Good in a crisis, bad in front of the news

I can't say that I've lived through that many emergencies. More than some folks, less than others. There have been fun minor ones, like the two-week power outage with no running water when I was kid. There have been short, terrifying ones, like the night when one of our friends came to our house with a stab wound and my mom bandaged him up. There was the house fire, it's own, massive pain in the ass. And of course at work, there's one child-related disaster after another.

I keep calm enough, I guess. My brain goes into problem-solving mode and chomps into the nearest solution--if not the best solution, the one closest to me. Like the night my roommate and I discovered a man in our car and instead of going to the nearest business to call the police, I opened the car door and started to pull him out of the car.

I'm 5'4". And a girl. With glasses and asthma. *idiot*

But when I sit at home and I hear about disasters, I just break down. Today at work, I damn near started crying, just thinking about what it's like in Haiti right now. I want to row down there and load up all the orphaned kiddos and bring them home with me. Right now.

I don't have a boat. I don't have the room for a thousand orphans. But I can open my heart to the forces of good in this world and urge them south. And I can open my wallet and make a donation to somebody like Doctors Without Borders, who might actually be able to do something.

In the meantime, I'll be moping around. And of course typing up the minutes from our Zombie Squad meeting. You know, because we actually do stuff, like organize food drives and clean trails and try to get it through their heads that when an emergency comes, you need to put on your thinking cap and think through to the nearest solution.

Just leave the guy in the car while you call the police.