Hello Houston, Is Anybody There?

Hey gang, been missing your posts, though I wonder if anyone's been missing mine. Well, of course you have.

I have this theory that everyone is suddenly in flux. I think it's rather odd that it has happened to so many of us all at once. A year ago if there was a 7.6 and once the FFA map was brought up, the whole place would be abuzz with thoughts or theories on which area's were about to be hit next. Today, total silence. This is weird.

It's going to be a sad week if you watch TV or listen to the news on the radio. No doubt about it. The shock and horror of the demise of the World Trade Center Towers and so many lost lives will bring us face to face with what disaster is all about. Though, frankly, I think most everyone here already knows what disaster means. We've seen it all along, but a different kind, the one's that come in the wake of large earthquakes.

The sad truth of the matter is that you can no more halt a disaster from a terrorist than you can from an earthquake. I'm serious. If someone is intent on bringing on a disaster and they can gain support, it's as good as written in stone. You can't do much about earthquake disasters either. In this time, no one's ready to hop on the bandwagon and wager a career on predicting it and those who can help by way of educating the public on preparedness, even in the most simplistic form have zero interest.

This once great Nation, along with many around the world are facing disasters in many forms. We are unaccustomed to disaster as we go through our daily lives. It always seems that it's happening someplace else to someone else. Actually, its happening to all of us, but in small ways, the one's we don't see, nor expect. However, after a two-year review of the many issues that have faced my life, keeping me on a tight-rope at times between life and death, there is only one thing that is prevalent amongst all of these little disasters. It's call honestly. A rare commodity these days.

But one truly wonderful thing happens just after a disaster. Suddenly people who never said hello to their neighbors will jump right in the thick of things and save the poor devil. People hug each other, give into thoughts of becoming a helping hand when they've never volunteered to do diddly in the past. Its called Love, Caring and Extending part of one's self to someone else in need. It mostly doesn't cost anything, except a little time, but it takes a disaster for people to be willing to even give that modicum of respect. We are strange people.
Perhaps this week, we can make a better assessment of why we don't have to wait for a disaster to occur before we lend a hand. Say hello to our neighbors, and volunteer on a regular basis to help those who are unable to help themselves. Perhaps out of disaster, good will, kindness and generosity of time or money can really display what we once were and could be again. A Nation of caring people, founded on freedom and the American way.

When our ancestors arrived at Plymouth Rock, they came together, built a community together and in time the community became America. But it didn't happen with each person going it alone, it happened as a joint effort. If someone needed help building a barn that had just burned down, the neighbors came together, they brought what each had to offer and they rebuilt it. They didn't ask to get paid because they knew, if disaster ever struck them, those same neighbors would be there to help them.

So what happened along the way? This we should ponder.

And so it goes,

Petra Challus

• The Seismic Safety Zone