Good Ol’ Boy
Soap Opera Digest: You lived in New Orleans when you were a boy. This tragedy must be shocking to you.
Winsor Harmon: I can’t believe what happened. I watched the TV coverage and was speechless. Such a beautiful city. My favorite memory was when my brother and I got brand-new, shiny red bikes and we rode them on the levee of the Lake Pontchartrain, the same levee that let the people down.
Digest: Do you have family still living there?
Harmon: My dad lives about two hours outside of New Orleans, so he wasn’t affected by the hurricane. He would drive to New Orleans every Sunday to have dinner. The people of Louisiana are like no other. They’re so warm and nice. A friend of mine from Venice [Italy] was in New Orleans recently and he said he had never been around so many hospitable people.
Digest: Why did you decide on The Dream Center?
Harmon: I had to do something. What I really wanted was to go directly to Louisiana to help out. I had plans to fly into Houston and my dad would meet me there. But then he advised me to stay away for now and let the clean-up happen first. I’m definitely going to go at a later date. I had already been donating money to relief efforts, but when I heard that a lot of displaced families were going to be housed at The Dream Center, I wanted to do something for these people’s immediate needs. So I went down there first, just to meet them and then find out what they needed.
Digest: What was your first visit like?
Harmon: I was blown away. Their attitude is unbelievable. They’ve lost everything and they were excited about seeing Thorne. I was torn up. I was talking to one lady and she said she wished she had something to keep her belongings in. I went back to my house and pulled this antique chest out of my garage. I brought it down to her and she was so pleased. There was a family I met and they had five kids, two of them were twin boys who are only 3 months old. Still, they were upbeat and positive, even though all they had was what they were wearing. I asked the mom what they really needed and she said all she wanted was long-sleeve sleepers for the babies because the L.A. nights are cool to them. So I came back with a dresser full of baby clothes, socks and shoes. I want to bring this family to my house soon for a sit-down dinner.
Digest: I suggested that you contact the local news so you could use your celebrity to bring L.A.’s attention to this shelter but you refused. Why?
Harmon: Because then it’s about me and I didn’t want that. The focus needs to remain on these families and getting them back on their feet.
Digest: Have you been surprised by people’s generosity?
Harmon: Yeah, it’s been incredible. I contacted Best Buy [electronic stores] and they donated TVs, VCRs and DVD players so these people could entertain themselves while they’re here. That was so kind.
Digest: Have you seen anything negative?
Harmon: Dr. Phil did a show from The Dream Center, so that got a lot of media attention. Some other celebrities found out about it and now they’re trying to go down and volunteer just so they can get on television. It just pisses me off. What good does it do? I like Sean Penn’s approach. He got some buddies on a plane and went to New Orleans to do whatever he can, but told the media to stay away from him. He went there to help out, he didn’t go in for publicity.
Digest: So, what are you doing tomorrow and the day after that?
Harmon: I’m just taking it one day at a time.
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