Scorched Earth in California? Another Chance to Do Things Differently...

Oh, the fires! Hope has actually grown inside me about a new way of living in this country of mine these past few months, as I watch the devastation about to come. It’s changed the way I wish to behave.

I am committed to depending less on government and even well-meaning nonprofit organizations, and more on my own resources. I want to put personal effort into things now rather than just clicking “donate.”

I’ve already started this new way of giving. I am not giving money to organizations anymore. Every year, I give away a certain amount of money. I’ve always given it to organizations, but last year I started sporadically giving to individuals instead. I started doing things like leaving a $100 tip at a diner for a $15 breakfast. Somehow, I knew that hundred dollars would make a huge difference to the person receiving it. And there were no 22% operating expenses.

I couldn’t help but think about the scorched earth of Palisades, California, burned to the ground, and how this fits into the new ‘me.’ I realized that this is the first real opportunity in this new year to sit down and put my thinking cap on, to come up with ideas for how I can participate in a way that makes me feel like I’m actually doing something. Getting my hands dirty.

I spent a lot of time there in 2009. I lived with my friends, whose house has now burned to the ground. More on that later, but I have my favorite little places along the way there—a restaurant, a church we went to on Christmas Eve. Other fabulous memories in local haunts.

I see everyone listing the usual ways to contribute to the ravaged area, like donating to organizations such as the Red Cross. But I decided—no, not so much. The Red Cross has plenty of money, and the government is sending plenty of aid.

I want to go directly, one-on-one. I want to start building community where people are actually helping people, which feels really different from the systems we’ve set up over the last 20 years. The Internet made it easy to click and donate, and now social media amplifies that. I’m still going to use the Internet and social media, but I’m going to make myself work a little harder to feel good and truly help.

I saw a post about a woman in Los Angeles who owns a store where she’s collecting donated items. People can come in and “shop” for what they need and take it with them. Yes, yes, yes—I know someone might abuse it, but the pictures she’s posting on social media show people bringing wonderful things, sometimes with the tags still on. She’s also interviewing some of the people leaving the store, and you can tell the bag of items they’re taking is making a real difference.

My friends left with just the clothes on their backs. They have nothing. They have plenty of money, but who wants to shop right now? My friends, Larry and Randy, have a basement full of amazing things because Randy used to work at Ralph Lauren. (Don’t ask about the enormous racks they have in their basement!) They FedExed a box of items for my friend’s husband, along with a personal note. It will arrive tomorrow.

Today, I’m looking up the restaurants in Palisades that burned to the ground. Actually, it’s every restaurant that had an address in Palisades. The town is gone. I’m going to reach out on Facebook to see if I can send some cash for someone at the restaurant to distribute to the waitstaff—people who are now out of jobs and likely don’t have the safety nets that others in Palisades might.

I guess I feel it’s more community-minded for me to do it this way than to give to organizations—one step removed. Not that I don’t think organizations are helping; they are. It’s just that I think in this new world we have to rebuild—from what I consider the ashes of my country at this moment in time—it’s about building community.

I have a cousin who has two amazing children, tweens. I’m going to try to get them pen pals from the area so they can send them things and write to each other.

We all have to do what we can in the way that feels most comfortable. I feel good about this new approach. It feels more “me.” Better than sending a check.

And when I leave those tips I mentioned earlier, I make sure to do it just before I leave because I don’t want a “thank you.” I carry hundred-dollar bills in my wallet now. I don’t do it all the time, but when I do, trust me—I feel rooted to my community and the people in it.