Editor,

In her Sept. 6 letter to the editor, Sari Spieler rightly praises the compassion and generosity of our islanders in response to the storm devastation in Houston. Her husband, Daniel Goldsmith, called up on short notice as a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) inspection responder, had just 48 hours to put his South Whidbey plan into operation. He bought a serviceable truck and a utility trailer, and within about 12 hours islanders had filled them with practical donations destined for the evacuation centers and the victims of Hurricane Harvey. His bags were packed, and he was on his way behind the wheel of that laden truck.

There are two more details that need to be mentioned: First, the truck and the trailer that he just purchased — Daniel plans to leave them in Houston to continue to be useful in the cleanup after his FEMA tour is finished.

And second, Daniel Goldsmith is a contestant in the Mr. South Whidbey Contest. All summer long he’s been putting his heart into raising funds for Friends of Friends (along with his “tango dance partner, Myrtle.”) Now, in the prime weeks for getting “votes” for his campaign, he is off serving the thousands of devastated people and properties in Houston. And he is likely to be called from Texas to Florida as well.

But Daniel had another idea (he always does!), so he would not abandon his Friends of Friends responsibilities: he and his wife stuffed dozens of envelopes addressed to Friends of Friends, put a stamp on each, and a dollar in each, along with a note saying that this was a “vote” for Daniel Goldsmith. The envelopes were distributed to several friends with these instructions: “Tell anyone you give this to that if they can add more to the envelope, please do. If they can’t add more, then seal the envelope and send it in. And if they need the dollar, tell them to keep it.”

That’s Daniel for you. And that man, who epitomizes the spirit of South Whidbey, is getting all my “votes” for Mr. South Whidbey!

CYNTHIA TRENSHAW

Freeland