Let me tell ya a little story about a pig headed friend of mine

[T Pat]

In my 51 years I have observed two things about people raised in the deep South that will probable never change.
1, The Sexiest sound known to man is the voice of a Southern Bell
2, Men Raised in the South have such a sense of pride, duty and honor ingrained in their personalities that they screw up the actuarial tables for the Insurance Company's.
The first time I drove through the South I was shocked by the war memorials in every little town, towns that aren't big enough to need stop lights with 20 or more killed in Vietnam the same for Korea and WW1 and WW2.
There were 3 boys from my hometown killed in Vietnam. My wifes nephew is in the Navy and is temporarily stationed in San Diego he has been spending allot of time with us and seems perfectly content to just sit with the dog on his lap
and watch me work. He's a different person, the kid that was stationed here a year and a half ago had his life planned out he was going to retire from the Navy at 38 after seeing the world on Uncle Sam's dime, I think the only immediate goals he had were to buy a new truck and screw
every hooker in TJ. Now he's a troubled Mexican kid with a Southern Accent that he picked up from his fellow sailors that doesn't have any plans for the future all he knows is he wants to finish this tour and get the hell out of the Nave, because he spent 8 months on one of the Tsunami relief ships and he doesn't want to take a chance on ever seeing that much sadness ever again.
Chop in typical Southern fashion hasn't typed a word about his son being part of Boat USA's catastrophic team or funding him so that he could have supplies to hand out when he saw a need last year for the 3 months he was in Florida or that Bo has been getting and delivering supplies nonstop since the storm let up. the prudent thing for them would be to horde what they have and wait for the Red Cross to get to the people in need,
but that just isn't in a Southern Man's Nature. Bo is going to be heading up to Mobile Alabama in the very near future he will be cleaning up Boats for months and he needs supplies to give to those that are in need. In a Private Message yesterday Chop admitted that things were a little more desperate than he was admitting on the board and gave me permission to share his private message to me, I've thought long and hard about it and have decided
that if he want's to share that message he can post it, Chop gave me permission to ask for a little help to keep Bo in canned goods and water, you can send help by paypal choponthelake@direcway.com I have no doubt that Bo is going to find countless people in need. I also think Docholy was on to a great Idea send some traffic to http://chopsmiths.com/ he is spending money at an alarming rate with no end in site on those in need.

Now Linkster how are you really doing?

[emmanuelle]

Yep, he's bullheaded alright.
But his heart is made of pure gold

[Chop Smith]

Thanks Pat and Emmanuelle. Your are both correct I am both pigheaded and bullheaded. As you both know, it is not about me. However, it does warm my heart for you and other members of this board that know my situation to have expressed their concern. But who knows, it is possible that I will be buying drinks in Vegas in January.

Pat, the contribution you sent, was pooled with some from local folks and used to purchase tarps to cover an elderly couple's roof in Long Beach, MS. Bo, his brother from Baton Rouge and a few of Bo's employees were scheduled to be on the coast tomorrow. As it turns out, the house and most everything a mile from the beach is going to be condemned and will be dozed beginning Wednesday. They are still going to see if they can assist the family in salvaging some things and assist them with relocation. It is my understanding that they are not new to relocating as they came from Vietnam.

Emmanuelle, I did not expect FEMA to reimburse me for my life support. If they do I will put the reimbursement with the other contributions. I spoke to you privately about H4H's "house in a box". With FEMA's reimbursement I should have a few thousand. I would like to raise enough to build a house for the most disadvantage family we can find. Since you have already applied for H4H, I would hope this would be the house you work to build. They normally name the houses. Perhaps the members of the board could dig a little deeper and we could call this the GG&Jim house. So many members have already contributed to the Red Cross and other organizations. But they might be others, like Pat, that would like to see where their money is going.

BTW, Pat, we found out that our boat on the coast is gone with the entire marina. Still no tears. My tears are for those that could not own a boat and lived from day to day. Knowing if it had happened on pay day they would have escaped.

[docholly]

Excellent Points, TP!!

But who knows, it is possible that I will be buying drinks in Vegas in January.

Bloody Mary, Tall and Salted!! dammit.. YOU better come out..

They don't call it "southern pride" for nothing.. as sometimes misplaced as it can be.

Even if people cannot contribute Cash.. they can change 2 or 3 banners and promote chop's program. How hard is that? Maybe it's time to freshen up for fall.

think of it as the Southern Cross.. because you know that Chop will distribute whatever he has with all those around him.

So take a minute, throw up a link or 3, get some content, make a free site and raise some Cash for Chop.

Thanks TP for posting the links.

[pornrex]

Hi Chop

I have been reading about how selfless you and your son have been and how now you are making concerted efforts to show that you do indeed care for your fellow fallen man.

I want to congratulate you for first the fine job you've done in raising a decent young man. I have spent the better part of the month of august with my little 6 year old boy and I found it quite demanding to say the least, especially this year. Today is our last day together before school begins tomorrow and I can honestly say that I am more nervous about it than he is! I only hope and pray he turns out to be as decent as you are proud of your son.

After reading about your latest efforts to help poor unfortunate souls "in your neck of the woods" I must say I do indeed tip my "hat" to you as well as guys like |Jim , Raw Alex, and a few others as well. It is very refreshing to know that there are indeed Americans that do care for their fellow Americans not just by idle rhetoric, but by also giving of time and resources AND not just looking at all the negativity surrounding this terrible tragedy.

So much has been said about "how Bush has not reacted as quickly" or shown complacency and neglect for these poor 'unfortunate' souls. So much misguided anger has been directed towards FEMA and Homeland Security and what have you that everyone seems to have forgotten that these people stayed behind and for the most part CHOSE to ignore warnings about the severity of this tragedy!

I am sure that most people don't even realize that The Mayor of New Orleans and the State Governor of Lousiana should shoulder most of the blame for these people being in the situation they are in in the first place! According to CNN yesterday, some of the people that are indeed alive and accounted for, STILL insist on staying behind of their own volition! Many affluent celebrities and prominent members of society are also pointing the finger at "George" for showing tardiness in reacting to send provisions and what not. I used to be a propenent of Bush a while back and although I still believe him to be a decent person and I would not accuse him so much of being a racist as much as I would accuse him of being a 'class-ist'. |shocking| But Alas, I diagress.

Chop, your ACTIONS are commendable to help your "immediate" neighbours. I want you to know that I certainly do wish you well on your efforts and although many of you in here don't give a rats ass with respect to a higher power, I will wish you Godspeed in your efforts, actions and hopefully, positive results as soon as possible as well as the safety of your crew.

I am not a rich person (not even close) but I am putting aside some cash to kick into YOUR efforts which I hope to pass onto you by mid to late month. (keeping fingers crossed)

Well Done, Chop.

[sue-fl]

Chop Smith I don't really know you and have never met you. Your posts are wonderful and heart warming!! You sound like a man with a huge heart that truly cares for his fellow man. I have gained so much respect for you, and I wish you and your family the best....

[T Pat]

Hey Chop
I haven't seen any posts for a couple days from you, are you ok? how are things going?

[Chop Smith]

Still good.

Even though most of the state has power restored, I am still out. The Power Association has quit estimating when we will have power. Last guess was four to five weeks.

While most of the national news is focused on New Orleans, the folks in Mississippi are kicking ass in cleaning up and getting ready to rebuild. Some controversy but not much.

[T Pat]

Originally Posted by Chop Smith

Still good.

Even though most of the state has power restored, I am still out. The Power Association has quit estimating when we will have power. Last guess was four to five weeks.

That's a long time, when your lugging gas cans around to fuel a generator

[Cleo]

Yeah I just loved filling my car up with stinky five gallon gas cans and hoping that I didn't blow up with driving them around.

[Chop Smith]

My electric bill last month was just ove $300. It is taking about 15 gallons of gas per day to run the generators. So if my power is off for 30 days it will cost about $1,200. But just think those folks on the coast don't have a place to gererate power for.