Sad, sad story

Well, the pictures didn't do what I thought they would do. The top left turned into top, top right turned into middle, and bottom left turned into bottom. I will try to use that to make these right. This is a continuation of the Tribal Museum story. We had been there about an hour probably, and I went upstairs. One end had paintings by tribal adults and children, and an area set up for lectures. The other end of the room was filled with photographs. The picture that I hope will be on top caught my eye. I wanted to know what the big pinecone looking things on the pole were. Ramesh got the curator and brought him over to me. The curator said, "You have been here all afternoon, and never asked a question until these pictures." He began to talk. The pictures were taken fairly recently of the Shom Pen Tribe on a fifty acre island. They lived in the tree tops, because at high tide half the island was under water. He said it took a while to gain their trust and co-operation, but he did, with the exception of the one he called Angry Young Man. (should be the middle picture) The curator said they were a gentle people, living in peace with the animals and birds. Little pretty birds would come sit on their hands. He was there for 15 days, and never saw a woman. They had hidden them from him. The Angry Young Man was guarding them, and the curator assumed that the Angry Young Man wanted to kill the curator. The curator loved these people. He took photographs, video, and audio tapes for 15 days, then left them in peace. He told me that before he came they were naked....totally free.....but he gave them cloth for the pictures. I loved that totally free thing. That is how I feel about naked! As he talked, he got tears in his eyes, and I got goosebumps from his demeanor. Then he told me that in the big Tsunami, the island was totally submerged. No survivors. No island. An entire culture gone, never to be seen again. We were both crying. I am crying now. We continued to talk for a long time. It was a very powerful experience that I will never forget.