Operation: Ruby Slippers is all about friends helping a disabled veteran in his greatest time of need by helping him move back home to be with family in Kansas after the death of his youngest son.

On a fixed income, with occasional freelance work as a writer, Rob Hamm can't afford to get to his son's funeral. With some time and a great tribe of fellow creatives, bird lovers, veterans, patriots, people who value family and people who value open support, he can, however, go back home to share solace with his remaining family members in a place that makes him feel ...

...Well, like he's back in Kansas again. Because he will be!

So let's all put on our Ruby Slippers, and when enough people click through to contribute whatever they can, Rob can go home and start to put his mourning to rest.

An example of his writing -- if you like it, consider dropping a few dollars for his cause: http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/biotech/d-robert-hamm/are-you-there-are-you-safe-is-the-flock-safe

His Tumblr account -- http://anexperimentallife.tumblr.com/

His own account below, taken from Tumblr:

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D. Robert Hamm. Author, technomancer, shameless fanboy. Imagine Tony Stark without the fortune or the drinking problem, or maybe a cross between Sam Axe and the Tenth Doctor, and you've got a pretty good handle on me.

This has been the worst 24 hours of my life so far, and if not for Ree, I'm not sure I'd be keeping it together at all. This is something I hope never happens to any of you, and if it has, please tell me how to make it through, because I'm not doing so well at it.

I debated whether to post this publicly, but you'll all find out eventually anyway, so here goes.

I got a call late last night after we got back from dinner at some friends' house notifying me that my son died from a drug overdose early yesterday morning. I am not okay. I don't know if I will ever be okay ever again.

I am broken, but trying to keep doing normal things as much as possible, because doing that and being with Ree are the only things keeping me even together at all. Ree has been there for me, and now even though she's sick and I'm taking care of her, I think maybe taking care of someone else is what I need right now.

I love our East Coast friends, but after I said something about this place not feeling like home, and really needing to be someplace that feels like home, apparently friends are crowd-sourcing an effort to come up with funds to help Ree and me move to someplace that feels more like home than where we are right now, and where we've already got a big circle of support.

So yeah. That's where things are right now.

--Rob