Ever feel small? I do. I strive for it. Helps me keep things in perspective. I live for those too rare moments when I can completely remove myself from myself. Sometimes found in a 50MPH downhill screamer on my bike – a single mischievous pebble waiting to wreck it all – or sometimes on a serene walk through a glen of wider-than-I-am-tall redwoods that, though I smile at the thought of the contrary, wouldn't miss me a lick if I weren't around. Actually, I even smile at that, now that I think about it. Either way, they both deliver me to the same place: a very humbling ‘smallhood’.

We all witnessed something recently that had me feeling small again, but in a whole different way. Hurricane Katrina. The term is being tossed around up there with the likes of 9-11, as an elongated moment that is helping to redefine a country. It’s challenging a government to react as never before, and pressing all of us as individuals to reach deeper than we might have before to help rebuild. With 9-11 we mourned a catastrophic loss at the hands of the diabolical. With Katrina, we not only mourn loss, but are left to celebrate survival by helping news borne strangers start anew, one life at a time. Nature sometimes destroys. Fortunately it is the nature of mankind to rebuild.

As usual, I’ve been blown away by the rallying powers and generosity of those around me in the face of this. Here at Clif Bar and beyond, people are contributing in their own way. Some telling intimate stories of friends and family who were caught in the storm - or lost. Others, like our own Brad Sir (Category Mgr here at Clif) who shared his incredible story with the company last week – a moment by moment 1st hand account of his 48 hours of New Orleans chaos. Jenny B. leading up a clothes and supplies drive here in our warehouse, Clif Bar, for starters, sending 650,000 bars to help feed those in need...the list goes on. And it will go on, until the Louisiana Gulf is once again on its feet. And marching. Jazz trumpet in hand.

To contribute, please visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org

Thanks