5 Letters, 5 Numbers, 10 Dollars, 100 Percent Good

This may be more than a day late and more than a few dollars short, but we here in Halfglassistan are appealing to our citizenry.

Unless you've been in a total blackout, you know about the devastation in Haiti. And if you don't — well, just go hop on the Google.

Go ahead. I'll wait. This is something you need to know.

Why? Because you're human. Because you have a heart. Because you likely have a roof over your head, clean clothes to wear, fresh water to drink, food to eat, and access to care if you need it.

Any of our lives can change course in an instant, in any number of ways. I won't patronize you with a litany of worst-case scenarios, because I know you already know what they are. You know it every time you think, "There but for the grace of God ..." I know you think it, because I know I think it.

But very rarely does one's world literally come crashing down around them, leaving precious little to salvage. Except maybe hope.

Halfglassistan is not a wealthy place. But it can spare $10. So when I read that a simple text message of the word HAITI to 90999 would cause 10 little bucks to be given to the American Red Cross for relief, I thought: "That I can do."

I checked it out — and suggest you do the same here — and discovered not only was it legit, but 100 percent of the $10 charged to your cell phone carrier goes directly to the Red Cross.

I will admit that I was tempted to just keep texting at least a few more times (calm down Mr. J), but I did not. Because while Halfglassistan may not be the poorest place in the western hemisphere (guess who is? Haiti.), I know I can't spare much.

But I can do this: I can tell you about it here. I can post it on Facebook. I can spread the word on Twitter.

And maybe my 10 little bucks will be joined by more. They already have been, as the Red Cross has reported that more than 5 million little bucks have come from text donations.

Which brings me back to being more than a day late — this has been going on for a few days now. Maybe several, depending on when you're reading this. But the need doesn't end. So maybe we can do something about being more than a few dollars short.