Just heard from my friend James Hall, the absolutely brilliant songwriter and performer, late of New Orleans. He, his wife and his son are safe for the moment in Memphis. But they've been completely wiped out. They are entirely dependent on friends and family, and are flat broke. They are refugees. I've never done this before, and I hope never to have to do anything like this in future, but I'm calling for donations. Any sum, however small, will be useful to James and his family. If you feel so inclined, please send any small sum care of me, to 9000 Sunset Blvd, Suite 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90069. If you do choose to help, please mark on the outside of the envelope "JAMES HALL ASSISTANCE". Of course, I'm doing what I can as well, but they'll need more than than I can do alone. I think adopting individual families as best we can will be a valuable and efficient means of supporting the Red Cross and Federal efforts, taking some of the massive load off of those bureaucracies. Steve Strait is going to Montreal in a few weeks for a long film shoot, and I'm going to ask him if we can use his loft to house James and his family until they can figure out what to do next. I'm convinced he'll agree. God help all the survivors of this terrible catastrophe.

Thanks, David