Waiting for pestilence and plague
It's been quite the week for natural disasters around here. First came the unexpected earthquake on Tuesday and now, as I write this, we're awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Irene, which is already slipping into the region with rain and breezes. What on earth is going on? I'm telling you now if there are signs of pestilence and plague, I'm making a run for it. The only question is where to go given the tornados that slammed other parts of the country earlier this summer.
After living in Florida all these years, I'm fairly calm and collected when it comes to hurricanes. I pay very close attention to the predicted track, the anticipated winds and amount of rain expected, then act accordingly. It was not always this way.
When the very first hurricane aimed at Florida after I moved there, I shuttered my home and went straight to the newspaper office where I worked, wanting to be surrounded by friends while the storm blew though. Even though I was the TV critic, not a general assignment reporter, they wanted me to go right back outside! I'm not that intrepid, which was why I'd run to the office in the first place. And I'd seen those TV reporters trying to stand upright while the wind tried to flatten them. I wasn't interested. I attached myself firmly to a phone to work the story from inside and vowed to ride out the next storm from home.
That storm also taught me not to let my panic peak too soon. I was at the office for hours before the first drops of rain fell. Now I've learned to pace myself.
As for earthquakes, I was in Los Angeles for a couple of huge ones. No anticipation. They just happen. Both of the ones I experienced hit in the middle of the night. They scared me at the time, but once the shaking stopped, they were done. The most disconcerting aspects were the aftershocks, which hit the radio station I was listening to a full sixty seconds before they rolled down to Redondo Beach where I was. Anticipating them was worse than experiencing them. I had to turn off the radio.
Here on Tuesday, it took me a good 30 seconds to figure out we were actually having an earthquake, even as the house swayed pretty dramatically. I'd never experienced one in Virginia. The shaking made no sense to me. My cousin who was visiting came running into the living room wondering what on earth was happening. Both of us immediately started checking news websites to see if it was indeed an earthquake. No damage here. Just a few framed pictures fell over on a table. None broke.
Hopefully the hurricane will be equally benign as it rolls through tonight and tomorrow. I'm saying lots of prayers for those in the areas predicted to be hardest hit. If you're in the path of Irene, let me know how you fared. And let's hope the natural disasters are over everywhere for the year!
