I hate the word blog...

I have come to hate the word blog. Once something becomes mainstream enough that my 94 year-old grandmother knows what it means, then it has usually been over used. I think back to the time when she told me she had to go because "Melrose" was on...the show was cancelled the same season. And that was what, 10 years ago?

Anyway, dear grandma asked me to set up one of those new blog things for her so she can tell everyone about her life. Quite progressive, she is. I would hate to think about what she would write on a blog of her own. Yikes.

I feel sad today. It is just devastating that they are projecting 80,000 people will have died in Asia from the Tsunami. So sad. I am afraid that the worst is still to come for some of those people. There is no way that there can be sufficient fresh water or food. You see civilians, tourists, carrying the bodies of the dead.

I hear that they are burying the dead with their bare hands. Yet locally, the poster child for survival in Asia is Oprah's decorator. I understand that that news channels are attempting to make the tragedy personal for the American people, but Oprah's decorator as the hero? Please. What does that say about us as a culture? Are we so unable to picture the grief and horror and despair that we need a familiar, white face upon it to make it personal and emotionally connected. I have never been to any of the areas impacted, yet I feel a huge amount of sadness for those who are impacted.

There are bodies floating in the water. The horror of this. Even it you cannot connect with this, emotionally, I'm sure that people will understand that corpses will destroy what little water they have left. The sanitation and burial process is horrific. Those poor, poor people.

I remember when the towers fell on September 11th. My brother who was 13 at the time could not understand why people were so upset. He could not make a personal connection with the horror. He lacked the maturity to understand. Yes, he recognized that a horrible thing had happened but did not understand the magnitude of the event. After all, we live in Washington, all the way across the United States from New York. They didn't attack us, they attacked New Yorkers.

Anyway, enough social commentary for one day. Peace.