Visiting my mix of inlaws and nuclears is a bit like being back in college -- a cacophony of the present that real news can't seem to penetrate.
I knew about the tsunami, of course - but, really only because DFW blares CNN throughout the terminals -- loud enough to penetrate even the thickest Tryptophan blur. Tonight, though, was the first time that I looked at the pictures, heard the stories...
It is heartbreaking, of course. Words aren't adequate...
Last I saw, the death toll is approaching 150,000, and they are still finding bodies. The largest death toll in the U.S. from a natural disaster occurred in 1900 in Galveston, Texas, when a hurricane killed an estimated 12,000 people. September 11 – our generation’s benchmark for both horror and empathy – took fewer than 3,000 lives. Nothing has happened here that can even touch the magnitude of suffering in Asia today.
This is one of those times when I wish I had gone into medicine or the Peace Corp. Money won't be enough to rebuild lives, ensure fresh water, save the survivors. Still, it is all most of us have to give.
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