I cannot help but say something about the death toll that is mounting across Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia. In the late 50's, Arthur C. Clarke moved to Sri Lanka, and I remember it was said at the time that it was to get away from taxation on his books. In the late 60's, since my husband was a writer and a great admirer or Arthur C. Clarke, we also thought that it would be an elegant and exciting thing to do, move to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and we spent many days and nights talking about the prospect. Alas, it was too far away from our mothers, and our friends, and we did not do it. But I have never forgotten that "incompleted quest", and have been interested in that area of the world as long as I can remember and have always wondered how life would have been different had we moved there.
Now, the tsunami has come, a natural disaster, and wiped out 44,000 people at last count. As I got my Dunkin Donuts coffee this morning, I listened to the news on the car radio and could not fathom that number of dead. This will hopefully be the last time, since now something will be done to make sure there is a warning system for the whole planet. As countries and as individuals, we often only learn from experience, too late.
I hope we can use our individual talents and our combined technology to help others.
