THE TSUNAMI’S RIPPLES: AN EVENING OF SHARED HUMANITY AT JAPANESE GARDENS
By Greater Long Beach
No one knows why we must suffer—and yes, it seems we must—yet no one can deny that the ripples of our suffering often awaken the forces that revitalize our lives.
So it is that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that rocked and flooded Japan, painfully uprooting millions of people—and killing thousands of others—brought together a diverse crowd of mourners, supporters and local political leaders Sunday evening at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Gardens at Long Beach State.
Together they shared their anguish and their hope, at times listening to inspirational addresses and traditional music, at other times falling silent, looking at one another’s faces and into each other’s eyes, lighting candles and contemplating how much the flickering little fires have to say about the fragile nature of all our lives … and raising some money for their human brethren on the other side of Earth.
Among those who spoke were former Long Beach Mayor Eunice Sato, current Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, state Assembly members Warren Furutani and Bonnie Lowenthal, along with Consul General of Japan, Juinichi Ihara.
Jeanine Birong, a photographer and correspondent for Greater Long Beach, was among the crowd and shares these images.
