Couple tries to re-create 1986 chain People will join hands in show national unity: FORT WORTH - Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Charlene Chapman and her husband, Robert, sat on her mother's porch contemplating what, if anything, could be done in the face of so much tragedy.

Charlene Chapman wanted to do something for the "ones who feel helpless and want to help and can't." Suddenly it came to her - she would re-create the Hands Across America campaign of 1986. For two nights, she and her husband posted messages on America Online's message boards for each state. "The response was just overwhelming," she said. The original Hands Across America occurred in May 1986, and sponsors hoped to raise $50 million to aid the hungry and homeless in the United States.