Monday Morning and the Grind's Still Here

Thankfully, Ike passed us by with no more than (what I consider) an interesting and beautiful weather day. (Rain, windy) Sadly, though, some to our south and west did not have such good fortune. My heart reaches out to those in Southeast Texas and even in extreme Southwest Louisiana. To give you an idea, today's Picture of the Day from Nasa shows what the storm looked like as it came ashore. Imagine that knocking at your door. Here are some photos of the terrible damage.

Woke up yesterday to learn that David Foster Wallace had committed suicide. I haven't read a lot of his work, but he was a Gen X writer, and therefore we shared a generational culture. He was considered somewhat of a genius, and was by pretty much any measure very successful. Two thoughts come to mind - I wonder first why he was so sad, to the point that taking himself out of the picture seemed like the only worthwhile solution. Second, it makes me think about the nature of genius and the mental burden it sometimes carries. It's a dangerous coin to hold, and even more dangerous to flip.

Wow. Looking back, this post doesn't seem very cheerful, does it? Maybe it's the weather that's put me in this mood. (Heavy, low, grey clouds) Seems to help in the way of creativity though, so maybe I'll have a good writing day. We'll see.

15 September 2008