(Months) Upon A Time: The Long Tale Of Hurricane Recovery
When you’ve been married as long as I have, a funny thing starts to happen. At some point, you not only feel like you’ve heard your spouse tell a particular story more times than you can count, you also wish you could just fast forward to the end. (Admit it. We’ve all been there!) The […]
They Just Want To Help
I visited Fort Myers today. I’ve been to areas affected by disaster before but rarely so soon afterwards, and what I saw was both heart-breaking and emotionally taxing. I started out at the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Among other things, they lost part of the roof of the building and at least half of […]
An Important Reminder (And A Thank You)
Hello friends, I had an unexpected reminder this morning as I was driving to my office of just how important your support of ALAN is to those we serve. As I think most of you know, I live in Southern California – the land of freeways, masses of people always on the move, traffic, and […]
The Loss, And The Hope In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Ian
Ordinarily I am a glass-half-full kind of person. But when I look at what’s happened to the residents of Florida and the Carolinas this past week I find myself at a loss, especially since it comes on the heels of Hurricane Fiona hitting Puerto Rico and Canada. The images of Hurricane Ian’s debris and devastation […]
Updated Hurricane Ian Situation Report
Friends – thank you for your calls, texts, and emails. I’ve talked with several of our non-profit partners today and the scale of their planned response is mind-boggling. I’m intentionally avoiding the adjectives unprecedented and historic; I think those words should be retired from the dictionary. Someone please call Merriam Webster. As we begin the […]
ALAN’s Helpful Post-Hurricane Relief Do’s And Don’ts
As you are well aware, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida earlier this week, creating devastating damage (and clearly its journey isn’t over yet). Since then, ALAN has heard from many people who are anxious to know, “What can we do?” We have a few concrete answers to that question already, because we’ve just […]
Hurricane Ian Situation Report
All – I know many of you are working to support your businesses or member organizations with their preparations ahead of Hurricane Ian. This storm looks to be quite dangerous, truly one of the “monster” scenarios we in the disaster response world worry about. As you are working, we want to ensure you have access […]
Watch This Space
Space has always held a fascination for me. So now is an especially exciting time to be an astrophile. The recent release of photos from the Webb Space Telescope, the Artemis I moon mission and even the propagation of billionaire blast-offs have all renewed my enchantment with exploring the “final frontier.” In honor of the […]
(Collection) Driving Me Crazy
There are some “dislikes” you don’t see coming. For example, ALAN’s communications director Lori, who usually loves all things whimsical, has a head-scratchingly hate-hate relationship with Buc-ee’s. And her opera-buff husband was chagrined to learn that unlike almost everyone else in the world, he detests Andrea Bocelli’s music. As for me, I really can’t stand […]
