First, there comes word of an earthquake. Not in San Francisco or Tokyo, but in . . . of all places . . . New Jersey!

New Jersey??!!! Yup, that’s right — the east coast of the United States. Mercifully, it was “only” a 4.8-magnitude, fairly shallow quake, and didn’t do any major damage or cause any deaths or injuries. But it was felt from parts of New York all the way down to Washington, D.C., and there have been numerous reports of something called “Post-Earthquake Dizziness Syndrome.” This apparently is a very real thing, similar to the swaying feeling some people have when coming ashore after being at sea, only longer-lasting.

I also noted that the tremor was centered just three miles from Bedminster, N.J. Hey, isn’t that where Donald Trump’s golf resort is located? Just sayin’ . . .

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Second: Typhoons are not rare occurrences in China, but the one that struck Jianxi Province in the southern part of the country on Friday must have been a beaut! More than 5,400 houses were damaged and 1,600 people had to be evacuated; over 300,000 people have been affected by the storm in one way or another. Worst of all, at least seven deaths have been reported there, plus another four in Nanchang Province. Among the fatalities in Nanchang were a woman in her 60s and her 11-year-old grandson, who were literally yanked through a window, along with their mattresses, by the gale-force winds. Another 60-year-old woman in their building met with the same fate. In case you’ve ever wondered why the experts repeatedly warn people to stay away from windows during severe storms, this is your answer.

Condolences to the families of the deceased, and to all of the victims of the storm.

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And now, we have the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday. I’m not in the path of total eclipse, but our area should see about 69% totality. I’ve never experienced one, so I have my specially-approved cardboard glasses, and I’ll be outside at 1:30 p.m. I was excited about the whole thing until these other “natural” phenomena occurred in close sequence, and now I’m wondering what (if any) effect an eclipse might have on us mortals. Will we suffer some sort of Post-Eclipse Dizziness Syndrome? Will all of the animals start running around in circles? Will our cell phones stop working? We shall see.

With any luck, Ma Nature will have calmed down over the weekend, and all will be well. But until then, it might be best for everyone to behave, and not piss her off any more than she already is.

TTFN,
Brendochka
4/7/24