A Very Myspace Holiday

It's a very MySpace holiday, with more friends still reachable in the virtual world than with an actual address.

The good news is, there are fewer Christmas cards to send out, which freed up today for watching the Saints kick ass. (Who Dat Download)

As Jeff has gigs this week, we're back from Illinois and camping out in the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund apartment. Musicians who have passed through have helpfully left a roll of wrapping paper, a bible and Bass Player Magazine.

The spirit of Christmas has been alive all year with Dave and Molly Wilson in Baton Rouge. Jeff met Dave 2 years ago working on Walter Williams' Mr. Bill Wetlands Awareness
(Series), and even though our family barely knew them, they offered my in-laws an evacuation location on 8/29.

Five people, two dogs, two birds and a canary were welcomed unconditionally, and as FEMA trailers finally materialized for most of the family, Jeff's mom Gloria, her dog, cat and canary are still in Baton Rouge 16 months later.

As incentive for her to move up to Bloomington, I've sent photos of free sleigh rides in the snow around the town square, the masquerade ball for NOmrf across the street, and free gingerbread house workshops at Kelly's (I've got the Abominable Snowman attacking mine, with a graham cracker peace sign in the back yard), but she's happy in Baton Rouge until the elusive Road Home grants reach our family.

We gave Gloria back the family's antique bedroom set so she and the canary could wake up to something familiar, and Dave has devoted himself to restoring furniture, jewelry and every family photo that was retrievable.

He's worked on so many family photos, he can now pick Jeff's baby picture out of a lineup. And he came up with the idea of putting our family piano photo online as a fund-raiser for musicians.

So the couple who started out as acquaintances are now part of our family.

In this holiday season, as we all wait for our court-ordered FEMA explanation letters of why there will not be renewed rental assistance, it's good to have a reminder of the love and support that is still out there for those who have been blessed enough to find it.