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David Guttenfelder / AP
A Japanese soldier sweeps a street in the earthquake and tsunami-hit town of Minamisanriku, Friday, March 18, where his unit planned to begin placing people's personal items to sort.
AP photojournalist David Guttenfelder shares his experience covering the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Some Japanese soldiers were waiting for equipment to finish clearing a field for use as a staging ground, when one of them began to busy himself by sweeping the road with a tiny broom. He worked on this for at least an hour and cleared only a tiny patch of the road, which is blocked, in the background, by a train engine. The destruction of Minamisanriku is so total, I wondered why this soldier would do something that seemed beyond futile. I think when people feel helpless they will sometimes try anything, no matter how pointless, just to feel they are doing something.
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I like the term "Outside the Frame" because one can only capture so much Inside the Frame. The Soldier seems to be meditatiing on a positive act. Every little bit counts. We are all inside the frame called Earth.
I think it captures the Japanese spirit perfectly. If you look around, I believe you'll find acts of this nature repeated many times. Their cumulative effect will bring Japan out of this terrible time.
(PS: California, this is your wake-up call... again. You may not get many more.)
Not everyone can afford to move, and there are many places in the US where a catastrophic earthquake or sudden volcanic blowout can cause this kind of tragedy. So I'm not sure what kind of wake-up call you are expecting, when we already know what could happen at any time.
sometimes just doing something normal helps you make some sense of it all.......