Perhaps we should take a moment to go back a bit and give a little SEND-A-HUG background.

The SEND-A-HUG Campaign was born out of a desire
to personally connect with those devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

After donating money to several organizations, I still felt a bit... empty.
Although happy to contribute, I somehow wanted the folks on the Gulf Coast to know I was thinking of them.
Really, I wanted to give them each a hug.
This same sentiment was felt by friends, family, coworkers, the cashier at the market (you get the idea.)

Recently I visited a few different friends in the hospital, always with stuffed animal in tow.
I loved watching their expressions and instant reaction to hug their new pal.
The exact same response came from both children and adults both in the hospital
and when I worked with the homeless.
It made me misty when the adults would gently ask "may I have a stuffed animal too, please."
I was astounded and very touched, that although they appreciated the other items distributed
what they most wanted was a little friend to hold onto.

And so, the SEND-A-HUG Campaign was born,
while weepily driving my car listening to story after story of devastation and loss.
It's a way people can personally connect to to folks thousands of miles away.
All one has to do is get a new stuffed animal,
have their photo taken while hugging the cuddly creature.
Attach the photo, with a note and a self-addressed envelope to the hugged pal
and it's ready to be delivered to someone who could really use a hug.



Doctor Reverend Ronald Myers of the Myers Foundation in Mississippi,
emailed me and wrote "please come and deliver badly needed hugs."
Uh, my heart! I can't get there fast enough!!
Go to www.myersfoundation.com for more information regarding our very first hug delivery.

Percy, my puppy, and I are headed there now,
to Mississippi to personally deliver each hug
and take the photo of every recipient with their hug,
so we can mail it to the original hug sender.

(I tried downloading the SEND-A-HUG flyer
but Blogger's not havin it.
Feel free to go to www.travelhound.tv
for a peek, but please note
it's still underconstruction
but we have high hopes for the future.
Yep, I'm wearin' shades.)

Often I catch people saying they'd love to volunteer with the homeless
or be a big brother/sister, but unfortunately they can't find the time.
SEND-A-HUG provides folks the opportunity to really make a difference with just a little effort.
It's also a great way for families to contribute TOGETHER!
They can pick out the stuffed animals together, take turns taking eachother's photos
and together can open their returned self-addressed stamped envelopes
and experience the joy of seeing the faces of the people they've connected with.

Truly, the list of locations in need of hugs is endless.
The hope is that eventually there will be an endless flow of hugs,
for all people in need,
"because a little hug goes a long way!"


At the moment funding is being provided by the sale of my condo.
Yep, I sold my condo and quit working
so that I could make SEND-A-HUG a reality.



Honestly, it's the best thing I've ever done.
I've finally found exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life.
I plan on traveling the globe delivering hugs.
The beauty of a hug -- it has no language barrier.

****

Besides realizing that I've got to improve my backing up skills with regard to towing
it's occurred to me that IÂ’ve really got to bone up on my knowledge of mechanics.
For example, my car battery has died three times now AND
I'’m not even driving it.
There'’s a power connection from the RV to the Matrix
so that when I stop and signal the car will relay that info as well.

Okay sure, leaving the key turned on in the ignition all night was probably a bit brainless,
but OTHER than that little snafu, I felt like everything was copasetic. Oh contraire mon frere.

Finally, I decided to call my pals at Majestic RV in Thousand Oaks, CA who installed the tow hitch.
I spoke to Jason who schooled me in the art of hooking up the car.
"Hey, so Jason, my car battery keeps dying, what's up with that?" "Oh yeah, what most people do," he informed me, "is unhook their battery or install a switch." "Hmmm, fascinating, that would have been a great tidbit to share with me when I was learning the ins and outs of towing, no?" "Oops, sorry about that," he laughed apologetically.
In the meantime, I've had to get a jump in every state. Although, I must confess, it is a great way to get to know the fine people of this country.



After a long day of driving and a longer day of not eating,
and aimlessly looking for nonfast food cuisine we ended up partaking of dinner
at the Texas Road House – in Wyoming. Not only was the food decadently delish,
including their award winning ribs, but after hearing about SEND-A-HUG,
our waitress, Jenna and the manager, Josh participated!
Josh was also kind enough to arrange yet another jump for my car.

How great is that.
Tack on a trip to Target and these gals we’re ready to get back in the saddle again.

Bedazzling witches for Halloween and bedazzle them we did!
As much as I'd like to take credit for coining the phrase "bedazzling witch"
it was our good friends at Target who came up with that descriptive gem.



Look at me blogging for you all in my ensemble at the Trail Coffee House in Cheyenne Wyoming.
Probably the all time BEST pumpkin muffin I every had AND
Rebecca, the darling gal behind the counter who gave us treats for
sportin' costumes, also jumped on the SEND-A-HUG bandwagon.