Thank you for the calls and messages. We are all fine, we did not know anyone who was on the bridge at the time.
We’ve not gone to see the site yet. I don’t want to get in the way and in some ways it feels very disrespectful to stand and gawk at a place where people died, where the tragedy is still a bright scar.
In fact, I stayed home today with a terrible headache and with my lack of television news coverage, I feel very disconnected from it all. I’m okay with that. When I do catch the news on the radio, half of it is pointless conjecture from talking heads and the other half is constant repetition. I admit, however, to watching many of the videos online. This is my city. I was born here, I grew up here. It is my home and my home is damaged and hurting.
On the other hand, the response to the situation was amazing. As a city they were prepared. Search and rescue teams, ambulances, hospitals, it all went as well as it could. The real miracle, as Alex pointed out earlier, is that only 4 people have been found dead and the number of missing has been brought down to 8. This is a major freeway, a busy bridge, and the numbers were kept low.
This is not a comfort to the families that have lost loved ones.