Next time? A plague of locusts.
April 6, 2024
Another in a series of observations of life as I know it.
Well, well, well, who's that a-calling?
Well, well, well, hold my hand
Well, well, well, night is a-falling
Spirit is a-moving all over this land
God told Noah to build him an ark
Build it out of hickory bark
Rain started falling, waters start to climb
God said a fire not a flood next time.
-Bob Gibson
~~~~~
I am sure Californians are chortling this morning as the East Coast “cleans up” after a 4.8 earthquake. In San Francisco, 4.8 is what registers as trash trucks go down back streets. Yes, we here on the urban coast are a bunch of weenies, I admit it. The tectonic plates east of the Mississippi slumber most of the time. Every so often, however, the earth yawns, causing a minor temblor. Ho hum. This is every day life in LA. But not in Jersey or Harlem. When the ground rumbles, we know it’s not the A train. Yikes!
Back in 2011, a quake hit southwestern Virginia. It reverberated for hundreds of miles. The Washington monument cracked and was closed for major repairs for 3 years. Unique stone gargoyles fell off the National Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and the main aisle in the narthex buckled. We took notice. This was not normal. But then, we went about business as usual.
In these achingly awful times, it’s difficult not to see a kind of teachable moment whenever the earth beneath us trembles. Is there a lesson here? Is someone or something trying to get our attention? I think so. At least that’s my presumption. After all, humans are merely temporary tenants on the globe. Renters, with a very poor track record I might add. Greenhouse gases, carbon footprints, asphalt installed where grass and flowers should be flourishing. High rise buildings that become targets for terrorists. We have abused our lease and should be kicked to the curb forthwith. And yet we are agog with dismay and total unawareness of our actions. This is our birthright, our predestination. Man is the king of all creation. And you see how well that’s worked.
When will we ever learn? When hell freezes over. Congress, in its infinite wisdom, is withholding funding for rebuilding the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore. Why? Because the White House doesn’t want containers of methane gas shipped in and out of what locals fondly call Charm City. Tit for tat, the erstwhile legislators aren’t ponying up money. It’s an endless game of cat and mouse, with humans standing by like senseless oafs. Using greenhouse gases is okay now because we’ll leave the damage to our children to clean up. Out of sight, out of mind. Hence the need for the occasional rock and roll deep within the bowels of earth. Cause ‘em to sweat and feel real fear. It might work for a minute. Until the collective human ADD kicks in again and we making another mess. Yes, we are ghastly renters who should never be given another lease to sign, and then subsequently ignore. There WILL be a Big One that hits in earnest, swallowing up entire cities in its wake. Then what? Oops.
Caption: earthquake damage to the National Cathedral, Washington DC