Wednesday, April 6, 2011

How Can They Do That?

Stumbling down the stairs on Friday, March 11, 2011, all I could think of was putting a cup of java in my hands, inhaling deeply and tasting the goodness of the bean. I was met with a news report of a 9.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan, unbelievable footage of a giant tsunami and Andy's words, "It's headed towards Hawaii." My friend, Lisa, popped into my head and I heard myself say, "Oh, no." I couldn't take my eyes off the TV screen as they played the same thing over and over. I was mesmerized, watching thousands of gallons of water grabbing cars, boats and houses and depositing them far from their origination. Natural disasters never cease to amaze me. The damage they cause is devastating and then it's over, sometimes in a matter of minutes. I can remember when I was a child one of the few times we actually had a tornado. At that time, it was a given that you wouldn't have power for at least several hours, so we would pile in the car after the danger was over and drive around to assess the damage. Seeing it through the eyes of a child never leaves you. I was in such disbelief and that feeling returned seeing the tsunami and the ruins it left behind. We've heard the stories about people being reunited with each other or their dogs. But mostly there have been tears and heartache at the loss of family and property. As if that isn't bad enough, the fate of a nuclear power plant lies in the balance. I've heard people say that we, meaning the eastcoasters, won't be affected, but according to a bevy of news reports, they have measured radiation in the air as far as Massachusetts and now Florida. Thankfully, as of yet, no one close to me has been affected directly. So nuclear plants are built on faults. Why? You can't just dispose of it's contents. Reports say that radiation-tainted water is now being dumped into the Pacific. How does that NOT affect ALL of us? There is something wrong when a natural disaster turns into a human-created disaster. And what does that say about humankind?