Christchurch Round-up!

The Australian Network here in HK has gone back to regular programing, so I now have to wait for the midday news to find out if they've found Hysterical Yugoslav Guy's daughter, pretty Chinese girl's best friend, Grey-Hoodie Guy's girlfriend, Red-Hoodie Guy's brother, and the mother of that gorgeous tiny little boy who brought his dog into the city, trying to hand it over to the police saying his dog was so clever it could easily sniff out his mum.


Talk about tear-your-heart out!

Gosh, live-to-air coverage is an involving experience, isn't it! You may not know anyone's names but you get so caught up in these folks lives and emotions.

Like, I'm finding it very frustrating we only saw a few of these stories finished. Red-Parker Guy's was ...

I think this is Ann.  

Footage just now up on youtube.

No identification.
Later: No, just  found out that
this is Rosemary,
whose siblings were also
standing vigil in the park, talking about how
she had just that day started working 
in that building.

... however since Ann was, as you know, rescued and her charming and articulate husband - aka Red-Parker guy - was beaming with such quiet and profound joy, it made you cry for ages, so that was nice, and Pretty Maori Nurse found her son - who was such a hunk of drop-dead gorgeousness we were so pleased he wasn't hurt ... and all that wonderful machismo and "Aw, shucks, mum. Stop embarrassing me!" attitude and how he turned away from the camera so you couldn't see him cry, made you cry all the more ... but all these other stories that also grabbed our hearts, it's just so annoying we're not seeing more in-depth coverage because we really want to know how these other stories ended.


We? Yes, Baby Jane was home sick and watching it too, over in Australia, so we chatted for hours on the phone about all these people and just how heartbreaking they were, all standing there in parks near the collapsed buildings, just waiting so quietly and patiently - apart from Hysterical Yugoslav Guy, who was on the phone and claiming he was actually talking to his daughter trapped under her desk, and so was naturally upset Search and Rescue had deemed that building too unstable to enter - all showing such to-the-bone anguish, you just wanted to race over to Christchurch to comfort them personally, or to tear into those buildings yourself to save the person they were in vigil for. (Yes, Lyn, I do indeed end sentences with prepositions, but I have Strunk and White's authority to do so on this matter!) 


And (yes, Lyn, I'm starting a sentence with a conjunction, but Stephen King says that's a rule worth breaking for the vitality it gives a sentence) Baby Jane and I both decided that Christchurch mayor, Bob Parker, was impressing the bejeez out of us, what with his articulate confident fluency and his ability to effortlessly come up with quotable quotes.  And that Kiwi fireman who said "If you're praying folk, please pray for us.  These things work, you know."


Ah, midday!  News! See you later!


Later: Regular news just doesn't do it for me with this disaster.  I want that in-depth coverage, not short little news grabs. Especially since the big story is now Libya and not chucking out Gaddafi, which really is such a slam-dunk it's only the when and how that's even marginally interesting.


Keith and I were discussing this last night and he's predicting Gaddafi won't go until there's a great deal of death and destruction, believing he'll destroy his country rather than surrender, whereas I think Gaddafi's such a braggart and boaster that he'll fold in a heartbeat.  Bullies always do.


Let's see which one of us is right.  


By the way, before I change the subject entirely, I must tell you I have an intimate, insider story about his son-and-heir, Seif - or Safi, as we call him in Townsville - but I won't tell you because everyone involved signed confidentiality agreements, but let's just say that I know for a FACT that this fellow is unbelievably and profoundly evil and someone who you sincerely don't want running any country anywhere in the world, so please cheer for anyone and everyone who's trying to stop that happening.


But heartening as that Libya news is, it is hardly what you want to watch when you desperately want to know if they've found Hysterical Yugoslav Guy's daughter, pretty Chinese girl's best friend, Grey Hoodie Guy's girlfriend, Red Hoodie Guy's brother, and the mother of that gorgeous tiny little boy who brought his dog into the city, trying to hand it over to the police saying his dog was so clever it could easily sniff out his mum.


And this very unsatisfying news grab simply says that they've cordoned off the CBD - so no more vigils -and only one more person has been found alive, although they aren't saying who. (Please, Kwan Yin, let it be the mum of the little boy with the clever dog!) And it also says that the Australian Search and Rescue Teams have been given the too-dangerous-to-enter buildings, so let's hope against all hope that they aren't injured while rescuing the loved ones of all those folk who are so in our hearts and prayers.