Charity

A day off today, Bush, you'll be happy to hear. Maybe tomorrow, too. I'm headed down south on a visit and theater tonight.

One quick thing, though. I'm reading so many good things about charitable efforts to aid the tsunami victims… everything from celebrity telethons to a news item in our local rag, this morning, with a picture of our good neighbor, a hair stylist, who along with her colleagues at the salon, has pledged 100 percent of her earnings today to the relief effort. These things are wonderful indeed. I'm worried now, though, that we (I don't exclude myself) tend to respond to the great dramas and tragedies, and that other, less spectacular crises get lost in the press.

My pledge today, then, is that I will put my money where my mouth is by seeking out some equally needy cause in Africa on my return, and sending an amount equal to my contribution to the tsunami victims. That's the least I can do.