Below Belief

A couple of friends of mine had a near miss in Thailand – only an hour before the tsunami hit they were on the beach at Khao Lak.
I thought this quote made sense of the events of the last week most succinctly:

I cannot say that this tsunami is for the good.
It is not for the good, it is not for the bad. It just is.
It is not a blessing, it is not a curse, it just is.
A tectonic plate shifted, and a vast wave spread across the ocean, and took with it many lives.
And now another wave is spreading, and it is also vast, and it spreads through the hearts of those who let themselves feel it.
The disaster is. It happened to a “dear one,” someone’s “dear one,” many dear ones. I open my heart and feel it.
beliefnet: Was God in This Disaster? by Rodger Kamenetz.

I don’t agree with central theme of the article because I don’t believe in a god. However in the aftermath of the disaster, the compassion it evokes in everybody and the cohesive forces which act to bring together people of otherwise devisive religions are positive forces in our global society.
We live on a fragile planet, and though the pain might be great, disasters happen and this might draw us closer together.

Just saw this on The Corner and laughed out loud.

Three years ago today I walked into my work office and was inspired by a colleague’s hair do. She had gone to her stylist (such a great word) and asked the stylist to prep her follicles for the New Year in some new and exciting.
Being a fairly typical fat middle-aged white guy, I had had the same hairstyle since…um…ah…birth. Duly inspired, I got up from my desk (remember, this was still when the dot com bubble burstings were splattering all over S.F.) and walked across the street to get a new ‘do.
Alberto had been cutting my hair for the 3 years I worked there. He was a compact Cuban man, who spoke very little and very precisely. He was also very cheap – stayed at $10 a cut during the boom and now in the bust.
I greeted him and asked that he, in the manner of Cyndi’s stylist, give me a great new ‘do which would undoubtedly change my very life.
He surveyed my cranium, then said these words:
Bob, you have a big fat head.
You have only one haircut.
Defeated, I slouched down in his chair and accepted my lot in life.
I thought about this during the holiday break, when so many many of my favorite fellow bloggers spritzed up the visuals on their sites – adding color, designing header banners, changing fonts. I must admit to envy in my heart (and all over my keyboard) – I have the TypePad equivalent of a big fat head with only one haircut for it.