Nothingness and More

It would be fair to say that when I come off a big story, I feel...quiet. And unable to start on the next one. So surfing of the Internet commences, blogging meaningless posts like this one happens, and general wonderment at things busy people pay no attention to escalates.

The latest statistic to make my eyes bulge is that Arafat's finances were estimated in the 1990s by some guy to be between $3 and 5 billion. That's a big gap. How does one begin to imagine a billion, let alone two, of anything? Sand is the only item I can think of that can be an easy to understand billion, and even that is ridiculous.

I like to think about the nearly six(?) billion people on Earth and how many of them we will each have contact with in our lifetimes. I have no idea how many that will be for me, but I hope it is a lot. I hope I keep on in this outward spiral I've been travelling for years, learning what I can. At least seeing what I can.

Living in New York is close to a pantisocracy when it comes to exposure: Every time I walk on the same blocks, I wonder how it is I've never seen a particular man or woman. But then I think that it is just entirely possible this is the one and only time I will ever see this person. That seems okay, right? I mean with six billion of us, some will have to remain anonymous.