Shakin'

There was an earthquake Sunday. It started as a bit of a gentle shake, then intensified a bit... and then hung about a bit at that intense level.

I lived through the Loma Prieta Quake of 1989. I was a wee tyke, seven or so, and one of my uncles was over. We had this big chandelier in the breakfast nook, a big wagon-wheel thing with lamps on it. We're sitting around doing whatever and my uncle says, "earthquake!". Mom thought he was kidding, until she saw the chandelier swaying back and forth like a drunken sailor. Next thing I knew we were outside on the grass in the back yard. The cats were going nuts, running from one side of the yard to the other, ears pinned back and tails fluffed to the max. And then we watched the pool empty out about three feet of water as it sloshed... back and forth... back and forth... like some kind of child playing in the tub.

I know quakes can be devastating. Heck, some of the nasties have reared their ugly heads in the past decade. The last 9-pointer caused a tsunami that killed almost a quarter of a million people. And then of course there's Chile and Haiti. They're not to be taken too lightly.

And yet, most quakes are hardly a sneeze. Every now and again the earth trembles, but it's gone within moments.

Mom and dad described the one that happened earlier this year as a rumble, then a BANG. I once sat through one of those (not anywhere near as strong). The bang was frightening. A sudden jolt as though a truck had hit the building. And having been in a building hit by a truck, I'd know. So when this one came, that's what I was expecting. It lasted too long to be an "ordinary" quake, and soon I tensed, awaiting the jolt... that never came.

Just a leisurely rumble, enough to shake a few things out of their places, but nothing more.

Yes, we are lucky.

Does anyone else notice how much the earth is waking up lately?