How to respond.

After the week-long, numbing horror of watching a mega-storm devastate nearly 90,000 square miles of the nation, I have a partial answer: stop staring into the abyss.

Go out and do something. And make that more than an electronic donation--actually physically participate in some way. Our family did this on Sunday, responding to a call from Fr. Brian Stanley's magnificent parish in Coldwater, Michigan for bedsheets, blankets, towels and related items for the people being transported to Fort Custer in Battle Creek. We collected items on that list and went off-list, too. If the last week has taught us anything, it's that there is bound to be a snafu somewhere along the way. What you donate will get used.

Also consider this: however the government did or did not perform can be remedied by our efforts now. What you do to help can take some of the poison out of the bloodstream, so to speak.

Go forth and do. It will make a difference.