(Anytime Letterman does a show with absolutely no one in the audience, well, that's a bigger disaster than usual.)
But something is different this time. I know folks in the area.
I see things that aren't in the pictures as newscasters go from take to take.
There's Dawn, my sister, and Kat in New Jersey.
Todd in Brooklyn.
Doug and Diane in Manhattan.
Not many, granted, but names that bring this whole disaster down into sharp familiar focus.
Don't get me wrong - it's a tragedy, it's bad.
But the millions are just that. A lot of people I don't know.
But the folks I do know . . . now that makes it personal.
Faces in the storm. Faces of friends.
Friends in trouble.
And the very best thing I can do for them is pray. Long and hard.
It's at times like this I either believe or I don't. I choose to trust Him or I don't.
May God hold you close in the tempest, guys.
A lot of folks are praying for you.