While watching the news obsessively for hours, I suddenly remembered something I had read a long time ago. I can't remember where I read it, but it went roughly like this: When you go to bed at night, if you know where everyone you love is, then you've had a good day.
The news anchors keep displaying pictures of Japan with dots marking all the aftershocks, or color-coded shading showing the measured levels of radioactivity in each region. Both of these maps are covered with symbols and colors up north. There is no map showing the levels of despair and sadness. Even if there was a way to quantify such a thing, how could there be a map big enough.
6 comments:
Jessica, Suzie would very much like for you to leave Japan. Christy forwarding message from Suzie who offers her home in Gainesville.
Thanks, Christy for passing on the message. Please thank Suzie for her very generous offer. We are considering our options, and will probably end up in California with relatives if we decide to evacuate. Please tell her as of now, we are not considered to be in danger, although of course nobody really knows.
Jessica, soit prudente.
I'm reading online Huffington Post and Guardian UK as they tend to have less hysteria-based news.
"Nobody really knows." True, but that made me think of Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows." Rufus Wainwright and the man himself sing it on youtube.
Love, Christy
Hi Christy,
Love Leonard Cohen. Did you now that Abe went to the same high school as he did? But Abe was several years behind him.
Thanks for the good memory!
xoxo
Jessica
Jessica, beautiful book cover.
This morning (Sat. EST) I read this: In the last 24 hours, five or six planes landing at O'Hare from Japan tested positive for radiation, NBC Chicago reports. The levels of radiation were reportedly "way below anything harmful."
Good to hear about the Leonard Cohen connection. "I'm your Man," is a personal fave.
Something I listen to when I'm down: Venus Hum and the Blue Man Group "I Feel Love." Might be a bit frantic for your tastes. But I find it opens my heart to laughter.
Gen voiced concerns about you.
xoxo, Christy
Hi Christy,
People are really calming down here about the radiation and getting more focused on victims of the tsunami, as is only right.
Don't know Venus Hum et al. but will look them up.
I'm glad to hear you are in touch with Gen, and it's sweet of him to be concerned. Please reassure him. Also, there's a journal I think he should submit work to. I will email you off the blog about it. If you don't get an email from me, let me know. It means my last address for you is not working. But I think it is....
xoxo
Jessica
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