June 18, 2008

I'm all shook up!

Tell me if things seem wacky to you.
I just can't shake the feeling that the rest of the world is just a hair off kilter.

I just wrote the word kilter. What is a kilter? I know what a kilt is and I know where they come from, but is a kilter a person who makes kilts and is this the time he decided not to work?
What do kilt makers do when they aren't working? Tossing cabers maybe? I ain't to sure if I can toss with the kilters, but I can certainly go to the bar and toss back a couple of shots to help wrap this day up and put it waaaaaay up on the back shelf.

There are times in ones life when everything looks sunny and bright yet the Elementals are gathering and conspiring to create a create a conundrum of perfidy and disaster.

Last Saturday I woke up to something quite different from what I expected. It ought to have been a bright sunny day. The city had geared up to celebrate the horse festival and it is said that the weather is always bright and sunny on this day. In all the years I have lived here it has only rained twice and one of those times it was a sun shower.

We got something completely different (No Monty Python jokes, please). A fairly large earthquake literally shook me out of bed and started the day off with a bang!
If you want you can read about it here and see pictures here .

I have experienced about five earthquakes that caused a lot of damage and loss of life a hand full of others that just shake things up and give you something to talk about for a couple of days. This one was as big as the one that hit China a short while ago and I have got to say that many lives were saved by the lightning fast response of the military and rescue services to the outlying areas that received the most damage.
Most of my morning was spent watching helicopters take off and land on the heliport across the river. If I am lucky I can see maybe one chopper a month landing there, but Saturday morning, I must have witnessed at least fifteen landings and not little choppers but military craft that shook our windows and made us think we were experiencing aftershocks.
Speaking of those; we have had over three hundred of them. The scientists say that is good cause if they didn't come there is a high possibility that an even bigger temblor could occur. That, I don't need!
In fact I don't need this kind of excitement at all. I believe I'll go toss a few cabers.

11 comments:

ThursdayNext said...

I was meaning to ask about the earthquakes an am glad that you are all right.

Serena said...

Earthquakes? Holy moly! I'm awfully glad you didn't get kilt. That sure would have thrown things off kilter. Be careful out there!

Allan said...

I live in the USA and have a difficult time imagining a government that's capable of a quick and effective response to anything...what a difference it makes!

Corn Dog said...

Holy Moly! Glad you are okay. What an eery vision watching the helicopters. Take care, NYD. Did you need any care packages sent? Is everything okay? Are you okay?

Pink said...

Man...living in manhattan on 9/12 and the months following...I can't hear the sound of a fighter jet or a helicopter without freezing.

glad you and Crispy are ok. Hang on tight.
xx
pinks

moi said...

I've been boycotting the news these past couple days, so didn't hear about this. I hate it when the earth shakes, just hate it. Too, too terrifying. Glad to hear you and yours are okay.

Kurt said...

Whenever there's an earthquake, the reporters run to the supermarket to get pictures of the groceries on the floor.

lime said...

egads! thats' more than a bit distressing. glad to hear the evacuation, rescue efforts have been so effective though and that you are ok.

Mona said...

I am cent percent sure that I know at last two things that the kilters do when they are not working...

..they are either eating or answering the call of nature...

Earthquake? Wow! I heard they are a permanent feature of Japan! May God be with you all!

Even we had a disturbing phenomenon of landslide & land heating in out city today & there was commotion created by the rumor that lava was about to gush out at our feet any moment today!

I guess the lava changed its mind...

Anonymous said...

Please make sure you have a kit on hand filled with emergency supplies "just in case" and please put the monster in a safe place too, ok? I care for you both quite a fair amount.

The Grunt said...

Here on the Wasatch fault line, we're waiting for the big one that will kill us all. Scientists say that we're past due. Wheeeeeeeee!

Glad that you're ok.