Jarvis DeBerry captures it:
Friday I was interviewed by a psychiatrist at work on a book about how people in the city are faring these many months after Hurricane Katrina. I told the doctor that I found myself turning inward, withdrawing from people I once held close. At times I've felt angry that they aren't here struggling with me. I'm here and they aren't. And the doctor -- who has made regular trips to the city after the storm and still keeps a home here -- said she's noticing schisms.She gets the feeling sometimes that her friends are angry at her, she said; she feels they're treating her as an outsider. I still have a home here, she says in her defense. But then she remembers: She has the luxury of leaving whenever she wants. By contrast, folks who remain here are developing the same kind of bunker mentality that soldiers exhibit, she said. They feel closest to those with whom they've shared -- and continue to share -- identical experiences.
Why do I not read or watch national news? Because if it ain't about NOLA, I don't really care. I will read the BBC, IHT and NYT, and Prague Post, just to get a handle on the world.
The country to our north, and I don't mean Canada, is just a lot more insignificant to my life now. Not that it's insignificant, but right now, Tuva has as much impact on my life now as the other 49.
H/T Yellow Blog
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