The Woods are Lovely, Dark, and Deep...and okay, I guess

Just a note to let you know I am alive and well. Despite mosquito bites and a strange rash on my left arm, I survived "roughing it" in the woods of Charlton, MA. Camp Bement was an Epispocal camp--complete with a "prayer labyrinth"--so the counselors were pretty authoritarian about us having beer on site. However, it was an idyllic setting and I rediscovered my love for competitive sports (frisbee, canoing, and volleyball yesterday--my entire being is sore). So...yes, I had to climb up a series of log stair-things to get to the bathroom and the food left much to be desired, but I had a wonderful time and bonded with my classmates and some of our profs. It was roughly worth the 40 clams we each had to shell out.

On a more serious note, I wanted to make a note about hurricane Katrina. First of all for those of you who know Eric Jensen, Kendra Bonga, or Shamus Rohn and his wife, I have been informed either directly or indirectly that all are safe and out of New Orleans. Because I don't have a T.V. or internet at home and I have been incredibly busy with school, I wasn't fully aware of the extent of the devastation until late last week. I feel crushed and quite helpless about the situation--similar to how I felt on that day in September 2001. I was talking with a fellow student at the retreat, and she expressed her shock particularly from an international perspective (she's from Denmark) that people weren't as outraged about Katrina as 9/11. Thousands have died, and those who have suffered the most are the poorest and most marginalized Americans (such as Eric's high school students--he's doing Teach for America). I didn't have an answer for her, but the conversation made me reflect quite a bit on an article that we're reading for our Development Theory class called "Pathologies of Power" by Paul Farmer. He contends that the biggest "risk factor" for violence, natural disaster, and disease in particular is not racial or regional, but socio-economic. Read it and give me your thoughts if you have time: http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9875/9875.ch01.html

That's it for now. I have to edit a paper for class Tuesday.

Think about it.

TKP