Connecting to Haiti through Oprah and Lady Gaga in Brooklyn

I walked to the corner store near my house in Brooklyn to buy some vitamins because I was feeling under the weather. With the sun beginning to set on the way home I passed a small store filled with odds and ends such as African masks and beautiful gourd instruments like the sweet kalimba, one of which I bought as a gift for a friend. The older woman who owned the shop had the TV on and Oprah was about to begin. It was 4:02. I looked over at her to share a smile, and I noticed that her eyes were full of tears. I knew immediately that the disaster in Haiti was not just a tragedy "over there" but a very real shipwreck close to her heart.

I couldn't help but continue my experience with her. The store was empty and I wasn't going to leave her alone. We sat together watching Oprah Live on two wooden stools that her only son made for her last year. She shared with me the pain of knowing he was in Haiti this very second — and nowhere to be found.

On Oprah, Anderson Cooper was reporting from Haiti, reminding us that humans can live without water for three days, and today is the third day since the earthquake. Hundreds are dying — and for more reasons then just dehydration. Cooper revealed that Haitians have been digging up old caskets in graveyards and using them to bury the dead. Others have dug one massive grave, dumping several bodies there. "So many people will die unidentified, one of which could be my son," the store owner said.

Speechless, I sat with her, in silent prayer during the commercial.

After Oprah touched on the disaster in Haiti, begging anyone and everyone to donate money to the Red Cross, her two other guests James Cameron and Lady Gaga each shared with her a glimpse of their wild, brilliant and passionate minds. Cameron and Gaga, although coming from different artistic perspectives, share similar undertones of visual artistry and a deep love and appreciation for the environment and humanity. Cameron enlightens the audience while explaining to Oprah where he got his vision for Avatar. Oprah asks him if he was a spiritual man, since the message of the film is one of "oneness" between nature and humans. Cameron responds casually, "I must be".

Gaga performed with a ball and chain and a mic on the other end of which she sang into, spiked costume and matching spiked platinum blond hair to sing "Monster" then "Bad Romance" and wrapped it up with "Speechless." Gaga, being the unique, one-of-a-kind bird that she is, extends her compassion for the people in Haiti by announcing, "And I will say today that on the 24th, the Monster Ball in New York City, all of the money that I make in ticket sales and merchandise will go to Haiti. And on the 24th you can also go onto LadyGaga.com and any merchandise that you buy, the money will go to Haiti."

Tickets start at $49.50 for standard admission and head upwards of $395 for the meet and greet package. Radio City Music Hall has around 5933 seats. The math checks out well.

Oprah wraps up her show by saying, "The most important thing for me, having this platform, is weeks from now still continuing. While it's out of our consciousness, they still will be suffering."

With that I got up, paid for the kalimba, hugged the woman and left, now with tears in my eyes and the desire to tell her story.

From Gaga to Pandora to Oprah to you. Give what you can.

Photo courtesy of Domain Barnyard, via Wikimedia Commons