Hello Liz,
I did see someone waving at me but didn't realize it was you. I thought you were waving to the person behind me

I do know where your friend lives and it's not too far from me, maybe 15 min. south of my house. I believe she has a famous neighbor in the penthouse--Elton John!! Maybe the next time you're in town, we can all have some tea or coffee together!

Debbie

Hi Debbie
Yes Elton was there the last time I visited and stayed in the guest suite down stairs 'cause my friend had a relative boarding with her. Now there is Janet Jackson and Martin Luther King's wife living there too so I have to look less like an Aussie bumming my way around the place and more like someone who usually resides on the better side of the street - which for me is very hard as I usually run around with my "Best and Less" clothes and a pair of thongs"! It's a wonder they don't make me go in the Tradesman's entrance!
I had forgotten how pretty it is around that area though even when all the trees have lost their leaves. A very nice part of Atlanta.

Alan have you made the Guinness book of records yet for the most replies? Cheers and happy Christmas!

No, peteralan, I'm not even close. Michi, about a year ago, asked for some suggestions on places to see that WEREN'T in the tourist books, and she got (according to her records, anyway) 136 replies.

However, maybe she's "fudging", because I can't FIND that post anymore, but there are other, older ones that are still on the board. I don't know what the proce4dure is at Fodrs for deleting old messages.... some seem to go, others seem to stay. Maybe, Michi, since you can remember the exact wording in the heading, you can "top" it for us so we can have a competition between it and this post.

Compliments of the season to you, also.

Well perhaps it's time to consider the possibility of another Indian school, or African school, Papua New Guinea, or Mumbai; all sound as though they could use the good help of a group like this and hopefully, through Alan's good talks and bah humbugs, we'll find one to send to in January.

As to the present - it's December 19th and it's snowing here near the nation's capitol and we still have more packages to send to Alan's favorite school in India.

Just checking in to see the status of what is happening with the school that Alan became acquainted with.

So many beautiful people on this thread.

Will be going to San Francisco for a few days before Christmas but will check in here after I return.

Happy Holidays to all of you. May you and your loved ones have a beautiful Christmas.

Alan,

Just checking the most recent postings to see if any of our packages have reached their destination -- I'll bet nothing arrives until the end of January.

However, the mention of the Katharine Hepburn current cake receipe caught my eye (and kudos to you for the correct spelling of the Great Kate's first name). I'm a huge movie buff, and she's one of my favorite actresses; in fact, several of my prized possessions are two notes she wrote me and an autographed copy of her book "Me".

Btw, just saw the movie "Aviator" this past weekend and Cate Blanchette (sp?) does an AMAZING job as Miss Hepburn!

I digress....when you have a spare sec could you send me the receipe? [email protected]. Thank you!

Melodie

I just tripped over this thread. A terrific idea, and hats off to Alan! Would love to see photos of those packages being put to use!

My local church has a long-term relationship with the diocese of Kaduna in northern Nigeria -- we were there a year ago, to help set up a medical clinic. It was an eye-opening experience to see how much need there is, and how the simplest thing -- even a pair of inexpensive flipflops -- can make a difference in someone's life. But it's hard always to know the best way to help, and who needs help the most (especially since the tsunami disaster all around the Indian Ocean).

Here's what our family has started doing: instead of buying Christmas gifts for all the in-laws and out-laws, I send those $$ to World Vision (www.wvi.org). You can choose to fund a child for a year in school (including uniforms, etc.); provide plants or an animal that helps a family to support themselves; give grants to women who need seed money to start a small home business; support a child orphaned by AIDS; and on, and on. (The Heifer Project is a similar opportunity.) The WV website even has a card you can print to let your family know about the gift.

The needs are seemingly endless, but the opportunity to make a difference is a blessing to us who are so rich in worldly terms. Thanks again, Alan.

After the initial support for this current disaster has died down it will be a great thread to re-visit and perhaps add some of the coastal villages affected. Though support will be huge to start with it will slow down quickly. I read somehwre in Bam they are still struggling to cope.

Generous travelers, Here is a link to reputable organizations helping victims of the tsunmi diaster in Asia. We could direct assitance to any of these if you are feeling the little school in India might be overwhelmed now.

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics...&cmpgn=CRS

Thanks TC

I think that right now most of us are simply overwhelmed by the proportions of this tragedy. The numbers continue to climb and so many of the victims are children.

So much will be needed in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia. Perhaps we may be wise to select an agency or the Red cross to make certain that the survivors get some needed assistance.

I made a donation tonight to The American Red Cross on Amazon.com I went to the site to do some shopping and on the opening page of Amazon is a notice. You can make an easy donation with any credit card. Amazon is coordinating the funds and 100% of the money goes to the Red Cross.

I don't think I know an Australian who hasn't already made a donation - we did ours through Australian Red Cross.

And as we donate please do pray, in whatever manner is famaliar to you, for the deceased, the injured and all their loved ones.

A calamity like this goes beyond anyones nightmares.

May peace and love be with all that are in physical and or mental pain. May we all send mental love to all the victims.

And may this terrible tragedy somehow help bring us all closer together. We are all on this planet together. What hurts one hurts us all.

Peace!

Palm Cove near Cairns has cancelled NYE firework celebrations tomorrow night and is instead sending the money to tsunami victims. Hope others follow.

And now the fun starts.

I received an email last night from Shaitan, in very broken English, saying that a package had arrived for the school and that it was very nice. Of course, I have no way of knowing which package it was.... all things being equal, it should have been the one I sent a day or two before writing the initial post on this thread, but, given that the Australian Postal Service is, ahem, not the best in the world, I wouldn't like to take bets on this. Any one of you could have pipped me at the post.

I am now trying to work out a way to tell Shaitan, in very simple English, that there are a few more parcels on their way.... maybe about sixty of them!!! I don't really think he could imagine in his wildest dreams the freight-train full of goods that is currently hurtling towards Jaisalmer. But, in a few days, he'll "get it", alright!

Thnaks again to all the people who have posted on this thread up until now; I will, of course, keep you posted on what happens in the next few weeks.

Just as an afterthought.... funny, isn't it, how three weeks ago we were all wondering what we could do next to keep the goodwill going, and countries like India, Sri Lanka, and New Guinea were being bandied about as possibilities; and then, on one terrible day, the answer was given not just to us but to just about everybody in the western hemisphere! I dare say none of our self-generated spirit of generosity is likely to go to waste in the coming weeks and months!

One more addition to this great thread. In a recent issue of Fast Company magazine, I saw an article about John Wood, former Microsoft exec, who is the creator of "Room to Read". He was moved by the same need as Alan, and has been working on it for a while. The organization is doing some terrific things.

Their mission is: "Founded on the belief that education is the key to elevating and taking control of one’s life, the mission of Room to Read is to provide every child with an opportunity to gain the lifelong gift of education. We believe that this is a necessary condition to break the cycle of poverty. One village at a time, one school at a time, one child at a time, Room to Read is reaching out to communities across Cambodia, India, Nepal and Vietnam in order to provide the gift of education."

Check out their site for more information: <http://www.roomtoread.org/index.html>.They're now raising funds to, amongst other projects, rebuild schools in Sri Lanka that were affected by the tsunami.

Alan, my experience of Australia Post has been different - I've experienced very few slip-ups in all the years Ive been using them, and in fact I'm impressed by their ability to get an item to an address on the other side of the country in 1-3 days for as little as 50c, and make a profit into the bargain. I do wonder what happens to items mailed to and from overseas points, though.

Hi there Alan and Neil

While in your wonderful country we met up with some very nice people and exchanged addresses. We received a letter from them early December - and it was postmarked 10 days earlier. So that would be a pretty good postal delivery - have no knowledge who was faster Australian post or US post???

What a race that could be!!

Alan, I posted parcel on December 7, the day after you posted this thread. The postmaster at Stratford, just out of Cairns seemed to recognise the destination and said it would take 10-14 days. So if yours went a few days before and you have an answer already -and allowing for some time for your friend Shaitan to compose an answer in English, that's not a bad turn-around time.