sjrozan

This morning on the river, flat gray sky, turbulent gray water. Started out warm, though damp enough to be chilly after awhile. "Forward" is an interesting concept on this part of the river. As the tide changes, front and back, upstream and down, keep reversing. In a sense, past and future, at least for the river. Twice a day.

Can't watch the water anymore, of course, without thinking of the people who were, or weren't, watching the water on Sunday. For 120,000 of them, the future suddenly vanished. For 5 million more, apparently, the past has suddenly re-ordered the future. As it always does, but so much more violently, this time.

We think we have a handle; we think we can control what's coming. We can't. We can't even see it.

All we can ever do is try to help in the aftermath.

So I leave all of us with this wish for the new year: that we never lose the ridiculous urge to keep on throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean, one by one. Even when the ocean itself changes its meaning.

Peace, and good luck.

sjrozan I'm a writer, at work on my 11th book. This blog is a record of random and less-random thoughts. If you want to know more about me, check my website, linked here. I also had a blog going from spring through late fall 2004 about the publishing process for my 9th book, ABSENT FRIENDS. That blog's called "Progress" and you can find the link here. I won't make any more entries but I'm leaving it up in case anyone's interested; the process is more or less the same from book to book.
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Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (0)		2004-12-31 1:14 PM Looking forward This morning on the river, flat gray sky, turbulent gray water. Started out warm, though damp enough to be chilly after awhile. "Forward" is an interesting concept on this part of the river. As the tide changes, front and back, upstream and down, keep reversing. In a sense, past and future, at least for the river. Twice a day. Can't watch the water anymore, of course, without thinking of the people who were, or weren't, watching the water on Sunday. For 120,000 of them, the future suddenly vanished. For 5 million more, apparently, the past has suddenly re-ordered the future. As it always does, but so much more violently, this time. We think we have a handle; we think we can control what's coming. We can't. We can't even see it. All we can ever do is try to help in the aftermath. So I leave all of us with this wish for the new year: that we never lose the ridiculous urge to keep on throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean, one by one. Even when the ocean itself changes its meaning. Peace, and good luck. Read/Post Comments (0) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top