Natural disasters are part of life on earth. I've been through my fair share with all the earthquakes in California, but I've never encountered anything like the images that I've seen on TV the last few days.

I've traveled through a good chunk of the hardest hit areas in Southeast Asia. I was in Thailand for Christmas and New Years exactly ten years ago. I stayed for 2 weeks on the hard hit island of Penang in Malaysia. I spent 2 months in Sumatra back in 95. For 3 weeks I stayed on Island called Nias off the east coast that was really badly hit. Last I heard their hadn't been any contact with the island. Nias is a surfing mecca and like much of the world, it's shoreline is heavily populated. There would have been no warning. Just a massive wall of water crashing down and evaporating lives.

It's frightening to even consider. Just take a moment a think about how you would feel if a massive wave exploded into your living room, taking with it everything you own, some of your loved ones, and your pets.

Well, it's bad enough that the tsunami hit these heavily populated areas. The devastation is horrendous. But it hit during the highest tourist season of the year. That easily could have been me, naked, with a broken pelvis, clinging to life on a fucking tree while I watched people I was just having breakfast with swept out to sea. It must have been hell for everyone who was unlucky enough to be on the Indian Ocean rim. My heart goes out to all, locals and visitors, who were affected by this tragedy.