A Small Rain

Morning weigh-in: 177.5#, 5% BF (say what?)

Watching the current situation down in New Orleans, it kind reminds me of Pynchon's story "The Small Rain." Plenty of stuff going on but the premise, based on a true story (told to him by a friend who was in the Army when he was in the Navy), is that a hurricane wipes out the Louisiana town of Creole, and the army flies in as part of the disaster relief. The interaction of soldier "Lardass" Levine with the disaster, and with the disaster relief, is what drives Pynchon's version, which can be found on Slow Learner. This time, the disaster is a little bigger -- a large US city has essentially been destroyed -- but I think the same grinding human tragedy and class-based callousness will be played out. (Others have noted the same thing here, and here, and here, and here...)

Meantime, what you can do to help: Donate to the Red Cross.