My brother, Senior Airman Eric Cullen in the Air Guard, sends everyone a big Happy Fourth of July. He is on his way to Mississippi, where he will be until late August, training at Keesler Air Force Base and helping to rebuild the coast.

Whereas most of us will be celebrating our country's independence by trying to blow up a small part of it with the biggest fireworks we can find, my brother hopes to take part in rebuilding the Gulf Coast where it was hit hard in the last hurricane season. He wants to remind everyone that in addition to New Orleans' destruction, good people all along the coast were affected.

Eric also has a lighter side. In his free time, he's a stand-up comic working to promote other comics. He is also producing a podcast that will cover, in addition to comedy, his experiences this summer in hurricane-ravaged areas. Check him out on MySpace.