This is my post from last year's tsunami.
We were still living on the boat.
The sirens went off. . . It was
"History in the Making -
YOU are there."
Remember?
ALOHA! We're OK-
A Blessedly Normal Day in Hawaii!
Today our hearts are with the Japanese people,
our Pacific neighbors, an island people;
Not only through their visits,
but by being such a big part of the fabric of our Hawaii,
The Japanese people are US!
It was a normal Thursday evening around 8pm.
Chores of the day were done
as we settled into relaxation.
"An earthquake in Japan!"
Interrupted our pleasantly pointless entertainment.
"Oh no." Says I
dreading another tsunami scare
Like Feb. 2010!
We have time and warning (thank God)
due to distance and technology,
but grabbing everything you need
when you live on a boat as we do
and wondering where to go
is not a relaxing place to be.
Sure enough the Tsunami Warning came through.
Sirens, police cars with loud speakers,
an atmosphere of restrained hysteria. . .
The harbor came active. Some preparing for sea,
others to secure their boats and flee.
We can evacuate vertically here in Waikiki high rises,
they're designed to be safe above the 5th floor.
"Call the _____ hotel," says I.
and so we carried our lives,
cat, and necessaries
to a nearby hotel.
Kitty was smuggled into the no-pets establishment
in a back pack.
Having seen wild water rushing,
and fish swimming over the harbor
during Hurricane Iniki (2 days after moving aboard!)
I had moved my scooter to a nearby building first.
There's too much to tell.
The eerie, empty streets,
watching the coverage on local TV
and wondering what Friday would bring,
but at least we would be safe.
There might be chaos, no power,
food scarcity,
but we would live.
From the 21st floor, we could see hundreds of stars
dotting the ocean: boats out to sea.
We dodged a bullet in Waikiki,
though docks at Keehi lagoon down the coast
broke loose carrying attached boats away,
and similar damage occurred at Haleiwa harbor
on our Oahu North Shore.
In the morning, after 2 hours sleep,
we could just make out our boat still floating below.
The ocean was still full of boats,
so we wondered if the harbor remained closed to them
due to weird surges.
When we carried our lives back to the harbor,
the water was eddying and surging in very strange ways.
The boat went lower than the lowest tide,
banging our rails on the cement pier,
then rising to normal height in five minutes!
Boaters returning had trouble navigating
the strange currents.
We saw several near misses as they tried to dock.
In Maui a sea turtle was rescued inland
and returned to the sea.
In Kona a hotel is closed,
the main street damaged,
some homes washed out to sea!
During the emergency, cell phones did NOT work,
but hard wired "land lines" did.
Listen, there is just too much to tell,
and I have time-stamped photos of the dock going
UP & DOWN,
But today is a day of recovery
and concern for Japan.
I thank YOU for your concern!!!!!!!!
And your prayers.
Today's perfect weather
is excellent for emotional recovery.
I SEE the blessing in horde of people normally
going about their day.
We have spoken with friends near and far who worried.
Life's "normal" worries are stripped of importance.
It is good to be alive
in a place with power and food.
Our hearts are with the Japanese people.
Seeing them around town is emotional,
I want to hug them all.
So as aftershocks occur,
bodies are recovered,
and nuclear plants threaten,
take a moment to send a kind intention
to the people of Japan,
and the people here, and California,
who lost homes, boats, a way of life.
When could this happen again?
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.
Which is why 19 years living aboard may be
"enough."
More later!
Forgive me if I don't comment at your site today. . .
My friend Judy, who lives way up on the hillside,
had a dream-vision of God:
walking through rushing waters
and floating bodies."
He looked at her and said:
"Enjoy your time."
And so we shall.
Every little thing
is an inestimable blessing!
Thank YOU for caring,
and for blessing me with your Aloha-
cloudia
