move along

I have nothing to say, but...I gotta babble. This is all too much. I'm pleased and proud that so many people are donating money and blood and...well, we've all seen example after example of heroism this week. Just amazing.

And...well, people are so desperate to do something, constructive or not, that they can get a little goofy. Which is okay - harmless goofy behavior is better than setting fire to mosques. I was out today, and there was a teenage girl standing at one of the city's busiest intersections holding a hand-lettered sign that said HONK FOR AMERICA. She wasn't collecting money for anything. The Red Cross didn't get a nickel for every honk. She just wanted us to HONK FOR AMERICA.

How does honking help America? Flying flags I can dig, even lighting candles (just take care not to set your flags alight). Singing, vigils, and assemblies help people to cope. But I submit that the last thing America needs right now is more sudden loud noises, and that random honking in an overworked intersection is, not to put too fine a point on it, a safety hazard.

Please note: If a call has gone out from the Red Cross or FEMA that America needs lots of honking, I am in the wrong and I apologize.