Masks

Instead of returning to the computer lab early in the moring like I thought I was going to, I watched the news late last night, and then I watched it again this morning before coming into the lab at noon. I remember watching the news during the first "Gulf War," and I was pretty astounded by what I saw then. For me, one of the most memorable images from that war was, while I was watching the coverage on CNN (I think), a very large bomb struck near a hotel and terrified the reporter inside, just before he was knocked off the air. It was pretty intense and dramatic. (He was okay.) So, I guess I thought that there wouldn't be much of anything that would surprise me this time. Yet, I must admit that I was mildly surprised to see how close all of the reporters are to the actual war this time. Their closeness means that we too are close. Consequently, we here in America, can hear the air-raid sirens, watch reporters don their gas masks, follow reporters as they travel along with the ground troops in the back of assualt vehicles. Frankly, I find it all a little surreal. Again, living in this rural area, I have not noticed too much of a reaction in my home town. Except to say that the senior center, a place that I walk by on my way to school everyday, and which is normally a quiet place, was fairly crowded this morning.

If you are interested in following some of the audio coverage of the war on the internet (for free of course), check my the link for NPR on the left. Last night, they had some free covereage on MSNBC, but I could not follow it for very long, because I think they could not support so many people tyring to do the same thing I was. If you guys hear of better (possibly video) coverage of the war, which is free of course, let me know.