Come One, Come Fall

Yes, Autumn is about to start, and I wanted to update because it's been a while. School at Emerson going well, keeping me busy with a paper due tomorrow and a couple assignments I'm taking on for the Berkeley Beacon (www.berkeleybeacon.com), Emerson's weekly newspaper.

I also feel it's important to say I -- and I'm hardly alone -- am disappointed with our nation's president's preparation and response to devastating Hurricane Katrina. It's a hard job, I realize, Mr. Bush, but do you really need to spend all those days vacationing in Crawford when a) a most-likely unnecessary war is going on in Iraq and b) hundreds of people are dying who would have survived if you had gotten up and taken quicker action?

Personally, I've donated a few dollars to the relief effort for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and intend to send some more money. Probably a more effective thing I'm planning, with my fellow board members of the Society of Professional Journalists, is to either sponsor a family that moved from the New Orleans area to somewhere in or near Boston, do some stories on one or more families, or do both.

A friend whom I stayed with in New Orleans was able to get out of the area in time with her husband and was staying in Charlottesville, Virginia with some relatives, last I heard. I was quite relieved at that news.

Well, back to saving the world and doing my homework. I hope to report back soon.