In 1997, I made a lightning work trip to Nepal (and three other nearby countries in 14 days) for UN Development Programme. I enjoyed my time in Thailand, Laos, and Pakistan, but it was Nepal that settled deep into my soul in barely four days. When the earthquake struck on April 25, I bounded from bed to my keyboard and banged out a 1500-word piece, almost without taking a break. As I did, the numbers of dead increased, then increased again. And again.
Then, cognizant of word-lengths for op-edish type pieces, I cut it down to 900 words and submitted it to Cognoscenti, WBUR's "Idea's and Opinions" site. They asked me to trim it by another 150 words, which I did, and it was published this morning. They added photos, one sad, illustrating the devastation in Kathmandu, the other a picture of precisely the World Heritage site that I wrote about taken two years ago, much as it was when I was there.
Here's the piece, "In Nepal, Getting Back to Normal in the Dust of Time."
