A time to weep, a time to heal
I think we've done our part well
By Tom Sosnowski, Managing Editor -- Playthings, 10/1/2005
No one can ever say our country, and industry, didn't step up when asked to support victims of Katrina, the hurricane that decimated much of the Gulf Coast in late August. It was a show of caring for what we experienced here in New York City four years ago on 9/11.
The nightly news, newspapers, even our own playthings.com carried items describing donations and contributions from companies and individuals aimed at relief organizations and other charities. But until you see it first hand, you really don't understand what giving really means.
On 9/12, with the City virtually shut down. I went down to the Jacob Javits Center where volunteers were asked to come and pitch in however they could. Well, I did my part, as did a lot of other New Yorkers. My job, along with two other men, was to go near Canal St. and unload a truck.
The truck had about 10,000 bottles of bottled water. It wasn't stacked; it was just pallets and pallets of shrink-wrapped bottles in disarray in a tractor trailer. With dust masks on and an acrid smell of the smoke wafting above us, we unloaded that water and had the policemen, firemen and National Guardsmen take it to ground zero.
We weren't allowed to go beyond a certain point, but we continued to carry and carry and carry for city two blocks. It was only four hours or so, but my back felt it for about a week.
At one point I slipped in the water/debris mixture, which was similar to grey mud, and fell directly on my tailbone. That hurts if you've ever done that. But you know what? It was worth it if it helped one person.
The next day at Javits, they turned me away, saying they already had too many volunteers looking to help. But I did my part.
Fast forward four years and a street fair takes place in my neighborhood the weekend of September 17th on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Now if you know anything about New York City, there are a handful of generic street fairs to be found any weekend during the summer and fall. And this one was no exception. Five dollar sunglasses, 300-count bedding sets for $10 and all the sausage sandwiches, corn on the cob and gyros you can eat for $6 a pop.
But at this fair, there was a man with a bullhorn telling the passersby that there was a nearly empty tractor trailer bound for New Orleans that night. That was about 11:30 am.
I passed by and didn't have anything to contribute. I was on my way to meet friends so I just rushed by to catch the 6 train. Later that evening, I was on my way home and passed by the truck again. It was bursting to the gills with clothes, housewares and toys. I didn't recognize much of anything, because it was wrapped or boxed. But one item I did recognize was that unmistakable red character with the orange nose known as Elmo.
Now people have said to me, “how do toys help out people who have lost everything?” Check out our story on page 40. Everything, including toys, helps.
