Earth(quake) Day

I was just barely awake when my cat Quincy and I felt our bed shaking this morning. (For those of you wondering, George is away at a month-long training program, so he experienced this lovely earthquake up near Schofield Barracks.) Both the Q-man and I had the same reaction: this bed is shaking, so we'd better get out of it! Ummmm....yeah. Of course as soon as I stood up I realized the whole house was shaking. In fact, the whole ISLAND and the whole ISLAND CHAIN were shaking! Wierd to think about, huh? So there was my first earthquake. And about 20 minutes later came my first aftershock. A few neighbors were out in the street checking to see if everyone was ok and verifying that yes, indeed, it was an earthquake. Overall, it wasn't that bad, though I admit it rattled my nerves. And while phone service was tricky today, I spoke with George and he is doing fine, too.

The quake caused an island-wide blackout, so after several hours of sitting around the house reading, I started to go stir-crazy with boredom. So, I trekked up to Schofield Barracks. Surely the Army Post would have back-up power, right? While they do have it, they weren't using it. Maybe to conserve their supply should there be prolonged outages? Not really sure. Anyway, my hopes of watching the Cards vs. Mets game or doing anything else to fill the boredom were dashed.

Later in the afternoon, my boredom sent me venturing out again, this time to the North Shore. I really like it there. I had a hunch there would be nutty surfers undeterred by the possibility of dangerous waves or a tsunami. I was right. I watched with envy and admiration as surfers traversed some rather large waves. I am vowing to take lessons as soon as I have some extra cash.

The whole day was a reminder of the immense power of nature. Did I mention the part of the island where I live has had virtually non-stop rain for about three days now? The rain, the earthquake, and the powerful waves are all far, far beyond human control. As mere humans, all we can do is stand and watch and maybe take some measures for safety. But, we can't lock ourselves in the basement, crawl under rocks, and hide from everything. Mother nature is still right there with us.

As I stood on the North Shore, looking out to the Pacific Ocean, I couldn't help but feel dwarfed by the vastness and deepness of the ocean. It is hard to comprehend just how far away land beyond the islands is. I felt like I was on the edge of the world. Frightening and awe-inspiring and comforting all at the same time. An amazing, nerve-rattling, boring, and exhilerating day.

Note: I took a few more pictures that may convey the feelings I've had all day. You can see them here. Be sure to view the slideshow, as the thumbnail versions just don't do justice to the scenes.