Twenty- eleven has been an infuriating year.
Ten years past the fall of the Twin Towers, three years post-Lehman and the apocalypse of the financial system as we knew it, we stand hard-pressed to imagine anyone not touched in the last twelve months by some outlandish, ridiculous, mind-blowing, devastating, distressing, demoralizing, upending, brain-bending, off-putting, mouth-dropping, peculiar, uncharacteristic, wildly dramatic, off kilter shit.
Check out the headlines:
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Among 17 Shot in Assassination Attempt, Six Killed
At Least 8 Die in Australian Flooding
Bombing in Moscow Airport Kills At Least 35, Wounds 168
Earthquake Strikes New Zealand's Second Largest City
Massive 9.0 Magnitude Earthquake and Tsunami Devastate Japan
Earthquake of 6.8 Magnitude Hits Myanmar
Japan Equates Nuclear Incident with Chernobyl
Series of Tornadoes Devastate Southern States
One of the Deadliest Tornados in U.S. History Hits Joplin, Mo
Toxic E. Coli Outbreak Linked to German Sprouts
Wildfires Rage Through East Arizona and New Mexico Wildfire Burns Near Nuclear Facility
The Atlantis Begins Final Mission
Bin-Laden dead.
Gaddafi Shot.
And today, Chris Hitchens died. His editor said it appropriately: those who read him felt they knew him. That is true of how I feel.
We have lost a group of game-chagning renegades, all of whom were contrarian and brilliant. Hitchens, Liz Taylor, Andy Rooney, Steve Jobs, Amy Winehouse, my Mom and my father-in-law. Must be some party going on up there...
Whew.
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