Miracle on the Hudson

Heroic, miraculous, downright amazing. Those are the words that instantly leap to mind when I think about the fate of US Airways Flight 1549 and its crash into the Hudson River yesterday. As I first listened to the report on NPR, I flinched, figuring how could anyone survive a plane crash into chilly waters. Then an incredible sense of relief as the news broke that there were no fatalities and that the pilot beat extraordinary odds to land in a shallow part of the river and the luck in having many ferries immediately available.

A few hours later, extreme media fatigue set in as it seemed every person who ever flew in a plane or worked along the Hudson chimed in with their take on the event. CNN had surgeon general nominee/chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta talking about hypothermia (guess what, cold water is bad!). NTSB officials flowed onto the screen like lemmings off a cliff. They even had Dr. Phil spouting off because he's a pilot.

While I don't mean in any way to diminish the unbelievable alignment of events that had to take place to keep this from becoming an utter disaster, aren't there other news stories to cover? Are we so desperate for any good news that we will devote an entire news cycle or two to this story?

In my opinion, yes. With wars in three Middle Eastern locations, failed economy, despicable greed, job losses and the Obamas still not commited to a new dog, we are more than ecstatic to get it up for the smallest shred of goodness and cheer. And who said all the heartwarming shit only happens in time for the holidays?