I'm only in Memphis, heading into northern Mississippi, but struck by the fact that so far the only hitch-hikers I've encountered have been trying to get into Louisiana, not out of it. I dare not wonder why. My heart is already breaking without thinking about people making their way into Louisiana to find relatives.

I hope I deliver in Baton Rouge at a nice, efficient and detached warehouse, and I hope USX gets me out quickly and back up north where I can again look at this tragedy through the relative comfort of distance and abstraction. Just crossing the border into Louisiana is going to be emotional.

I'll always think about the woman in West Memphis, Arkansas with the little black dog.