"I knew I would be writting to tell you today of the "release" of your wonderful gifts and so waited to let you know they had arrived so i could tell you the whole story in one sitting. Forgive me.

The scarves and blankets arrived earlier this week and since today is a day off for me I planned to distribute them last night and this morning.

The neighbourhood where I live is one of those modern times places where peole with very much are in close proximity to those with very little. There is no chance to avoid reality. The main street where I live has many restaurants and nightclubs and so it possible on a given night to see a person eating a $100 meal on one side of window and see a person who hasn't eaten all day sitting on the cold sidewalk on the other side of the window.

Our tempertaures have been very cold although recently they are warming up, which only really meas that those of with nice warm coats can walk with them unbuttoned. For those whose bd is a stretch of pavement or a heating grate, I doubt they've noticed much that their bedrooms are now only a few degerees from zero.

I wish I could have taken a picture of the woman that sat beside a local McDonalds begging for cash last night. I doubt her clothes had been washed all week and certainly she had been away from a shower for more time than I care to think. When I came out of the restaurant with a burger and hot coffee for her it hurt to see how much something so little meant to her. But if I could have captured her smile when I handed her the wondefully colorful crocheted blanket you sent, then you woul know what truly grateful looks like.

There is a homeless man that frequents my neighbourhood and he delights in calling me Pavaroti. It annoyed me at first because it reminded me that I was very overweight, but he meant it in a freindly way and the fact he recalled me everytime I passed was the only gift he had to give and he gave it freely. He has just one hand, having lost the other to frostbite and tries to make his own unpleasantness less a disgrace on the stret by keeping a small section of cleaned. For this he asks passersby for a smal donation in lieu of the tax raise it would take ot get the City to do as good a job. Now he sports your bright yellow scarf and so is all the harder, for those who cast their eyes away, to avoid seeing. he says to tell you Thank You and that should you ever visit Ottawa from Austin to drop by and say hello.

This morning the green scarf wne to a teenager/20 somethignish person (I can no longer acurately tell) with eyes full of definace and pockets empty. He was sitting outside my bank and politley thanking peole who exited the bank remarking they had no change to share. He looks like the kind of kid people suspect will spend the money on drugs or alcohol and so they feel alright saying "No". But he seemed eight years old when I gave him your scarf and his remarked "Kewl,man" had a hint of both "thanks, I need this" and "thanks, I may sell this later", but either way..his day started warmly.

I passed him on my way to a nother corner nearby where a disabled man begs for change in his wheelchair. We have had a lot of snow and city budgets have cut back on the cleaning of streets and sidewalks. I can barely drag myself to work somedays and yet never fail to feel grateful when I see him drag himself through ruts and ice patches and slush to to his dignity on display and do what he must do to survive. I gave him your green and white blanket to help keep him warm and make him a wee bit more noticable.

He sends a hug and asks if you can send some of that Texas weather up here ? We all suspect Texas of being delightfully warm these days. Of course lately we've thought of Antarctica as being warm too !