every little thing in my life slides away as insignificant as I think about my dad in his hospital bed oh so far away. and I watch the live feed of the tsunami along the pacific rim. nothing like watching the ocean sweep along my favorite place on earth. thankfully, it looks like Oregon/Washington Coasts have been spared. can't even watch the footage of Japan. new yorkers are mostly so insular that they're busy talking about sports & the weather & shoes. oh well...*went to the NBCC event on Wednesday & saw some GREAT readers: Terrance Hayes, Ann Carson, Patti Smith. Franzen gave a lame reading - big surprise. In fact, the fiction category was the least interesting. I miss the young adult/graphic novel categories - all that reading could use some visuals. unless they all learn to be as expressive as Hayes. didn't go to the awards ceremony last night & instead went home, did some work, read more of light boxes (shane johnson) and waited for Con Ed (who never showed). walking to work today, I saw the remains of several umbrellas - so glad I missed the brunt of it though the windows/outside walls shook with the force of that wind. someday I want to live in a little stone house that does not feel the wind. on higher ground, of course. safe from waves. and Republicans.