel safe and comfortable -- just by supplying shower facilities and some air mattresses! She is retired and living on a limited income, but decided that she really wanted to help. As soon as she heard about the hurricane on the weekend, she called a couple she knew in New Orleans and offered them a place to stay, until things calm down and they have a better idea of what the situation is like. Her friends asked if they could bring one set of parents (who had a house very close to the lake), and she said yes, without batting an eyelid. (The mom and dad are in their 80s and are understandably confused, after all the disruption -- they are uneasy in big hotels, and like her place much better.)

After supper they are going to get some clean clothes in town. They hadn't had a chance to see the news or read the paper since they left New Orleans, so last night was the first time they saw the extent of the disaster.

My friend is a liberal, and has taken a lot of flak for this in her small Alabama town. Someone even vandalized her car (and scared her so much that she removed her Kerry/Edwards sticker, even though she didn't want to). She tries so hard to be congenial and non-partisan, but she says she feels pretty lonely sometimes. There have been times when she's wondered if maybe she ought to come up and live with me here in Canada, because she feels so out of step with what's going on around her.

I look at her quietly doing all this, not expecting any reward but just because she feels it's the right thing to do -- and I see a truly patriotic American. I don't care if they clone George W. Bush a hundred times -- the resulting damage still couldn't outweigh the admiration I have for the country that produced someone as fine as my friend Patricia!

and shows the American spirit in what she is living. Blessed be to her.

Thank your friend for me.

Her neighbors wouldn't give her so much flak if they were the ones needing shelter.

and someone I'm proud to call a fellow Alabamian!