I'm not a saint, I'm not a soldier

[sovay]

I was woken this morning by the tearing air of a fighter jet going over the neighborhood. spatch later said it must have been a flyover for the Red Sox, but I was half-asleep out of nightmares and afraid it was going to bomb someone.

I woke up properly to discover that Gene Wolfe was dead and Notre-Dame de Paris is on fire.

Isn't it enough just to pay taxes?

Comments

[swan_tower]

The destruction of Notre Dame, while bad, turns out to be not nearly as devastating as I'd feared. They'd already removed a lot of stuff (like the spire statues) for the renovations, and were very prompt and organized about evacuating other movable elements. The towers were saved. And this photo of the interior shows that the nave is largely intact: there's water on the floor, but only one diamond-shaped section of vaulting appears to have collapsed, so much of the interior is in pretty decent shape. So it's still tragic and the repairs will take years to finish, but compared to what it could have been . . . this is almost a relief.

[sovay]

The towers were saved. And this photo of the interior shows that the nave is largely intact: there's water on the floor, but only one diamond-shaped section of vaulting appears to have collapsed, so much of the interior is in pretty decent shape.

That is very good to hear, and a very striking photograph, and I still want to donate money to its restoration (also it kicked off a thing in my head which I am writing, but it's not very French, and that's not the cathedral's responsibility). Thank you for telling me.

[swan_tower]

I've been contemplating ways to raise money for restoration, too. I mean, I imagine the French government will open its wallet to repair a national icon -- but as a friend of mine said, it would still be a good communal feeling to contribute.

[kenjari]

Also, the organ survived! The smaller choir organ got thoroughly doused in water, but the great organ escaped largely unscathed!

[sovay]

The smaller choir organ got thoroughly doused in water, but the great organ escaped largely unscathed!

Nice!

(For whatever reason, that makes me happy.)