Is The Ground Shaking?

At about 4:30 AM on the 18^th of April 2008 I was sound asleep when the bed started shaking. I looked up to see if my husband ran into the bathroom wall or something. I called his name. He answered from the kitchen. Then there was another rumbling. I got out of bed and turned the radio on. Then my phone rang. It was too early for anyone to be calling. I answered the phone to hear my little sister scream “we had an earthquake!”

On KMOX the radio announcer said we had indeed experience an earthquake and aftershocks would follow. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported: “The quake measured a 5.2 magnitude and occurred at 4:37 a.m. CDT. It was centered in southeastern Illinois, five miles from the town of Bellmont, according to Timothy M. Kusky, director of the Center for Environmental Sciences at St. Louis University.”

Now that we’ve had two major earthquakes in the world in the first two months of this year, people are beginning to ask where the next one will be. Of course no one can predict where the next earthquake will be. Scientists are still trying to perfect a method of predicting earthquakes. But, when I looked at the US Geological Survey website I found that the New Madrid Fault is the second most active fault line in the US.

The USGS said: “the highest earthquake risk in the United States outside the West Coast is along the New Madrid Fault. Damaging tremors are not as frequent as in California, but when they occur, the destruction covers over more than 20 times the area because of underlying geology.”

The only question to ask is, when will the ground be shaking again?

Injury Didn’t Slow Lindsey Down, Vancouver 2010

I’ve been watching the Winter Olympics from Vancouver, Canada. There are a few events that I really like to watch. I like the downhill skiing, speed skating, and the Figure Skating.

The downhill skiing, Lindsey Vonn, WOW! She was speeding down the hills so fast that in some places I felt dizzy just watching. She actually went airborne in a few places. It was amazing. The happiness that she expressed when she won was wonderful. After her interview my husband and I both had tears of joy in our eyes for her.

I also enjoyed watching Shani Davis win Gold for speed skating. He has such control. The way he almost lays on his side as he flies around the rink. He put on a spectacular show for the whole world to see.

I also watched the Figure Skating. Last night there was an amazing performance by a young Canadian woman who had lost her mother two days earlier. Joannie Rochette was unbelievable. She skated with such grace and seemed to flow around the ice. At the end of her routine she cried because her mother was no longer there. I think everyone who was watching cried with her.

As of this moment the USA is still leading in the medal count. Our team has 26 total with 7 Gold Medals, 9 Silver and 10 Bronze.

One final interesting note. According to her Bio, Lindsey Vonn went to the University of Missouri.

Snow Squirrel

I have another snow picture. This is obviously a squirrel in the snow. He is also in Carroll County, MD. I wonder what he was trying to do.

Did he burrow a tunnel through all of that snow?

Does he have some food that got buried under it?

Is he looking for his friends and family?

Maybe he's getting ready to watch the Winter Olympics!

I wanted to post this with the last blog on snow. I was afraid that the squirrel would show up larger than the farm. I'm still learning how to use this blog!

Let It Snow

I read a good blog about Snow Days by Rob Diesel.

I have something to say about snow as well. I don't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing for all of that snow to pass us by and dump on the East Coast. I guess it was good for us since we didn't have to drive in it. But, I didn't get that Snow Day!

My husband's parents live in Carroll County, Maryland. The got 30 inches of snow over the weekend. Today they got another 20 inches.

That's a lot of snow! At 50 inches, the snow would be about neck deep for me. I don't know if I would want that here. That would make life hard for a lot of people.

I went out to the Carroll County Times Newspaper and pulled a couple of snow pictures to share with you. The farm looks inviting. I’d like to go there and get buried in it and sit by the fire and enjoy the view.

We have it in our power to begin the world again

“We have it in our power to begin the world again” Thomas Paine

When I saw this quote by Thomas Paine in the book, WCW, I knew I had to comment on the text.

These words were a part of a pamphlet titled “Common Sense” written by Thomas Paine in 1776. Historians tell us that this publication was written in a style that was understood by the common man and that it was probably the most influential piece of writing in our revolutionary war period.

Although this work was published 234 years ago, I find that the words are still meaningful today. Paine had a lot to say about society and government in general. It’s amazing to me that what Thomas Paine wrote all those years ago is still relevant. Common Sense was an essay that was written with a powerful purpose. If we’re talking about changing the world through writing, Common Sense is probably the most successful paper ever written. He really did change the world with his writing.

Common Sense sold over a half million copies in its first year of publication. Paine donated his royalties to George Washington to help finance the Continental Army. I guess you could say he put his money where his mouth was.

Since I had a lot to say about this, can you tell that it’s one of my favorite writings?

If you’d like to read the full text of Common Sense, it can be found at: http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html