Probably like a lot of you, I’m having a tough time sleeping.
I can’t get my head around the numbers I hear on the news concerning Haiti.
Over the weekend, a newscast mentioned that estimates were more than 150,000 people have now died and been buried in Haiti.
Just imagine burying the entire population of Springfield. Of the survivors, there are 1 million people in need of tents for shelter.
Many mornings driving in to work I listen to National Public Radio.
One morning last week the broadcast featured an “audio postcard.”
A reporter had compiled several sound bites from around Port-au-Prince.
One clip was a woman shouting for joy as she grabbed a small bottle of water; her first drink in days.
Another was the sound of generators operating machinery while directions were shouted out in the background as rescuers dug for survivors.
While the final clip was the simple voice of an elderly woman singing over and over “Alleluia, Amen.”
When stopped and was asked if she was singing any particular melody, she simply said “no” that she was singing to stay calm.
That same morning I received a Facebook message from Thom Daugherty, a Neosho native.
Thom is one of those people that we talk about when playing the “brush with fame” game. You know how to play. One of your friends will remark that they were in an airport when some famous actor walked by, and then you’ll counter that you were at a sporting event when a famous comedian was on the sidelines.
Thom is a guitarist with the band, The Elms. If you haven’t heard their music you need to. It is wonderfully harmonic, great lyrics, lots of thought put into each composition. We’re all so proud of Thom we could pop. He used to play the guitar in the praise band at Big Al’s parents’ church The Gospel Lighthouse. As a teen you could tell that Thom had a wonderful musical gift.
We sent Facebook messages back and forth about Neosho, how some things have changed, while others will hopefully stay the same forever.
Thom’s band has a great new song out that is downloadable from the Web.
All proceeds from the sale of this one song will be sent to the Haitian relief effort.
I was reminded that in times of massive upheaval and crisis, making a big difference starts with lots of groups making a contribution in the best way they can at that time. The Red Cross texting campaign to assist Haiti has now raised more than $37 million; $10 dollars a text, 3.7 million times.
Here’s the message from Thom’s Facebook page regarding the song and the relief effort: “From this point onward, 100 percent of The Elms’ income derived from digital sales of the song “This Is How The World Will End” will be donated to Haitian Relief efforts through CARE International and the Caribbean Institute of Media Technologies. Track is available at iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and Napster.”
It’s a great song. It’s a great cause. It all counts.
Lori Marble writes a weekly column for the Daily News.
