Yes, it's no longer just an avalanche. It's acquired it's own name: Damalanche, so called because it managed to effectively dam the Lowe River. Of course, if you've been wanting to drive out of town, I suppose you might amend that to Damnalanche.
It's only been a week, but I'm sick of it already.
I've heard nonprofit organizations, particularly those constantly fund raising in response to major issues, complain that Americans have a high tune-out factor. When we are bombarded with information and pleas for help, we quickly tune out the noise and begin to ignore it. I remember first hearing about this as a teen in the 1980s (man, that was a long time ago) when famine was ravaging Ethiopia. Television and print media was constantly full of appeals for money to buy food, appeals usually accompanied by heart-wrenching photos of emaciated children with large, sad eyes. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Americans to tune out, a much shorter time than it took to pull Ethiopians from the brink of starvation. After initial outpourings of cash...nothing. We were fatigued by media overload and looked away.
I have to believe I wasn't alone in, after a few days, tuning out the coverage of Sandy Hook Elementary, the Boston Marathon bombing, hurricane Katrina, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.... There was nothing I could do, and no purpose to be served by my dwelling on the situations. That's not to say that I didn't care, but I just am not a wallower.
Much closer to home, but also much less important, is the coverage, discussion, etc. of this damn avalanche.
I've always said that living in Alaska gives you great stories to tell, and this is just such a situation. Oh, but I'm tired of hearing about it already. Of course, you may have noted that I'm still sharing a few updates and photos on Facebook (such as the one above that I stole), and I'm obviously sharing this post, so I'm not immune to the urge to dwell on the biggest story around.
Nonetheless, as I tend to do to many charitable organizations' pleas, I'm starting to tune out the stories. I scan past the photos on Facebook. I don't watch the news video clips. I'll keep up on the situation, even I want to know when the work finally starts to clear the road, but I won't be looking for updates multiple times a day. What will be, will be.
This wasn't the first time snow slid, and it won't be the last.
What about you? Do you tend to tune out the latest hot issue, or do you stay absorbed in the details? Why do you think that is?
