Rockin' and a Rollin' - Did the Earth Move for You?

There are parallels between being in Seattle during the WTO demonstrations and an earthquake in Costa Rica. In both cases unless you are at ground zero, it is a mere curiousity - or annoyance.

During the WTO, my office was directly above the worst of the demonstrations. Watching CNN, you would believe that all of Seattle was chaos. Looking down from 20 floors up, I watched demonstrators and police play their parts. The sight of a news camera would cause a demonstrator to run at it and grimace menancingly. Aside from the tear gas that settled in our parking garage, the whole WTO debacle was interesting, news worthy and annoying. It did, however, spark a deluge of calls and emails to see if we had survived.

Today, we had two quakes in Costa Rica of 5.7 at 11:24 a.m. and 5.9 at 3:04 p.m. The first gently rocked Nim and I on the couch. During the second, Nim was concentrating on paint colors in a store - and never noticed it. (Being color-blind, Sousa and I were holding down a gently rocking chair.) The epicenter for both was about 100 miles away. (Granted, folks at the epicenter report a more attention getting effect.) Here in gentle Atenas, the quake was a curiousity. We are again flattered that friends from around the world noted the quake and inquired of our health and continued existence.

From any distance, Costa Rica is a mere speck on a map. It must unimaginable to some that an infinite number of angels can dance on the head of a pin or that there is enough room in Costa Rica for a few million people to ride out a quake without toppling each other like dominos or even noticng that it occurred.