Yesterday morning I was awoken at 6:00 in the morning by a sound that I was pretty sure was either an air raid or an alien invasion. But I was tired so I ignored it and went back to sleep. Then an hour later, the noise was back, as well as a few messages on my phone about avoiding the beach today, and hey, there’s a tsunami coming to Hawai’i by the way.
The fact that this tsunami turned out to be something of a dud didn’t keep the entire morning from being bizarre in a way similar to so many days in the aftermath or foreboding of some horrible thing. Watching the same simple images, being given the same limited facts, for hours on end; waiting for something more informative, more interesting to happen; eventually giving up and putting on the Olympics.
It’s slightly disturbing that I, that we are so easily distracted from situations that could potentially become serious disasters. It’s very disturbing that this is obviously the doing of the inane and sensationalist news media. And also I will have the image of shifting waters in Hilo Bay burned into my eyes for a long time.
(image via)
