To my friends in the PPD

[schaffld]

Just wanted to relay a few thoughts and experiences and it seems this thread would be as good a place as any to express them... so thanks, Dr. Bill, for getting it started.

We've experienced first hand this week that when times are at their seemingly worst, humans can be exceedingly kind and generous. The stories of strangers helping each other during a crisis like this are uplifting. For us, it has also been extraordinary to see my girlfriend's most distant relatives come immediately to our assistance to get things back to normal. I'm sitting here essentially helpless in Saudi Arabia while these people - strangers, friends, and relatives - put their own busy lives on hold or even at risk to provide support and comfort to my girlfriend, her kids, and her mom.

I will always be grateful to the man who literally rescued her mom and daughter by dragging them to a neighbor's two storey house while the water was rising and cresting at the roofline of our house in Marikina. My girlfriend and her son were stranded overnight in a shelter in Quezon City but when the flooding receded the next day, the small act of kindness the taxi driver showed by manoevering his car through the thick muck and foul smell to get her home safely will also be appreciated.

As soon as friends and relatives could come, they were at the house and helping out with the clean-up which continues to this day. Why am I posting all of this on SB? Well, after she told me about the events of the previous 24 hours, my girlfriend informed me that my dive gear was the first thing people grabbed to wash, rinse, and hang up to dry. My girlfriend was also apologetic to me over the loss of her AOW manual that she's been studying in preparation for the course in December. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she told me this.

So, as another typhoon is rapidly approaching northern Luzon, a tsunami smashes through Samoa and American Samoa, and another earthquake devastates Indonesia, I can take comfort in the knowledge that there will be countless heroic - as well as simple - acts of kindness to ease the suffering of the victims.

Just a few thoughts to chew on...

 

[shugar]

Just wanted to relay a few thoughts and experiences and it seems this thread would be as good a place as any to express them... so thanks, Dr. Bill, for getting it started.

We've experienced first hand this week that when times are at their seemingly worst, humans can be exceedingly kind and generous. The stories of strangers helping each other during a crisis like this are uplifting. For us, it has also been extraordinary to see my girlfriend's most distant relatives come immediately to our assistance to get things back to normal. I'm sitting here essentially helpless in Saudi Arabia while these people - strangers, friends, and relatives - put their own busy lives on hold or even at risk to provide support and comfort to my girlfriend, her kids, and her mom.

I will always be grateful to the man who literally rescued her mom and daughter by dragging them to a neighbor's two storey house while the water was rising and cresting at the roofline of our house in Marikina. My girlfriend and her son were stranded overnight in a shelter in Quezon City but when the flooding receded the next day, the small act of kindness the taxi driver showed by manoevering his car through the thick muck and foul smell to get her home safely will also be appreciated.

As soon as friends and relatives could come, they were at the house and helping out with the clean-up which continues to this day. Why am I posting all of this on SB? Well, after she told me about the events of the previous 24 hours, my girlfriend informed me that my dive gear was the first thing people grabbed to wash, rinse, and hang up to dry. My girlfriend was also apologetic to me over the loss of her AOW manual that she's been studying in preparation for the course in December. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she told me this.

So, as another typhoon is rapidly approaching northern Luzon, a tsunami smashes through Samoa and American Samoa, and another earthquake devastates Indonesia, I can take comfort in the knowledge that there will be countless heroic - as well as simple - acts of kindness to ease the suffering of the victims.

Just a few thoughts to chew on...

thanks for this... you're right, it's the small things that will see everyone through

glad to know your loved ones are ok...

Jag

 

[drbill]

Ah, but you're in the more civilized Bay Area, I'm stuck in the "Lost" Angeles area where most people don't even know their neighbors.

As I read the stories from PPD members in this thread and elsewhere, my desire to finally get to the PI increases. Everything I read simply confirms what I have heard about the people from friends who have visited there.

I will have to disagree with Dr. Bill here, as to people being so fragmented, that they won't 'band together' to help. Many saw the efforts of heroic individuals back during the '89 Loma Prieta quake here in the SF Bay Area. And we all know it's only a matter of time before a quake of Biblical proportions will strike the Golden state. I sincerely believe most people remain 'humane' during these events and help their fellow brother. But as in all disasters there will be those who take advantage of others

 

[tboxcar]

HI Bill, I was going to mention 'the North/South Divide' here in California, but I thought I'd leave it out

Anyway, let's hope for the best over in PI!

 

[jonix]

again thanks for this thread dr. bill. yesterday i had the chance to visit taytay, rizal the municipality where matthew lives. the areas near the coast of laguna lake are still very much a danger zone where flood waters (with trash) are about as high as the street. i was there to help identify where to give/deliver private donations from friends who were not affected by the flooding. the welfare department representative is appealing for the following besides food which is a given:

1. Water
2. Sleeping Mats
3. Blankets
4. Clothing
5. Kitchen Utensils
6. Milk
7. school materials (pencils, pads, notebooks, ballpens)

i'm now appealing to the PPD who can spare such items. i can have them picked up by my staff in the following weeks or we can meet at ortigas. as i write this me & some of my rizal based friends are preparing to delivering the first batch of rice & clothing to taytay municipal hall. you may ask why not cainta where i live? simple, they've got tons of stuff coming in. cainta isn't the only place hit. from cainta to tanay people have been flooded it's just cainta who got the most media exposure.

in advance salamat mga kapatid...

btw, me & my drinking buddies have donated our drinking budget so no booze for the next few weeks

 

[Babydamulag]

Wow, that is awesome. I wish we would have had this sort of relief effort last year when Frank hit us. Wow. This is great. Good job guys!