And then two things happened to me today that quite changed my worries. There was an earthquake! EARTHQUAKE! In Ottawa. I was driving on my way to a story meeting and I drive a big, 1998 Dodge diesel truck. I had stopped at a red light and was just listening to the radio, enjoying (not really) the hot, humid weather.
When bam! The truck started shaking, rocking back and forth, back and forth. And I looked around me, and all of the other vehicles waiting at the light were also shaking, from tire to tire. Initially I thought, "Must be a big train." But then I was tuning in to the radio and the announcer said, "I think we just had an earthquake."
The shaking lasted for maybe 15 seconds, and it was the neatest thing I've ever experienced! I study geography, so the earth shaking it's fury is quite extraordinary in my eyes.
To inform the ill-informed, the epicentre (which is the point on the earth's surface directly above the 'focus' of the earthquake) was just 56 km from Ottawa, at 45.9 degrees N and 75.5 degrees W. And immediately during and following the tremor, people in the city were evacuated from buildings. Malls closed. I wasn't at home, so I didn't experience the full effects of being in a building. But upon opening my door I discovered that the shelves in our kitchen had fallen, and with them went the slow cooker and a water jug.
It was all very neat, feeling the wrath of the earth. It's so cliche, but I think we truly underestimate just the power the earth has and it is one thing that - no matter how hard we try - we can not control.
As a side... I was biking around town to see if I could see any damage from the quake, when I saw this man with parrots on his back. He is a bird rescuer, and his four parrots sat on his shoulder. He was kind enough to let me take a photo. See picture of the week!
All in all, I didn't get my work done, but I had a great day!
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