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Bridle Ridge 113 Appaloosa, 1999, 3/2, 1809 sq. ft., $147, 000. Relocating. Must sell. Call 361-212-0393.
Numbers – cold, cold numbers, unfeeling numbers, so staggering that we cannot wrap our emotions around them.
From half a world away they pour in – Myanmar cyclone kills at least 35,000, and 28,000 more are missing – mammoth earthquake strikes central China; 15,000 dead counted so far, with the toll expected to rise substantially.
But as I sat and watched the network TV coverage of both events, numbers began to have faces. As I read the account of a young schoolgirl in China whose legs had to be severed to get her out of the rubble, the statistics began to pulse with humanity.
As relief supplies dribbled in slowly to the cyclone victims, whose own government was slowing their survivability after that massive storm swept away homes and whole towns, the feelings came to life in me and I was overwhelmed with sadness at the immense sorrow being visited on that country’s most vulnerable people.
But even with that most moving footage on television, it is difficult to really feel the suffering that these brave people are enduring. For the most part, those in Myanmar and China had little to begin with. Many had to grow what they needed to eat, and many lived in poor shelters; now, they are without even food, shelter and common medical supplies. Many will die who did not have to die.
Try as we may, in our remote-controlled, high-definition, processed food country, it is incredible to us that we could ever lose not only our pleasures, but our necessities. I try to think of sleeping on the ground with my home in shambles, eating unspeakable things to stay alive, and having nothing to give my family for their sicknesses and infections.
The expression that comes to mind as I watch those who are truly living that nightmare is, appropriately, “There but for the grace of God go I.”
And it is God’s grace that I pray will be given to comfort all those victims who need it so badly.
The image that haunts me most of all, except for that little girl trapped in the rubble, is that of a relief worker in China being interviewed by a reporter.
He began to weep bitterly as he told of losing his wife and two children. Then, his pager or cell phone went off, and he excused himself; he was needed to help in rescuing someone else’s family.
That kind of human kindness, in the face of his own suffering, is the face on those huge statistics.
Jim Bishop is a senior editor for the Advocate. Leave him a message at 361-574-1210 or jbishop@vicad.com or comment on this column at www.victoriaadvocate.com