Eric, we agree with you that Habitat for Humanity is a very worthy cause. We have been contributing to it annually since 1999, and we will add an extra donation to the website posted on your Fireant Gazette. Thank you for the reminder.

My partner at work has signed on to a Sweat Equity housebuilding project. They put together 11 houses or so under 9 months. Each future household must work 30 hours a week. The amount of work alone would have to give them an emotional investment in the home, and that emotional investment is what keeps a neighborhood from becoming a slum, and it's something that's often lacking when it's generally paid for by someone else or is a temporary stop on the way to somewhere else (as with apartment complexes).

Hello Eric. Hello Ray and Jo. Thanks to all of you for your generous contributions.

Last weekend I went on my first Habitat build, in St. Louis, Missouri. They are building 20 homes this year, all at once. They are in various stages of completion, and as winter approaches the urgency is in the air; everyone is moving it to get done.

Hundreds of unskilled volunteers performed every imaginable homebuilding job, except for the plumbing and electricity, which were done professionally. It was amazing to see every house being worked on at once. I hung siding on the front porch all day, measuring, selecting a piece of lumber and laying out the cuts, then taking the piece to our house's saw table for someone to cut it. Probably 12 people were working on the siding for our house alone, measuring, cutting, fitting, nailing it up using spacers and a level to get it even. I missed the nail on a couple strokes but was surprised I didn't bend any. It has been a long time since I hammered all day. It was warm and sunny Saturday, and it rained Sunday when no one was working. Perfect. I'll hit it again in a couple weeks. It was satisfying.

And by the way, these are NICE homes, about 1200 square feet on the main floor, full basement, 3/4 of which is finished with two downstairs bedrooms and a full bath. There are two bedrooms on the main floor, a large dining/living room and another full bath. The kitchen is open with lots of storage. Small deck on the back, AC, washer/dryer, security system, but no garage.

Later, I watched in amazement as homes were nailed together in New York City on MSNBC and ABC television. Habitat volunteers are framing one new home a day out on the streets of Manhattan, then taking down the wall components and shipping them to Louisiana for rapid deployment. That was something to see the people receive the keys to one of those homes; they had been working on a Habitat home when Katrina came along and took it away. Now they have a new one.

You can start your own web site to collect funds for Habitat from among your contacts. Go to Habitat.org and look for "Friends asking Friends." Three weeks ago this means of accumulating donations did not exist. Habitat adapted and it is rolling. Tell everybody. The need to help Katrina victims will continue for years. Habitat's ability to repsond is accelerating. They built 100,000 homes during the first 25 years and another 100,000 in the next 10 years. All kinds of people are volunteering.

Thanks again, folks. You are greatly appreciated. Together we make a difference.