jayward33.blog-city.com
TRAFFIC
posted Monday, 7 July 2008
YESTERDAYS CASTAWAYS
TRAFFIC
The day starts to get busy with a wake up call for sirens responding to yet another emergency. The construction site across the street chimes in with the beep beep of trucks backing up and the street below my balcony is chock a block with commuting cars, SUVs and buses.
I've been up since 5 a.m. surfing the news channels getting a read on the world. I see there has been another Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan yesterday as well as 40 or so people in a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul. The problem is a sort of combat fatigue where each new attack morphs into yet another attack and on and on. We have no idea of the carnage and mostly the victims are faceless to us and really, we have no idea how we are to respond to the reports.
There is a "Chicken Little" quality to all the news these days as if we should run around in constant fear of even our shadows. Yesterday I saw a Muslim woman completely covered with only a slit for her eyes walking with her family along Water Street and the first thought that popped into my head was "bomb". My next thought was how absurd my first thought was. Then I thought about why I would think "bomb" and realized how I had been manipulated by press reports, TV and the media. There is a sense that even though the incidents reported are a long way away from here it is as if the incident had happened just down the block.
This is reflected in the statistic that the crime rate is down but according to public perception the crime rate is up. Then there is the numbers game where the numbers are so great as to become meaningless, what's another million more or less. I don't know about you but I can't imagine a million anything. I have trouble keeping track of my meagre possessions without trying to figure out where a "million" things may be.
I have to get up and close my windows as they have started hammering across the street. I'll make some of friend Sue's coffee present and then put some pants on, make my bed, wash the dust off my body, shave and well you know the rest.
La Dolce Vita!
Ciao, JWL
The day starts to get busy with a wake up call for sirens responding to yet another emergency. The construction site across the street chimes in with the beep beep of trucks backing up and the street below my balcony is chock a block with commuting cars, SUVs and buses.
I've been up since 5 a.m. surfing the news channels getting a read on the world. I see there has been another Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan yesterday as well as 40 or so people in a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul. The problem is a sort of combat fatigue where each new attack morphs into yet another attack and on and on. We have no idea of the carnage and mostly the victims are faceless to us and really, we have no idea how we are to respond to the reports.
There is a "Chicken Little" quality to all the news these days as if we should run around in constant fear of even our shadows. Yesterday I saw a Muslim woman completely covered with only a slit for her eyes walking with her family along Water Street and the first thought that popped into my head was "bomb". My next thought was how absurd my first thought was. Then I thought about why I would think "bomb" and realized how I had been manipulated by press reports, TV and the media. There is a sense that even though the incidents reported are a long way away from here it is as if the incident had happened just down the block.
This is reflected in the statistic that the crime rate is down but according to public perception the crime rate is up. Then there is the numbers game where the numbers are so great as to become meaningless, what's another million more or less. I don't know about you but I can't imagine a million anything. I have trouble keeping track of my meagre possessions without trying to figure out where a "million" things may be.
I have to get up and close my windows as they have started hammering across the street. I'll make some of friend Sue's coffee present and then put some pants on, make my bed, wash the dust off my body, shave and well you know the rest.
La Dolce Vita!
Ciao, JWL
Ending on a happy note.
p.s. Everybody you must read Paula Reed's Memoir series
it is among the best writing I've seen since
I started blogging
just click the URL
in my bookmarks column
JWL
Talk to me (2)
1. idaprince43 left...
Monday, 7 July 2008 11:25 pm
I look forward to reading your daily blogs even when I get a month behind.
Opened my own blog-city & hope to be financial enough to join in 30 days.
2. Paula Reed left...
Wednesday, 9 July 2008 2:40 pm :: http://paulareed.blog-city.com
Thanks for the plug, JWL.