Hi Chris, Tony & All,

In eras long past matters such as these would have been handed from tribe to tribe and the warnings would not have such an alarming side. But today, we have so many concerns, that for one single individual demonstrate his concerns in such a demonstrative manner is unacceptable. Maybe rightly so, as false alarms have a very negative side, but if he proves correct, then what has another man done to assist him in this mission he has chosen?

There are a dozen sides to every viewpoint and just voicing a few we should look at this matter more indepth. I for one am not privy to this persons warning. Should I be? I would have liked to know what he said. It seems obvious the area of warning is in CA and maybe its in my neck of the woods. I can handle what he has to say and from what I have seen in the past, so can the masses as well. When Scallion has made his predictions in the past and they came to fruition well, folks listened, but there was no mass exodus out of this state. This we should remember.

We should also remember Noah. One single man who said the voice of God told him to build an ark because a massive flood was coming. He received detailed information about the size this ark needed to be and how to gather certain animals so that life would continue after the flood. All of his tribe thought he was totally nuts. Gone round the bend. But oh, the flood did come and Noah and associates lived through it because he prepared.

So let us go one step further. As Roger Bilham so aptly stated, "earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do." But unprepared folks who live in buildings get hurt and their homes get damaged. Today the message if allowed to circulate in large numbers frequently would say, "you may not have thirty years before the next moderate to large quake hits, so get prepared."

Whether the message of this obviously religious person is correct or not, it should lead us who live in earthquake country to get it together, because whether its tomorrow or in a year, you can't hold it off forever. So while the folks who have received the message have remained mute, which is their choice, I wish the government would speak of preparedness today, tomorrow and every day until folks start acting instead of thinking its not going to happen to them.

We are living in strange times. While Susan Smith and Andrea Yates are murdering their children, we've got a mad bomber who chances the entire focus of our lives and lead us to send the men many love into harms way. Enron is under investigtion, public utilities are playing their game and you look outside your own home windows and everything looks so normal. Is it? Nah, its only an illusion.

Little by little freedom in every respect is being chipped away at a bit at a time and we have to wonder in twenty years is there going to be any kind of freedom left? While the HMO's refuse to offer tests because it costs them money, the patients who need them suffer endlessly. Pray for good health. In every single segment of society something has gone awry and if we don't start waking up and smelling the coffee, what you have today, you ain't gonna have tomorrow.

There are greater things to fear than the message of an impending earthquake from one person. But history has shown us repeatedly that sometimes it only takes one person to stand and deliver. David Evans stood for the rights of people in Colorado and banded them together to stop the fluid injection process at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and he won. Rachel Carson a scientist was nearly stripped of her credentials for claiming that DDT was bad for the environment, but in the end she was victorious. Last and certainly not least, Candy Ligtner said drunk driving was not acceptable and today, it is not socially acceptable anymore.

One day in the distant future, it will be acceptable to receive earthquake warnings and I hope beyond hope I'm here to see it happen. From the podium to the soap box. Let us think if we do nothing else.

Petra