Dear Constant Reader,
Scratch & I went to New York City for Thanksgiving. Previously, he’d said he felt badly about traveling there for a cheerful family feast when so many people in the area were still suffering from the hurricane. So, on Friday we loaded up with supplies at the Home Depot and went to Coney Island USA to volunteer for a few hours.
They were hit pretty badly — the ground floor flooded to impressive levels and a lot was damaged, including almost all their tech gear. They had just gotten a big donation of lighting equipment, which was waiting to be installed. Fortunately, the museum collection was upstairs and out of the flood zone. And the snakes were all removed to safety.
Scratch, being skilled labor, was put to work next door at what had been the ice cream shop, taking down the damaged light fixtures and wiring. He was working right up at ceiling height, which should give you some idea of how far up the water got.
I, being unskilled, got to do a lot of carrying. We had to rearrange the things on the second floor (which included many cases of water) to make room for some items from the first floor. Then we carried those upstairs (it is possible for 2 petite women to carry an industrial popcorn popper up a steep flight of stairs, but I do not recommend the experience, especially if you are the one going backwards) and began cleaning them with disinfectant.
It was hard, dirty work and at the end of the day, there wasn’t even the satisfaction of a job completed, because there is so much more to do. At this point, volunteer labor isn’t so useful; they need professional help and donations.
Saturday, Scratch is producing The 3rd Annual Burlesque Marathon (which you should all attend anyway because it’s superfun). We’ll be doing some fundraising with the proceeds going to help Coney Island. So, come to the marathon and buy some raffle tickets. You’ll see hours of great burlesque *and* be helping the good folks at Coney Island USA. And if you’d like to donate any goodies for the raffle, left me know.
Hopefully yours,
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 
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