Has it crossed your mind to spontaneously book a flight to an area hit by one of the hurricanes -- with a little cash in hand and a big heart? It crossed Milton and Shirley's mind after the tsunami last year. But they never did anything. Neither did we. However, after Hurricane Katrina this one couple from San Francisco booked a flight to Houston, took $600 and four suitcases full of clothes to give away. They spent 36 hours handing out cash, driving those in need to the bus station and paying their way to safer ground, and just plain helping out those whose lives have recently been shattered.

This morning I met Milton and heard his story. He had just bought an espresso at Peet's Coffee & Tea on Chestnut for one of the local homeless people in the neighborhood. When the man was handed his espresso, instead of saying "Thank you very much" he asked "Is it one shot or two?"

Milton saw me witness this little exchange.

I gave him a "Can you believe it?" look and then said to him, "Only in San Francisco."

Witnessing this homeless man's lack of gratitude naturally led to a conversation with Milton.

For a moment we commiserated about what a shame it was that a man capable of helping himself could receive a free handout and then not even say a simple "thank you."

Milton said that was the antithesis of the experience he had last week in Houston.

I asked him what he meant and so he told me about the adventure from which he and his wife had just returned.

Milton is a mechanic with United Airlines, so getting a quick ticket to Houston wasn't too tough. The tough part was deciding what to bring in his suitcase. He and his wife, Shirley packed a toothbrush for themselves and $600 worth of cash.

In the two bags a piece that they were allowed as luggage they filled them with primarily kids' clothes and hand-me-downs from their own closet.

"We got off the plane, rented a car and we could have easily just stayed in the rental car's parking lot," he said. "It didn't take us long to recognize those who were need. All you had to do was look at their face and the evacuee wristband they were wearing."

Since much of the media coverage had been focused on the Houston Convention Center, they decided to go there first. It wasn't long before they had reached out to two guys hoping to get out of town.

Milton said:

The scariest part of our mission was taking these guys to the bus station at 2 o'clock in the morning.

Typically bus stations are located in the seediest part of town. And Houston is no different.

When we got to the station to pay two bus fares six police showed up all of a sudden. Evidently, the guy behind the ticket counter was getting busted for dealing drugs.

Finally, we paid for two bus fares, which enabled these guys to get to family in Georgia.

Otherwise, they would have been hanging out at the Convention Center 'til Kingdom come.

Another guy Milton and Shirley reached out to was a Vietnam Vet in a wheelchair. This gentleman said he was literally blown off the roof of his house and suffered rib and leg injuries.

Since he arrived in Houston he told Milton and Shirley that he had slept on concrete for five days.

However, when they suggested taking him to a Veterans hospital, he refused.

As an alternative they offered him a hotel room for one night.

After witnessing a day's worth of desperate people Milton and Shirley started thinking about conserving their resources.

They thought if they invited this guy to stay in their room with them rather than get him his own, they'd have $100 more to give to one or two more people in need. Little did they know that this guy had T.B. and spent the entire night getting sick.

After helping him out all night, the next morning, Milton helped clean him up, buy him a new set of clothes and took him to one of two medical facilities set up for hurricane victims.

They then went on their way to give a hand to as many other people as they could.

Milton said there was one guy "copping an attitude" in the streets. Rather than getting frustrated with the guy, he handed him $40 cash and said, "Hang in there man." The man was stunned.

Milton spoke of how San Francisco's 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was sensationalized by the media.

For those of us who lived through it and in it we knew that the majority of the tragedy and calamity was on the bridge, the Nimitz Freeway and in the Marina. The images the media portrayed made San Francisco look far worse off than the city really was as a whole.

Milton said that the contrary was true in Houston.

He said:

Those we met? Everyone had an amazing story. Everyone was down on their luck.

The images on CNN and MSNBC represented just a fraction of the plight of the people impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

You had to be there to feel just how devastating it was.

When I asked him how he and Shirley decided to spend their time and where to give their money, he said they used their common sense. Of course, their common sense quickly got wrapped up with emotion as they heard story after story and witnessed one down-and-out person, couple and family after another.

Among the people Milton and Shirley were successful in helping was a family of four.

Thirty-six hours after Milton and Shirley's arrival into Houston, they had spent $1,200 not $600. They had not only emptied their suitcases and poured out their souls, Milton even gave the shirt off his back to a guy. Literally.

Milton and Shirley did not do this for fame or recognition. Hence they've asked that their last names not been included in this story.

They did it simply because they wanted to offer hands-on help to those less fortunate than themselves.

Milton said he and his wife talked about going back to Houston again. However, his brother now needs his help. Until recently, his brother worked for Northwest Airlines, which last week filed Chapter Eleven.

If they did go back, we'd give them a suitcase full of survival kits and a bunch of HOOAH! Bars. Better yet, we'd be sorely tempted to go with them and bring our own.

With tears in his eyes, Milton said:

It doesn't take much to listen.

It didn't take a lot to find out how these people previously made a living or what they were good at.

Can you imagine if we all got together and collected as many used instruments as we could? With a guitar someone could start earning money again.

Man, a fishing pole can cost as little as $12. Give a fisherman a fishing pole and he's back in business.

It doesn't take much.

Thank you Milton and Shirley for your hands-on efforts in Houston.

May others be as inspired as Tim and I were this morning hearing about all the gracious people you met in Houston. They obviously didn't need to say "thank you" for your money, time, clothing and even your toothbrush. But they did. They appreciated it. And so do we.

Thanks to you the world and this country is a better place.

Yesterday, Spotlight Press released a book edited by Susan Moyer called Katrina: Stories of Rescue, Recovery and Rebuilding in the Eye of the Storm.

A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the American Red Cross to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "giving the shirt off your back" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC