Monday, October 29, 2012

Thematic delayed. Blame Sandy.

It's been an interesting couple of days of social media watching. Lots of chatter about the storm, most of it innocuous and good natured. Drink your way through the next couple of days? Sure. Watch for the inevitable baby boom in 9 months? Why not? I grew up in Montreal, so storm mentality is nothing new for me. I almost draw comfort from it.

Then there are the folks who talk about their flight home as a death defying event worthy of everyone's intense prayers. Because a turbulent flight, or one that's delayed or cancelled because of the storm, is apparently a near-tragedy for some.

With apologies to those dragging themselves home after a long, exhausting flight, but I fail to appreciate the extreme gravity of your predicament. Because before you were so terribly inconvenienced at the airport, Sandy had raked island after island in the Caribbean. Dozens of people died, and countless more were left homeless. In many cases, they didn't have much to begin with.

Then the tall ship HMS Bounty went down this morning. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 14 crew members from lifeboats, but 2 were washed out to sea. The search continues. With apologies to the harried frequent flyers, your plight doesn't compare. Then again, if Sandy teaches us anything, it might be that there's always someone worse off than you. Instead of whining on Facebook, perhaps you'd like to count your blessings instead.

Thematic will return later tonight.