We've seen Lohan. We've seen Britney dance. And we've seen Paris sans underpants.

It seems every 15 minutes in the 24-hour info cycle there comes a new attack of tacky by these poor darlings who have been given too much too soon.

So consider Peggy Heise as the anti-Paris. She has given as much as she can as often as she can.

The Ventura homemaker certainly is not as famous or as rich as these dysfunctional divas.

And she's not as young, either. She turned 50 on July 30.

Heise's idea for her big five-oh birthday present takes the cake.

Rather, it gives the cake.

The former waitress asked her friends to donate to her favorite cause in lieu of buying her a gift. Heise then promised to deliver a piece of her birthday cake to each donor as a thank-you.

She and I happen to share a particular cause. Last October, I wrote about Lu Merritt, a 48-year-old veteran who found herself on the verge of being homeless.

After a long bout with lymphoma, Merritt sold her condo and bought an RV. She pays space rent in a Thousand Oaks trailer park.

She figured the proceeds from the sale of the home would last her lifetime. But she didn't plan on cancer devouring her savings.

Last fall, with Merritt facing eviction, dozens of Star readers donated money, time and labor to help her. They repaired her RV, which had developed plumbing problems so dire she had no running water in her bathroom. She heated water to bathe on her stove.

The column mentioned the propane to heat Merritt's coach ran $15 a month.

Moved by Merritt's optimism, Heise started sending her $15 to $20 each month along with a breezy note. Merritt responds with thanks as well as updates on her life, which remains a rough road.

These two members of a rather exclusive mutual admiration society had never met in person.

Heise's neighbor remembers the day she told her about the plan to aid Merritt.

"Mostly on our birthdays we want something for ourselves. Peggy is not that way," said Annie Dransfeldt, a 63-year-old widow.

Dransfeldt, who says she can't begin to list all the favors Heise has done for her, had no problem donating to the birthday surprise.

Fresh lemon cake

And on a recent afternoon, Heise arrived at Merritt's spotless trailer with a lemon cake and all of Merritt's letters stacked neatly in the order in which they had arrived.

Some months Merritt had the means to reply on pre-printed "Thank You" notes. But other months she had to use scraps of notebook paper and free sticky notes from an auto-parts dealer.

When Heise handed Merritt a check for $625, she was stunned beyond words.

So Heise spoke up.

"You inspire me," she told Merritt. "You've gone through so much, but you are uplifted."

Heise added she enjoys good health and can't imagine the struggles Merritt has faced.

You have to wonder what the world would be like if Lindsay, Britney and Paris felt the need to inspire people to heed the call of their better angels.

Heise is fortunate enough to know the answer.

Passing the torch

Her 18-year-old daughter, Makena, recently graduated from Foothill Technology High School and received the Stanley E. Cohen Memorial Scholarship, given to students who display outstanding community activism. Makena donated hundreds of hours to Habitat for Humanity, Community Memorial Hospital and Project Understanding to name a few, her dad, Lee Heise, reported proudly.

Her goal in life is not to party hearty in Las Vegas or have the best lip-gloss wardrobe in the First World but to be a nurse with the international medical-relief organization Doctors without Borders or the Peace Corps.

"Some people look up to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton," Makena told me. "But I follow the stories of people who follow their hearts and go out of their way for others."

Lindsay, Britney and Paris are different from Peggy Heise in another way. They are in show business.

But it is Heise who landed the best role of all. She is a role model.

— E-mail this Star columnist at cccason@aol.com