Support for Japan - March 11
I was in Naples contemplating the horror of the last day at Pompeii just after seeing the shapes of those who had died from the explosion of the volcano Vesuvius, when a close friend from England called to say that there had been the terrible disaster in Japan. She is married to Gordon, my oldest friend from school days, and their son Alex who I've known since he was a small child is now a teacher in the city of Kurihara, Japan. This is in a particularly badly hit area just an hour away from the region's capital Sendai, which has been partly washed away in the Tsunami. Alex has been able to call only once and briefly. There's little water and no gas or electricity in the area and he said it is extremely cold. Where he lives is also only about forty miles away from the potentially dangerous nuclear power station. It’s always horrific to hear of any disaster in the world, but brings it home in a very direct way when someone you know is in the midst of it.
It was less than a year ago that I was in Tokyo with the band. It had a tremendous atmosphere and the people there were all so helpful and kind. We made friends with several of them and I'm thinking of them all at this difficult time. Below are a couple of links to charities that are sending aid.
www.savethechildren.org/japanquake
