IT’S RAINING SIDEWAYS—ON TV

So much of my life is lived through television. Is it sad? I don’t know. The way I look at it: It is what it is. If I didn’t have a television (or a radio, I suppose) I might not know when hurricane Isabel is going to arrive.

This morning I found out when I watched MSNBC and the newscaster told me—I always feel they are speaking just to me—it is ready to wreak havoc on the coast of North Carolina. The outer parts of the storm will skirt southern New England, which is where I live. We might get some tropical force winds (30-40 knots—or do they use miles per hour?) but that’s about it. Oh, and a lot of rain.

What I really liked about the newscast was the visual (that you wouldn’t get on the radio unless the person was very good at describing things) of the rain going sideways behind the news guy. You could tell that the camera guy did an excellent job of lighting to get the effect. It wasn’t lost on me; it was the best part.

Sometimes it bothers me that so many of my experiences are taken off the TV. It makes me feel very fortunate that I got to fly in to photograph the World Trade Center disaster on 9/11, and that I got to go to Baghdad recently. If I hadn’t done these things, I know I’d feel a little empty inside. I am a tactile person so I like to touch the scenes of things—especially important events.

When I was watching the guy on the news standing in his weatherproof parka, I wanted to be there too. Whatever is this strange need I have, it is never quite filled by watching television, even when the lighting is done so well.