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Jan. 27, 2005 I apologize for the tardiness of this article but I believe it still has merits. Although the essence of the piece involves the horrendous loss of life last month in the Indian Ocean it also deals with something on a personal level for me. I was also tied up with enticing investors to fund an independent film project that I have presently put into pre- production. But I would say, baring any of these other duties, I have been reluctant to jump on and voice my opinion about all the world’s woes because of one major woe. The tsunami that swept through the South Pacific and has galvanized the world’s media and, through it, the world. Sure, I’ve been busy but not that busy. I have caught tortured sights of newscasts and have seen the devastation brought about by this world disaster. I have witnessed the aftermath and all that it entails. And I am struck dumb. Voiceless, speechless, numb and extremely sadden. So, these flaws in my writing character have attributed to my unwillingness to write a narrative about what my eyes and what the world has been subjected to. It’s easy for me, sitting here safe and secure in my Northern California home, to make bold statements like the previous one. But really, my being subjected to what these people are actually going through or what they have gone through is another concept that I couldn’t fathom. Until last night. I saw film footage of a woman who had laid out her child, age 5 or 6, on a blanket and was wiping the child’s face off with her hands. She so carefully kept lifting the child’s arms to fold them across the body and then readjusting them. Back and forth she went. Back and forth. And at the end I was crying. Weeping like a baby, as I am now, reliving that moment as I write it for you now. For you see I am a father of three wonderful boys. And being a parent and seeing another one in the throes of despair brought it all home to me, sitting here in my Northern Californian home. When a catastrophe, such as this one, occurs we are shocked and saddened by it. Our heart’s go out to the afflicted ones. But it doesn’t really effect us, personally. Such a huge event is tragic, but of what personal effect does it have on our everyday lives? It doesn’t, because it can’t. Why? Because we are watching it. We are on the sidelines visually seeing but not personally experiencing. But we can empathize; we can feel remorse and sympathy. We can donate our time, money and prayers. But we can’t personally be effected by the event. Until a defining moment occurs that grabs you by the collar and drags you personally into their struggle. Which is what happened to me last night. And through that defining moment, all the floodgates opened. And that’s why I’m sitting here this morning writing this to you. But actually more to myself than anybody. Writing helps me to adjust, it helps me to cope and it helps me to feel. Losing a loved one, especially a child, is something I hope I never have to go through. I hope to pass on long before my boys do. Am I selfish to want this? You bet your sweet ass, I am. I don’t want to have to experience the strong emotions and frustrations that I felt vicariously through that woman last night in my TV room. Once was enough. ------------ About the author: Richard Anthony is a screenplay writer and has eight screenplays to his credit. He started writing in 1990, after the birth of his first son. Prior to beginning his writing career, he spent twelve years working at two different radio stations in Sacramento, California. He was an on- air personality for the morning show program at both stations. At his final place of employment, Mr. Anthony worked as an Assistant Operations Manager and Sport Director. After radio, he formed Pyramid Productions. A film/video company dealing with video and audio commercial production. In 1998 and 1999 Mr. Anthony’s poem “What is Winning All About?” was selected by the International Library of Poetry to be placed in their anthology book of American poets for 1998. They contacted him again the following year to seek his permission for “Winning” to be included in their Millennium anthology collection. He, of course, gladly gave it. You can access his webpage at
www.tandemproductions.biz
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