Humbling

On Friday, after the devastating earthquake in Japan, extensive tsunami warnings followed for the West coast and Alaska as folks braced for the worst. My morning news thoroughly covered the course of action. The people on the other side of my county along the coast were streaming out of their community and headed to higher ground. It is the home of my favorite reef explorations spots, and I could only see in my head the tsunami evacuation route signs that I had never failed to notice. It made my heart flutter to watch...as families held each other close and left their homes. Priorities.

Crescent City in Northern California was the first to be hit that morning. This little community has been blasted by tsunamis regularly throughout the years, and as their emergency plan was implemented, many fishermen headed out to sea in the wee hours of the morning to weather the storm.

Initially, I could not fathom this response, but now I am beginning to grasp the rational. Fishing is the only industry left here after the demise of the timber industry. Many of these boats are privately owned and operated. It is the blood-line not only to the community, but the source of food and provisions for many families. If a boat sits in the harbor, it will probably be destroyed by the tsunami as the owner watches helplessly as it crashes ashore, capsizes, or slams against other boats, but if it is out at sea, it is, ironically, far safer because out in the ocean, the tsunami is a three or four foot wave...just a bump.

The ocean is a powerful force. I frequently stand on the shore of the Pacific humbled by the immense, powerful body of water. Perhaps as newcomer, I feel it more acutely, as the father of the missing 25-year-old man commented, "He just didn't respect the ocean and didn't understand the tsunami."

I know the father is heartsick, but as a man who has witnessed the ocean in its unpredictability, he understands what happened. In 1964, 11 lives were lost in this little community when a tsunami hit.

As I watched the waves hit Santa Cruz later, I observed with inexplicable fascination as the harbor patrol struggled to get people to safety because it seemed intuitive to me to avoid danger.

I realize the damage these little harbors suffered is insignificant compared to the tragedy of Japan, but to these little communities along the West coast it will be devastating to navigate in the struggling economy.

Strangely, my husband seemed a half a world away from me when he felt the earthquake hit and less than 12 hours later, my world was impacted by this same earthquake. The same amount of time it took his plane to reach Osaka.

No wonder the Greeks never wanted to invoke the fury of Poseidon and humbly approached the powerful god.