Whole lotta shakin' goin' on ....

I spent the last few days helping my daughter out with babysitting and preparing to celebrate a combination Easter holiday and birthday party for our son, who turns 35 today.  Lots of fun times with the grandkids to tell you about in future posts.

I was busy peeling potatoes for Easter dinner in my sister's kitchen in Simi Valley yesterday when the 7.2 earthquake occurred in Mexicali.  My sister was on the couch and said "we're having an earthquake!"  None of the rest of us felt anything, but she insisted that she had felt a quake.  We turned on CNN in time to hear the first reports come in.

We've been in Southern California since 1976, and I can't remember a quake with so many aftershocks.  There have been hundreds!  Of course, we're used to the ground moving and shaking and bouncing all over the place, but we're not accustomed to the quantity of seismic events that this large quake has produced.  Take a look at this site - it's pretty interesting, I think.  If you go to this site, make sure to hit your refresh button now and then in order to see the most recent information.

As usual after a sizeable earthquake, everyone is now talking about "The Big One."  There are two camps:  (1) those that welcome these larger earthquakes as a way of releasing the pressure beneath us and (2) those who believe that when earthquakes cluster as they have recently (Haiti, Chile, now Mexicali), we're in for BIG trouble.

I choose not to talk about it at all since there's not a damned thing we can do about it!  The only certainty is that Mother Nature will have her way.  The only question is when.

Extra batteries - check.  Locate the utility turnoff valves - check.  Water supply - check.  Flashlights - check.  Shoes under the bed - check.