Warm, sunny weather has beamed down on Muncie for the past several days, making for sweaty walks home from class where air conditioning (or at least a fan) has awaited us all.
About 1,000 miles away, many people from the Gulf Coast are filtering back home to find they don't have much of one left.
Makes a busted AC seem pretty insignificant.
Just because cities that were in Hurricane Gustav's swath of destruction are a solid 15-hour car ride away, that doesn't mean extending a helping hand is out of reach.
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans three years ago, Ball State students jumped at the chance to help.
Instead of heading to Key West for a week, students spent their Spring Breaks rebuilding homes and cleaning up areas that almost sank beneath the sea like Atlantis.
Albeit, the tolls of Gustav - eight people dead - don't come close to Katrina's 1,600 casualties, this week's hurricane reached Category 5 status before reaching the U.S. The country has been hit by only three of these tempests, the last of which was Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Fortunately for those on the bayou, Gustav slowed itself to a Category 2 storm before it nailed New Orleans.
Gustav might have been considered a hype because it slowed to a Category 2, but, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, if you find yourself in one of these meteorological nightmares, anticipate winds up to 110 mph and a storm surge that will cover any average adults head. It makes tornado season in our state seem a little less scary.
Political leaders have already made their ways down to Louisiana and Texas, including President Bush, who skipped out on his address at the Republican National Convention and spent Tuesday in Hurricane command centers in his home state.
Although we expect our leaders to chip in with reconstruction, there's no reason we should sit idle. A simple care package can help an entire family get itself going again.
Non perishable food, clothing and blankets are a few of the staples that are cheap and easy to send, but don't forget everything else that could be washed away.
Toilet paper, batteries, cleaning supplies, children's toys, even a camera so families can begin replacing water-damaged photos - these all can begin the healing process for any family left destitute from the storm.
Gustav displaced 2 million people. Whether you know one of these people or not, it doesn't matter; you can still spend an hour putting together a care package that could save a family a lot of grief.
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