what?

patient: where are you from?
me (pause for effect): lebanon
patient (grimace): family's ok?
me (wince): yes. so far.
patient: someone died from thirst there yesterday
me: WHAT??
patient: yes. i read it in the Dispatch.. things are looking bad.
me: parched to death? i can't imagine that. (i think of the rivers the pools the streams of water). in lebanon!
patient: i'm sorry.
me: i know. i hate that all we can do from here is watch.
patient: not true. if the american people spoke about this, showed their outrage, things will move. believe you me..
me (impressed! i look at him, mentally telling him he's my favourite patient): you're right
He left with a 'hope your family makes it' and a pat on my shoulder.
damn i wish i had political license.

and now there's no more gas... in a few days the lockstockjampiled narrow streets of beirut are going to be eerily empty. eerily dark. eerily full of ghosts. angry premature ghosts.

beirut shall be lockstockjampiled with ghosts instead of cars.

so let the whole world watch, bicker (days vs months, conditional vs unconditional, immediate vs not-so-immediate, UN vs NATO vs BS, Syria vs Iran, WW III vs WW IV) while ghosts of all ages, shapes and sizes are being bred in a country where even light has decided to flee.