Land of the Rising Sun

This is the saddest of all pictures to come out of Japan these past few days.  I think it embodies the sentiment of not only the nation of Japan, but the world.  I am among millions of people who feel the deep horror and pain the Japanese people have experienced during and after the earthquake/tsunami this past week.  This man is alive, but his family is gone along with thousands of other people living on a densely populated island in the pacific.  We in Oregon and all along the western coast of the pacific can truly say we fear this disaster.  We also live within the ring of fire and cannot imagine what just happened in Japan happening here.  The threat is as real as the destruction in that small village along the coast of Japan.  But it hasn't happened here yet, at least not on the scale it has in Japan.  We have been pretty lucky so far, but probably will  experience it at some point in time. 

In the meantime, my heart goes out to the tens of thousands of people who have been affected by this disaster in Japan.  They are also facing the threat of a nuclear meltdown in two of the three reactors near the earthquake.  We can only wait and pray they contain the radiation so the people living within the range of the  reactors and as far as the wind will take the radiation cloud, don't suffer from the poisoned air.  I know people in our country will open their pocketbooks and start giving money for the Japanese people to help them overcome this horrific situation.  Bob and I donated yesterday to the Salvation Army because the money is going directly to the rescue and relief in that country.  They need food and water desperately and this organization is already set up in Japan to work towards that end. 

For now I am just sending comforting thoughts and prayers to the island of Japan.  I can do nothing else to ease their pain and suffering.  The man in the photo above has lost everything important to him, not material things but people whom he will never see again in this world.  May he find peace in his heart somewhere through the rest of his life knowing he loved and was loved by his family.  That is all we ever really have in our lives......love and family