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Forces of Nature

It was a rough week for the East Coast; first an earth quake than a hurricane. I suspect it was a failed attempt by Nature to swallow Washington D.C. in an earthquake and then wash away the stench with the hurricane.

I could be wrong.

As natural disasters go, neither the earthquake nor the hurricane were very strong, although if you're in them you might think the end has come. I was in a 5.9 once in Costa Rica. I was sitting comfortably in a chair in the lobby of a pension where I was staying, reading a book when it felt like my chair suddenly dropped three feet, only to be lifted up and dropped again.

This happened several times in what I'm sure was only seconds but seemed more like a slow motion dream in which you can't move any faster than molasses. I knew exactly what was happening and struggled to get to my feet but gravity wouldn't allow it.

The woman who operated the pension fell to her knees in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary and began beseeching God for forgiveness and confessing her sins. Knowing my list was much longer than her's and suspecting there might not be enough time to go over it all, I decided to head for the door before the building collapsed.

I was eventually able to make it out of my chair and get to the narrow hallway leading to the street. A couple exited a room in front of me and the three of us bounced off the walls like pin balls. I remember cringing instinctively waiting for the ceiling to come down on my head. It was the same feeling of waiting for the inevitable that I had experienced years before during an anti-war protest in Madison, caught behind a wall of fleeing humans as riot police charged with batons raised. I didn't escape that blow but did avoid the one in Costa Rica before stumbling into the street.

The quake was over by that time. People sat stunned and crying in the streets. Not thinking clearly, I wandered like a fool toward the center of San Jose with its narrow streets and taller buildings to see the damage. People were huddled wide-eyed in doorways and storefronts. I looked up at a hotel that was on fire and cracked from top to bottom when an aftershock hit. A large window started to bulge out like a bubble from gum before exploding into a shower of glass.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in open areas away from buildings. While there was extensive damage there were few fatalities. I'm sure residents of the Atlantic coast share that sense of relief.

Jim Black is a community blogger and is not a part of the Walworth County Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of Walworth County Today staff or management.