When You Feel a Quake and Shake ...

"When You Feel a Quake
and Shake
Get under Your Table
and Finish Your Steak!"

That was the warning sign (or something like that) I saw when I ate dinner at the Parkfield Cafe in Parkfield, California.

Parkfield prides itself as the "Earthquake Capital of the World."
They are on the San Andreas Fault (or very near it) and this small town has US Geological Survey (USGS) equipment in place as geologists wait for the "big one" and collect the all important seismic data.

Reference: "The Parkfield, California, Earthquake Experiment."

The news (as I type this on September 29, 2009) of Tsunami Strikes American Samoa After 8.3-Magnitude Quake brought back memories of living on the West Coast. I used to check the map of the Earthquakes in California on the USGS site as often as others would routinely check the daily weather report. Earthquakes happened everyday - only I did not notice them much. All the traffic noise usually drown out most of the earth tremors, except for the real big ones.

My first trip, my husband and I went pig hunting with a guide near the San Andreas Fault. As we stayed at the Parkfield Inn dining in the Cafe, I noticed their "quake warning sign." They had a hundred branding irons (or more) hanging from the ceiling. The thought of all those branding irons raining down on me during the "big one" was as comforting as the Sword of Damocles dangling over my head.

Our first visit, my husband got a boar and we ate sausages all the next year. (They were good.) Next visit, we signed up for hunting lessons from our guide.

That late December 2003 before Christmas, we stood out in the ripe grass, practicing our stances, our aim and shooting skills at targets. Then the ground under us shook, the pickup truck jumped up and down on its tires like giant springs, and the trees lining the field swayed in convulsions.

Earthquake!

Was this the "big one" the USGS was waiting for all these years?

This quake broke several wine glasses stacked in the Parkfield Cafe. I had hoped everyone remembered to get under their table and finish their steak.

But Parkfield was disappointed, again, as this quake came from the San Simeon Fault, not the San Andreas. And my guide was disappointed for he forgot to look at the fields to see the rippling of the seismic waves.

Unfortunately, this quake brought some heartbreak as a few people in a nearby town died from the crumbling debris falling from a building. Then governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the area and offered condolences for the victims' families and assessed the damage.

The force of nature is awesome.

At times like these, the following verses have a personal meaning:

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Psalm 46:1-3 (King James Version)


Related links:
Photo from everystockphoto.com
Me at the San Andreas: everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=3994227

Parkfield: Quintessential California: Parkfield, California
USGS - Recent Earthquakes in California and Nevada: quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/
Parkfield, CA and the San Andreas Fault: www.openroad.tv/index.php?categoryid=16&p25_id=297

Of Seasons, Boat People, and Freedom ...

Fall begins with the autumnal equinox, this year September 22, 2009 at 5:18 pm EDT. Change of seasons evoke many memories. One that stands out happened when I was living and working on the West Coast.

I had made some casual conservation with my cubicle mate, John, about the changing seasons. John was a bright engineer, an immigrant from Vietnam. I was most surprised by his comment that he thought it was cold in the winter because the earth was farther from the sun.

How could someone so educated be ignorant about a basic fact? I had learned about the seasons in kindergarten. At my teacher's instructions, my mother had speared an orange with a pencil and rotated the citrus fruit at an angle in the light of a candle.

I pointed John to some websites, such as Seasons. They explained the earth rotated about a tilted axis, whereas in winter the sun's ray were less intense, the days shorter, hence contributing to a colder climate. In summer, the rays were more direct, more intense, the days longer, hence a warmer climate.

As I got to know John better, small bits of his personal history came to light. When growing up in Vietnam, he had lived under the communist regime of the post-Vietnam War. His family had to work all day in the rice fields just for the privilege of buying rice at a discount from the government. I wondered when his family had the time to make any money to buy this discounted rice.

John was one of the boat people. I found this out when he cheered at a news story about pirates that were gunned down on the seas. He commented that his boat was attacked by pirates while he was fleeing Vietnam. Later, he had spent two years on an island. Eventually, he came to America, got a college degree in engineering, married, and had a son, and was working right next to me.

Shelly, another engineer from Vietnam, worked a few cubicles over. One day she laughed, pointing to some discolored water in a clear container. "It reminds me of the urine we drank when we ran out of fresh water." Shelly was one of the boat people, like John.

While I was growing up watching "Star Trek" and learning facts about the universe and the solar system, John and Shelly had grown up under tyranny and survived a gutsy escape to freedom.

The Vietnam War was the bane of the baby-boomers. Yet, for as evil as America was supposed to be, many Vietnamese risked their lives to come here. Many came for political freedom, many for economic freedom. Yet, may we all find the greatest freedom of all:

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
John 8:36 (King James Version)


Related links:
Photo from everystock.com
early: everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=3114960

Talk Like a Pirate Day - September 19, 2009

Now we have a day to talk like a pirate - What a country!

"Aaarrrg! Ask me what my favorite animal is?" my lead - who wore patch over his eye, a black three cornered hat, and an earring - asked at work a few years ago.

"Parrots?" I said naively - for what is a pirate without his parrot?

"Aaarmadillos," my lead answered with a grin. "And my favorite vegetable?"

We all stared at him like the stress at work had finally gotten to him and he was bonkers.

"Aaartichokes!" He smiled, exposing a some blacked out teeth.

And he continued asking us questions - all with answers that contained an "aaarrr."

No, he was not celebrating Halloween early. It was the annual - "Talk Like a Pirate Day."

And like all thing that happen annually, they happen every year. (Now, I'm talking like an idiot) :) And September 19, 2009 is the day.

Today, we see pirates through the lens of Walt Disney. They are fun and cute and lovable. Anything could be further from the truth. To sailors and their passengers, pirates were (and still are) a real and present danger for those traveling on the sea.

For all those weathering the storms of life and facing danger on our journey, there is a psalm of comfort for us:

From Psalm 107 (King James Version)

23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.
28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!


Related links:

Picture from everystockphoto.com
Ye Olde Drunken Pirate: everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=2733948

The Original Talk Like a Pirate Day Site: www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

One Tuesday in September, eight years ago ...

Eight years ago, I was living and working on the West Coast. One Tuesday, the radio turned on at 6:25 PDT. I was expecting to hear the Wall Street Journal Report. Instead, reports came of debris coming out of some building in New York.

My husband thought it was accident similar to one that had happened in 1945, when a B-25 bomber accidentally flew into the Empire State Building: The Empire State Building Plane Crash. We turned on the TV to see what they were talking about on the radio. Not one, but two jets had flown into the World Trade Center.

As soon as we said, "This is no accident," reports came of another jet crashing into the Pentagon, and then another plane downed in Pennsylvania. Soon, all air traffic in the US was grounded.

"You're not going to work right now," my husband told me. Yes. We were under attack.

Later that morning, no further attacks advanced to the West Coast. Many of my co-workers were at the workplace, soldiering on as normally as they could, and I eventually came in. During part of this eventful day, we stood out in the lobby, watching the news as surreal scenes replayed of the Twin Towers collapsing. Terrified bystanders ran for cover, like a scripted disaster movie.

One of my co-workers touched my shoulder. "You are a person of faith. Why would God allow this to happen?"

Certainly, no one, except God, has the answer for this one, but I gave it my the best shot. "It seems in this world God allows evil to run its course."

One example in the Holy Scriptures came to mind. Saul, the first king of Israel, was given many second chances, but he turned into a mad king, tormented by an evil spirit. Then God picked David, a man after His own heart, to replace Saul as the next king. Yet, evil ran its course for some 15 years before God dealt with Saul and turned the kingdom over to David. During these years between the anointing and ascending, David gathered his faithful followers.

There is a corollary to this present day. St. Paul refers to the devil as "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4), much like the time when mad King Saul was ruling over Israel. Yet, God's anointed - the Lord Jesus, the Son of David - is now calling out His people - the church. One day, like when God had dealt with Saul, He will deal with the devil and drive evil from His universe forever.


Related links:
Photo from everystockphoto.com
World Trade Center - Aiming for Heaven: http://everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=4504113

"I'll get you, my pretty and your little dog too! "

"I'll get you, my pretty and your little dog too! "

That quote from the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz came to mind as I gazed at the actual witch's hat worn by Margaret Hamilton. The hat itself, though pointy, was velvety, still quite elegant - even after it had debuted 80 years ago on the big screen .

This summer, we visited friends in Idaho, where (they joke) the biggest cities are Salt Lake City and Spokane. Since they live in the pan handle, we trekked for an afternoon at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) in Spokane, WA. The MAC hosted the traveling exhibit "Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television" from science fiction films and television programs. These were part of the private collection of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.

No pictures were allowed, but I jotted some notes of other memorable costumes.

From the Original Star Trek series:

• The tunic of the evil Captain Kirk worn in "Mirror, Mirror," the first alternate reality episode where a transporter mishap swaps Captain Kirk and some of his crew with their evil counterparts in a parallel universe.
• The Gorn lizard suit, where in the "Arena" Captain Kirk was pitted against this reptilian captain. Captain Kirk triumphs, showing mercy, though he manages to get his shirt ripped - so common in many episodes.

Star Trek: Next Generation:

• Captain Jean-Luc Picard's uniform from the 1st season. The uniform looked more purple in person than it does on the screen.

Star Trek: Voyager:

• The uniform worn by Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, the adapted Borg, severed from the collective. From the costume, this actress was petite with curves in all the right places.

Star Wars:

• The costume of one of the most well known super villains of the cinema - Darth Vader. Those buttons and controls on the front of the dark lord's suit up close looked so faky. Oh, the power of the big screen!
• The black robe of Obi-Wan Kenobi. With the pointed back of his hood, this costume looked like a black KKK robe if the hood was over his face.
• The Imperial Stormtrooper outer armor. Again, up close, the white armor looked more like Styrofoam covered with white plastic.

Leather jackets:

• Indiana Jones's leather jacket. Still looked very cool.
• The leather jacket worn by the Terminator complete with metallic bullet holes. Not as cool as Indy's jacket - all those metallic holes kind of wreck it.

Super heroes:

• Batman & Robin costumes. Batman was very dark. But Robin? These duds were full of color with those bright yellows, greens, and reds. If you ask me, Robin was the most brave to wear this with a straight face.

Like the ancient Greeks' gods, goddesses, and demons, these are a sampling of our super villains and heroes in the 20th and 21st century. Yet all these characters are just extensions of our faulty images of ourselves.
Psalm 97:9&10 (King James Version) gives me a perseptive that we have much greater Deliverer than anything else that is reflected in our popular arts and literature:
For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Related links:

Witch's hat: http://clipart.peirceinternet.com/halloween.html
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture: http://www.northwestmuseum.org/

From Huckleberry Jam to Buffalo Jam to Obama Jam

Mid-August, we took a trip to Yellowstone Park. We met with friends, did some camping, and took in many things wonderful and wild.

Huckleberries - a wild blue berry - were omnipresent in and about the park. Restaurants served huckleberry pie, huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry sauce, huckleberry milk shakes. Concessions sold huckleberry jams and jelly, huckleberry coffee and tea, huckleberry candy, .... I can't remember them all. I do remember the huckleberry ice cream with huckleberry sauce was wonderful. The wildness of the fruit makes it sought after and intriguing. And it is the state fruit of Idaho.

Wild things were the tourist's obsession, seeking wild life as the paparazzi seeks after hot celebrities. As the traffic crawled to a halt, odds are it was a buffalo jam. When a buffalo, an elk, a deer,whatever, does what comes natural - grazing the the meadows, basking in the sun, the cars slowed, many stopped, cameras whipped out, pictures taken. The tourist were thrilled.

The day after we left the national park, I just missed one of the biggest jams of the Summer - the Obama Jam - as the President of the United States swung by to visit Yellowstone.

What was amazing and wonderful is that so many people get excited about nature and the beauty of God's creation, whether animal (buffalo), vegatable (huckleberries), or mineral (Yellowstone Falls.) And this wonderment is shared from the humblest camper to the President of the United States.

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.Isaiah 40:25-27 (King James Version)


Related links:
From everystockphoto.com: Buffalo in Yellowstone
Yellowstone Insider: Obama Visit to Yellowstone
Biblegateway.com: Isaiah 40:25-27

91 Year Old Blogger

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

Psalm 71: 17 & 18 (KJV)

Since last Thankgivings my mother-in-law has felt compelled to write down her memories of the Great Depression, World War II, and 1950s. As part of the "Greatest Generation," I am grateful she penned them or typed them out on a manual typewriter. I was able to post her manuscripts on my website, smithsk.com, and at authorsden.com. On authorsden, her stories of the Great Depression have surpassed my best read article on Black Holes.

Her latest, Memories of Japan, has just been posted: smithsk.com/shortstories_Japan.htm

As my mother-in-law is into her ninth decade, I thought of Psalm 71, a psalm for everyone as we all are getting older. Even in our old age, God still uses us and is glorified.

During these uncertain times, I noticed many have taken a renewed interest in the Great Depression. A teenager from the Midwest was doing a class project this spring and was most interested in interviewing someone who had lived through these economic troubled times. She read my mother-in-law's stories and contacted me. It was difficult to arrange for the student to directly interview her, so I got the student's list of questions, conducted the interview, and emailed back the answers. The student was most grateful.

Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

Please feel free to check out some of the my mother-in-law's memories:
The Great Depression 1929 - 1945
The Great Depression 1929 - 1945 Part 2
World War Two before, during, and after
Cherry Blossoms
Memories of Japan

Photo from everystockphoto.com: second thoughts