This past weekend with the Golden Girls kept us going from pillar to post. (Where did that expression come from, anyway.)

And I began to feel like I was Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life."

To explain: One month ago, I had delivered my youngest to college (Franklin and Marshall) and officially had become an empty nester. I pondered about what I should do with the rest of my life. And, although I truly love the Farmington Valley area of Connecticut where I live, I thought perhaps my purpose here in this area was pretty much fulfilled. After all, the past ten years had largely been spent as "Andrew Russo's Mom", and now he was off to college.

In debt up to my eyeballs thanks to a series of illnesses over the past years (including three months of pneumonia last year), I figured perhaps it was time to sell everything and move on, most probably into mission work. I didn't think many would notice I'd gone. Somehow, though, I apparently did not realize that I've had some sort of impact here over the years--that my path had crossed many others, and that the variety of projects and jobs and volunteer opportunities would all come together someday to be of use.

Let me start with the Simsbury United Methodist Church. I've been a member there for 19 years, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, performing in the "Sour Note Cafe" talent show, leading and participating in Bible studies, and being a Stephen Minister as well as a spiritual director. So this was the first obvious connection that had come to mind when I posted my offer on the internet to host up to three women made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. I had said, "I don't have much to offer beyond a roof over your head, but I do have the support of my church and my community." Or something to that effect.

And, indeed, SUMC has come through in a major way. It will take me many days and many posts to describe all that church members have done for me and for the ladies.

More subtle ties with my community, however, have come to mind over the last three weeks of these ladies being a part of my life.

I have known and admired the town Social Services Director, Mickey LeCours-Beck, for nearly my entire time in Simsbury. We have worked together for years, usually concerning a client or two of mine. Mickey helped us gather important contact numbers, and provides help in the form of blankets and gift certificates for the ladies.

The Hartford Courant article that made the ladies famous, more or less, http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-susan0915.artsep15,0,5565125.column, was written by an old friend, Susan Campbell. We had collaborated on a few articles before--she wrote them, I had given her a few ideas and good quotes--and I had learned to trust and admire her. A fellow native small-town Missourian, we could talk and laugh about the quirks of both our hometowns and our adopted Yankee surroundings. I turned down an interview with a television reporter in favor of an exclusive article with Susan about the ladies because I knew she would fully understand and respect her subjects. I could trust her, and the knew the ladies could, too.

Gifts of Love, the first charitable organization other than SUMC to help the ladies with food and clothing, was founded by a former neighbor of mine, and I had served on its board for a few years. I knew I could count on them to help.

My family has long had ties to Salvation Army. In the 1940's as a medical student, my father delivered babies at the Salvation Army home for unwed mothers in St. Louis, and the staff there were always kind to my parents as a result. My father always said that you can lean on the Salvation Army whenever you need help, and he was right. In the 1960's, our family hosted a granddaughter of the founder of Salvation Army in our home for a few months, and our ties over the years with the organization have continued with annual donations that we knew would be put to good use. The Katrina Golden Girls have been saying that along with the Coast Guard and Navy, it was Salvation Army workers that they saw all along the way in Louisiana--in areas where Red Cross wouldn't go, doing things that others would not do to help. And here in Hartford, Salvation Army helped these ladies again, by providing food and clothing.

When time permits, I will continue the long list of people I've had ties to over the years who are now chipping in to help these lovely ladies. The list includes fellow attorneys, neighbors, relatives, friends, friends of relatives and relatives of friends; The Hartford Symphony and other arts organizations, several churches and community groups, and on and on. The list is very long. Most of the help so far is in the form of offers of help, so we have yet to really tap into the resources. Our focus right now is helping the ladies to stabilize their health, learn their needs and goals, and provide the true essentials--shelter, food, clothing, medical. And these needs are far from being met. But we're getting there!