Yep, there was an earthquake in the U.S. early this morning in an area that actually is not at threat for falling into the Pacific Ocean when the proverbial "big one" eventually does strike. And it hit a fault other than the dreaded San Andreas.
It was along the lesser known, red-headed stepchild to the San Andreas known as the New Madrid fault that runs roughly along the Mississippi River around the area where the states of Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Arkansas come within a few hundred miles of meeting up.
No, unlike Dariush and Mocha, I didn't feel a thing (thanks for asking, SJ!). And like Tori and her friend, I'm thoroughly bummed out about this, too. Seriously, this thing was a 5.2 on Heir Richter's namesake scale and I felt nothing. Admittedly, I did wake up at 4:30 for no reason whatsoever and I suppose this could be attributed to my sleep self having felt it. But my awake self remembers nothing at all.
I have experienced one earthquake in my life and it was, I believe, also a New Madrid jobber while I was living in Lexington, KY, in the early 80s. A few things shook, but only slightly. It was a rather small earthquake in the grand scheme of things and doesn't even warrant a mention on Wikipedia.
This time, though, I'm really upset about it. I feel like I miss out on so much natural phenomena. Sure, I waded and baled my way through the big Aurora/Naperville flood of 1996 and I weathered my way through Hurricane Gloria while living in Connecticut. But I've never seen the funnel cloud of a tornado nor have I been in an earthquake. For a weather phenomenon junkie like me, that's pretty saddening.
I want to see a tornado (not necessarily coming at me).
I want to feel an earthquake.
Mostly just to say I did. And to get some cool pictures or video. How badass a video post would those be?
Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't done a TUA in a while. Like a long while.
I found this joke out there on the Web and thought you might like it...
The old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years, he had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital in Washington D.C. He motioned for his nurse to come near.
"Yes, Father?" said the nurse.
"I would really like to see President Bill and Senator Hillary Clinton before I die," whispered the priest.
"I'll see what I can do, Father." replied the nurse.
The nurse sent the request to the Senate and waited for a response. Soon the word arrived; the Clintons would be delighted to visit the priest. As they went to the hospital, Hillary commented to Bill, "I don't know why the old priest wants to see us, but it certainly will help our images and might even get me elected President. After all, I'm IN IT TO WIN IT." Bill agreed--it was a very good thing for her campaign once they put out a press release about it.
When they arrived at the priest's room, the old priest took Bill's hand in his right hand and Hillary's hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face. Finally Bill spoke. "Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?"
The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
"Amen," said Bill.
"Amen," said Hillary.
The old priest continued, "He died between two lying thieves. I would like to do the same."
HA!
