When I was 3 1/2 years old, I experienced a tempest known as the Columbus Day Storm. It was what they call an extratropical cyclone (according to Wikipedia), and is considered the strongest storm to have hit the Pacific Northwest in modern history. I don't really remember much about it, other than what fun I thought it was that the lights all went out and we had to make our way with candles for days. I also remember lots of fallen trees across the road and one that squished the neighbor's house. And my tricycle blew away. My dad found it a few days later way up the block.
In 1980, I was living in Portland, Oregon when Mount St. Helens blew it's top. Initially, the explosion had little effect on the city. A couple of days after the eruption, however, the wind shifted and Portland was covered with a 6 inch blanket of ash. City residents all donned surgical masks to go about their daily lives. People tracked the whitish grit everywhere they walked. The stuff was extremely abrasive and took the finish off cars. It blew into drifts a foot deep in places but, unlike snow, did not melt. The sky was grey and gloomy for weeks. It was pretty miserable.
I lived in Los Angeles through the early 1990s. There, I experienced the Rodney King riots from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, where I was stranded. Planes were not allowed into LA airspace throughout most of that day, since the landing pattern took airliners directly over that part of the city being burned and plundered. A coworker and I sat in a bar called Cheers and watched as our hometown burst into flames and innocent fellow citizens were beaten to death. Again, pretty miserable.
I also remember the Malibu fires which filled the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Fernando Valley with smoke. Landslides followed when heavy rains weighed down the hillsides and sent them plummeting into the sea.
And then there was the coup de gras, the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
I now live in Hawaii. This morning, we experienced one of the largest earthquakes ever to rumble through the archipelago. The temblor has wreaked havoc on the west side of Hawaii Island and caused power outages all over O'ahu, two islands away. Compared to Northridge, it was just a little shaker. But by Hawaii standards, or any reasonable standards for that matter, it was huge.
So what's the moral of this story? Shit happens... wherever I go! Sheesh!
On a lighter note, I've just returned from a wonderful trip to California to visit my pals. These are friends of the truest bluest kind; the people in my life who love me for who I am and around whom I can be myself without pretenses.
The first days of the trip were spent catching up, drinking fine wine and eating delicious food. The last days were spent in a cozy cabin in the mountains, hiking the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada range, drinking more wine and eating more tasty victuals.
It was an inspiring trip, too, as my buds are all enjoying successful careers and had exotic adventure stories to share. So tomorrow, I too will again hit the pavement in search of gainful employment and career fulfillment. Not that I'm not fulfilled now. I've certainly experienced both success and adventure over the years. I have a wonderful life; a wonderful family. It's just that the journey must continue and the next job, here in the islands, is the next leg of that journey. You're welcome to come along if you like.
In 1980, I was living in Portland, Oregon when Mount St. Helens blew it's top. Initially, the explosion had little effect on the city. A couple of days after the eruption, however, the wind shifted and Portland was covered with a 6 inch blanket of ash. City residents all donned surgical masks to go about their daily lives. People tracked the whitish grit everywhere they walked. The stuff was extremely abrasive and took the finish off cars. It blew into drifts a foot deep in places but, unlike snow, did not melt. The sky was grey and gloomy for weeks. It was pretty miserable.
I lived in Los Angeles through the early 1990s. There, I experienced the Rodney King riots from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, where I was stranded. Planes were not allowed into LA airspace throughout most of that day, since the landing pattern took airliners directly over that part of the city being burned and plundered. A coworker and I sat in a bar called Cheers and watched as our hometown burst into flames and innocent fellow citizens were beaten to death. Again, pretty miserable.
I also remember the Malibu fires which filled the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Fernando Valley with smoke. Landslides followed when heavy rains weighed down the hillsides and sent them plummeting into the sea.
And then there was the coup de gras, the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
I now live in Hawaii. This morning, we experienced one of the largest earthquakes ever to rumble through the archipelago. The temblor has wreaked havoc on the west side of Hawaii Island and caused power outages all over O'ahu, two islands away. Compared to Northridge, it was just a little shaker. But by Hawaii standards, or any reasonable standards for that matter, it was huge.
So what's the moral of this story? Shit happens... wherever I go! Sheesh!
On a lighter note, I've just returned from a wonderful trip to California to visit my pals. These are friends of the truest bluest kind; the people in my life who love me for who I am and around whom I can be myself without pretenses.
The first days of the trip were spent catching up, drinking fine wine and eating delicious food. The last days were spent in a cozy cabin in the mountains, hiking the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada range, drinking more wine and eating more tasty victuals.
It was an inspiring trip, too, as my buds are all enjoying successful careers and had exotic adventure stories to share. So tomorrow, I too will again hit the pavement in search of gainful employment and career fulfillment. Not that I'm not fulfilled now. I've certainly experienced both success and adventure over the years. I have a wonderful life; a wonderful family. It's just that the journey must continue and the next job, here in the islands, is the next leg of that journey. You're welcome to come along if you like.
A hui hou!