Making it Right

Brad Pitt and I are building houses.

Man, that sounds so cool. Brad Pitt and I are hanging out together, swinging hammers, putting up some houses. I'm sure Angelina would be nearby as well, so really it would be Brad and Angelina and I, hanging together, doing the whole house thing. Of course, Brad's a busy guy, so he wouldn't be around all the time, so sometimes it would just be Angelina and I, hanging out together, playing house (Debt Daddy's mind wanders off into fantasy land, yanked quickly back to reality by the realization that his wife reads this blog).

Okay, okay, I embellish. We're not reallly hanging out together, Brangelina and I - but Brad Pitt is building houses, and I'm helping him out when I can. And so can you.

Y'all know about Hurricane Katrina and the way it wrecked people's lives all up and down the Gulf Coast. What you may not realize is that, due to the truly pathetic, incompetent and greedy nature of insurance companies and all levels of the government, there are still a huge amount of people in the Gulf Coast who have not been able to rebuild their homes. I'm not here to argue about the reasons for it - I honestly don't care about any weaselly excuse for raining down more shit on these people after all they went through. All I know is that the victims of Hurricane Katrina have been through enough, and they deserve a break.

Turns out Brad Pitt agrees with me. Here's a snippet from his site - http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

In December 2006, Brad Pitt convened a group of experts in New Orleans to brainstorm about building green affordable housing on a large scale to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Having spent time with community leaders and displaced residents determined to return home, Pitt realized that an opportunity existed to build houses that were not only stronger and healthier, but that had less impact on the environment.
Previously, Pitt sponsored an architecture competition organized by Global Green with the goal of generating ideas about how to rebuild sustainably. Several of those designs are currently under construction in the Lower 9th Ward and the project inspired him to expand his efforts.
After discussing the hurdles associated with rebuilding in a devastated area, the group determined that a large-scale redevelopment project focused on green affordable housing and incorporating innovative design was indeed possible.
The group settled on the goal of constructing 150 homes (one of the larger rebuilding projects in the city), with an emphasis on developing an affordable system that could be replicated.
To demonstrate replicability, Pitt determined to locate the project in the Lower 9th Ward, one of the most devastated areas of New Orleans, proving that safe homes could and should be rebuilt. Pitt hopes that this project would be a catalyst for recovery and redevelopment throughout the Lower 9th Ward and across the city of New Orleans.
Having listened to one former resident's plea to help "make this right," Pitt was inspired to name the project "Make It Right" (MIR).

As of this writing, 52 of the 150 proposed homes have been funded. That's pretty good, but it needs to be better. This neighborhood can be rebuilt, and the beauty of it is that it will be rebuilt as a green neighborhood, so not only will people have their homes back, but their homes will help all of us with their smaller carbon footprint. Seems only fair that, if someone's home is going to help all of us, that all of us should help get that home built, hmmm?

Debt Daddy doesn't usually ask for much - read my blog, laugh at my strange humor, comment every now and then and I'm generally a happy camper. However, in this post, I am asking - very strongly - that you donate to this project. One year after Katrina, I set up a website to raise money for Habitat for Humanity and their rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast. The response was underwhelming, due in part (I believe) to the fact that people thought the crisis was over down there. The flood waters had receded, people had moved out of the stadium...business as usual, right?

Wrong.

The crisis isn't over. It wasn't over a year ago, and it isn't now. And that's sad. Just a sad string of broken promises:

The government promised they would help. They didn't.

The insurance companies promised they would help. They didn't.

Now Brad Pitt has promised to help, and he's asking for help from us.

I intend to help him keep that promise. I'm gonna donate whatever I can, because I truly want to see New Orleans come back - better and stronger than ever.

I hope you'll join us. Check out the site, tell a friend, donate. Let's Make It Right.

http://www.makeitrightnola.org/

PS: I know, I know - I'm asking a bunch of debt reduction folks to give away money, and I'm sure a fair amount of people are reading this and saying, "Oh, it sounds good, but I just can't afford it right now." Well, not to get into a pissing contest or anything, but Debt Daddy is currently $673,057 in debt, and I'm kicking in. It doesn't have to be a lot. It can be five bucks. But let's all give something, okay? Thanks.

Murphy, you old So and So

If you know Dave Ramsey, you know he talks about Murphy (of the highly acclaimed Murphy's Law - "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong") and how Murphy will take up residence in your spare bedroom at the first real signs of financial progress. Well, cocky old Debt Daddy was beginning to think he was immune to Murphy's advances - that things were moving ahead so well it would be very difficult for Murph and his stinkin' law to put the brakes on. Silly Debt Daddy.

First it was the tires on my wife's van which at first glance looked fine, but upon closer inspection revealed themselves to be nearly as balding as old Debt Daddy hisself. And when do you have that "closer inspection"? Why, during a snow storm, of course! During our first real bit of snow up here my wife, try as she might, was just not able to make it all the way home from work. We live high on a hill and she was only able to make it about 2/3rds of the way up before she had to call the game due to lack of traction. As I saw her walking up the remainder of the way, I grabbed my shovel, gloves, salt and over-inflated male ego and trudged down the hill toward where she had left our stranded vehicle, grumbling to myself about what I had to assume was a certain link between estrogen and an inability to drive in slippery conditions. I would move that van, dammit. Armed with testosterone, I could not fail.

Forty five minutes later, I had moved the van - all the way across the street and ten feet further down the hill from where my wife had gotten it in the first place. It was then that I examined the tires and realized that my wife had to be a pretty spectacular driver just to make it as far as she did. I walked back up the hill, tail between my legs (there was plenty of room for a tail there, as all traces of the aforementioned testosterone had vanished or were hiding in shame) and apologized to my wife, promising to get new tires for her ride.

The tires priced out pretty well, and looked like they might only be a small hiccup in our financial plan. But of course, once the tires were off, you could see that the brakes were shot. Once the brakes were off, you could see how one of the struts was leaking. What started out as a hiccup grew into financial projectile vomiting by the time I was done there, and I returned home feeling safer on the road, but just a little financially violated.

A few days later, I was recovered and ready to face my bills again, when my wife called me to tell me about our new indoor water feature. Now, I like indoor water features. I think they're a lot of fun - soothing, feng shui-ish fountains and water walls bring out Debt Daddy's inner metrosexual, calming his troubled brain. My wife quickly brought me out of my Carradine like state of zen when she informed me that, instead of a gentle trickling of H2O over acrylic stone, what we had was a washing machine drain pipe that was backing up and sending water quickly in the wrong direction - i.e. all over the floor. Plumbers were called, and Rooter Men were recommended. Rooter Men came and plumbers were recommended. Turns out the pipe, which was thought to be clogged, was instead eaten away by the slab foundation in which it was seated. A brand new drainpipe had to be installed and other sundry plumbing issues were addressed. By the time everything was done, I think I paid for my plumbers entire Christmas shopping. Ah, the price we pay for proper drainage.

So, my wife and I have agreed - she got me new tires, brakes and struts for Christmas, and I got her a new drainpipe and the use of her washing machine back (not as romantic as the whole comb, watch fob, Magi thing I know, but it works for us). And, in a continued spirit of giving, we're giving Murphy the shaft. He trashed my guestroom, so I'm kicking him to the curb (do the kids still say that? I'm so out of touch). Let him party like a rock star in someone elses house.