Then felt I like some watcher of the skies

There is a news headline out there today saying "people" are likening Christchurch to Iran. I'm not sure who "people", but whoever they are, they must be stupid. No. 1, it's not a war zone and the city is not under fire or still in a state of siege, although some might dispute that. On further investigation, the actual article is about the Australian government warning to travellers to New Zealand. The article asks what do East Timor, Rwanda, Iran, Gabon, Christchurch and Lyttelton have in common?
They are all places, the Australian Government says, where travellers should "exercise a high degree of caution". 

Wow. Yes, it's a demolition site and there is damage to buildings, public infrastructure and essential services, but from what I can see, there is a lot that is good in place and there are also exciting things happening. The art community are collaborating on interesting projects. The hospitality industry is being creative in its approach and there is certainly a collective feeling of having survived and a shared desire to move forward. In actual fact, there is a sense of pride that people already are moving forward. Although the people of the last sentence are not the same from the first sentence of this entry.