I have some photos from the Phuket area (which used to be posted, and they probably will be again eventually, once I clean up this code mess...), and I'm thinking that some of the people in those photos who made their living at the resort or in the town or on the beach are likely among the tens of thousands of people who were killed by this disaster. At the very least, the pictures that we took while we were there are now photos of history.

The same thing happened with the World Trade Center. Thuc and I spent a good 6 or 8 hours up at the top of the tower, either inside at the restaraunt observation deck or outside in the -50 degree wind trying to take some night photos of the skyline. As it happens, both Thuc and I pulled out our photo albums back when the planes hit the towers... more pictures of history.

I'm a bit more removed from Punta Gorda, since I was 10 years old the last time I was down there, but it was just as eerie hearing the names of towns in the area and places in and around Punta Gorda that were leveled during the hurricane triple. I don't have too many photos of the area so I can't make a direct connection to these other two places, but my cousin's apartment was destroyed and my grandmother passed away in early November, so I guess you could say that the differences are lost in there somewhere.

I'm starting to understand-- in a more practical, tangible way-- the value of photos and blogs and "real" accounts of places and events. It would probably be possible to reconstruct a fairly accurate visual map of Phuket (or most of the other areas that were destroyed two days ago) based on the photos people have taken over the years. The same is true of just about anywhere, especially when tourists are there and even more especially now that digital photography even digital movie cameras have become so popular and accessible.

More important than that, though, are the photos that we take of people when we're out and about. At times I know people are trying to get out of your camera shot, or maybe they explicitly don't want you to take their picture, or maybe they just happen to have been standing in that scene or near that statue or whatever. I have a picture of a woman who was working at the Novatel resort in Patong back in 2000, and in it she's got a nice, bright smile. It's possible that she's among the dead now, and maybe someone would want to see that picture.

Well anyway, I was just thinking... it's a strange feeling to think that I've been to these three places and all three have been hit with tragedy, along with the people-- the ones who happened to be there and the ones who were there very day, day in and day out. It's just an odd feeling.