Email from a friend who also writes about the concept of time:

Words can not begin to describe the visit I made yesterday to Ampara, Sri Lanka. I have never seen anything like it (and I have seen a lot). I am sending a few photos.

People there seem to be in a complete daze. For some, there continues to be denial. I talked to one woman who still believed that her children might be alive after being washed to sea -- living in some other village. She was far from accepting the obvious. In the affected areas, we found other people rummaging through their belongings. As might be expected, they were withdrawn and focused on the task at hand. The psycho-social healing will take months, if not years (if ever).

The devastation is indescribable. The needs are great. The time needed to sort this out will be very extended. I was humbled by the experience.

There was another woman who had both her children by her side when the wave hit -- two boys (ages 4 and 6). She held them with all her life but the wave took them away. You could tell all she wanted was to die. She had nothing left. No hope. Nothing..... This is the image that will remain with me forever. My heart and soul have been silenced. I am filled with their pain.

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