Monday, March 1, 2010

Not Returning to the Lighthouse: A Personal Update


Before tomorrow night's new episode and initial analysis, I wanted to give you an update. I had every intention of publishing a follow-up post about Lighthouse this weekend, but real life took precedence. My heart and mind are elsewhere.

As many of you know, I have family in Santiago and returned from there only two weeks ago.  The 8.8 earthquake in Chile has resulted in a country-wide loss of life and home for far too many. Although we are very fortunate that my brother and his family are fine and his home sustained no damage, Chile is going to need the same level of support that Haiti has been receiving.

I realize that I just spent a month raising money for Haiti earthquake relief here, and so many of you kindly and collectively donated over $2,000 for Partners in Health. So I am not going to repeat that process. However, if any of you are considering making contributions to assist Chile as they rebuild, I highly recommend doing so through Operation USA because you can donate either money or United Airlines miles.

I have really appreciated all of the very kind messages of concern and support for my family over the last several days via email, Twitter and Facebook. Once power has been restored and he is back online, I will send my brother (a fellow Lost fan) a compilation of your messages to let him know just how strong and sweet this community truly is.

Thank you, my friends. I will see you back here again after episode 6.06, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning!

-Jo

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Our prayers are with those affected by this latest tragedy. Here's hoping we can all dig just a bit deeper.

Cassandra Watsham said...

You've got such a big heart, Jo! Too big for your own good! Our hearts and prayers are for a speedy recovery for the Chilean people.

Erika (aka "e") said...

The Chilean people are awesome and the country is gorgeous -- my husband and I were fortune enough to be able to spend a few days in Santiago in 2007, and the latest events have just broken our hearts. I am SO glad that your brother and family are safe, and I will definitely be donating to the recovery cause!

- e

Ambivalentman said...

I'm glad to hear your family is safe, Jo. These sorts of things are scary. I will keep them, and the people of Chile, in my thoughts.

SDS said...

Hey Jo,

I know it's not much, but I provided a link to this at my blog - http://superduperstream.blogspot.com/2010/03/roundup4.html

I hope all is well and your family recovers from this.

All my best.

- Chris

SDS said...

Also, http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/2010/03/word-about-chile.html is an easy way to donate for those who are interested.