Wednesday, September 3, 2008

From Experience...

Sometimes a good idea needs to be carried a little further.

1994ish, or whenever Hurricane Andrew hit, my office was collecting items for hurricane relief (that was before the days where everyone just wanted cash). As I ran through Publix I picked up a few of the regular flood/hurricane items - baby formula, bleach for disinfecting, latex gloves - and I threw in a bag of Hershey's kisses on a whim.

It's the humane thing to do.

I mean, I can hardly get through a sad movie or a disappointing day at the office without a little chocolate to make me feel better. A natural disaster and no brownies or Moose Tracks ice cream or anything??? At that point the terrorists have won.

Since then, at every opportunity I throw in a bag of wrapped chocolates for disaster relief. It matters, and I'm sure someone feels loved and understood and a touch less surreal when they get that little bit of sweetness and normalcy.

Now that I'm on the evacuation/response planning side of things I see I didn't take that idea far enough. There are a lot of people packed into small rooms, warily eyeing the Weather Channel, figuring out what roads to shut down and if and when to move people out. And they need chocolate.

A few weeks ago I made the best brownie recipe that this world has ever seen. I hereby nominate Cook's Illustrated for a Nobel and a Pulitzer for the recipe. My mother-in-law, an admitted and devoted chocoholic, swooned over those brownies. My office loved them. And I will post the recipe, I promise, when I'm not so tired... and after I've brought a bag of Special Darks to the next meeting.

Chocolate matters.

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