Image via WikipediaI drafted this blog entry earlier this month, but didn't press publish because I felt it needed something else."A long time ago, in fact more than 15 years ago, I lived in Bedford, England. It's a small town north of London known for brick works and John Bunyan who spent 12 years in Bedford Gaol (where he wrote The Pilgrims Progress).
While in Bedford, I worked for the Royal Air Force Signals Engineering Establishment at RAF Henlow and rented a room from a Mr Philip Bunnage. Phil and I were in our mid twenties and quite often bored. Mostly we attempted to cure the boredom with beer or motorcycles (beer and motorcycles don't mix).
If I was feeling particularly negative, I would say we wasted our time there. However in California speak I'd say that I think we figured out what was important to each of us, and slowly made the moves which ultimately set us up for the rest of our lives... Sentences like that almost make me shiver, brrr!
Phil now lives in New Zealand and our other flat mate (room mate in US speak?) from then, Mike, now lives in Tasmania. So Bedford may well have spurred us all on to see a bit more of the world.
Phil visited me last weekend, he was on his way back to New Zealand and so stopped over in LA for 2 nights. He'd just crewed on a yacht from Australia to Brazil, taking nearly 6 months and spending quite a bit of the time in Africa. He phoned me from Panama and I was blown away by how odd that seemed, and how far from Bedford we'd come.
They say that you can never predict never future, and I think I've just witnessed proof of this saying. I know that when in Bedford, no one, not ourselves, not our critics, not our friends, would have predicted correctly where we'd be in 15 years time. I really hope that the next 15 years are just as positive, thrilling and productive, but I won't be attempting to make any predictions. Brrr!"
Phil had mentioned how, whilst he had been sailing, there was the big earthquake in Christchurch, NZ and how weird it was to have to rely on friends to check for damage to his house and vehicles (as I said we share the obsession for motorcycles, except he has 5 and I now have none). As it turns out, he got home just in time to inspect the damage from the last quake and then experience the full effect of the recent 6.3 magnitude quake. Who would have predicted that?
I found this video which makes me think how Phil would react to an earthquake... except replace the glass of wine with a beer and the TV for his beloved motorcycles... I'm so glad he's ok.
Nice post... and very glad Phil's OK. Guess it goes to show - wherever you go, there you are.
ReplyDeleteStrange thing about earthquakes - once you've been through a big one, you look at things differently. Especially earthquakes. Another interesting thing: one big earthquake becomes many earthquakes, because of aftershocks. Like some amusement parks, major earthquakes have a "buy one day, get the rest of the year free" deal. At the end of the year, you feel like that friend many of us have who knows all the Disneyland rides by heart and can advise you on how to strategically plan your FastPass times.
So what's interesting to me as a Northridge Quake 94 season ticket holder is how much I identify with the guy in the video - even though I don't much love my TV. :-) I spect the TV may have taken a tumble the first time and survived, and when he feels the aftershock he's thinking "Deja Vu." I also recognize the instinct of immediately jumping up because at first, you don't know how big it's going to be - that's the worst thing about earthquakes. He doesn't want to be sitting on the couch if the TV or anything else decides to take wing and fly at him. (I recall fighting, among other things, a possessed Luxo lamp in 94.) Most of all, I identify with the dialogue. I remember awakening that morning in 94 to the sound of someone yelling, "Holy Sh*t!" That person turned out to be me...
Now, as a self-proclaimed earthquake know-it-all, I should also point out that the video is not of a really big earthquake at really close range. That video would have looked much different. Although earthquake recommendations vary by country because of differences in how buildings are built, it's generally true that you don't want to be near heavy objects that might fall on you. And it's always the case that you don't know at the outset how big it's going to get. G forces in big earthquakes like Christchurch top 1.0 g, which can knock over both people and objects. So it's probably not a good time to chance a game of racquetball with a flying TV or choose a motorcycle as a dance partner.
On the other hand, I recall people finding some unspilled glasses of water on tables that slid rather than toppled in the Northridge quake. So as long as the beer or wine is in a sturdy, unbreakable cup, it might be worth chancing that one. ;-)
Great comment.
ReplyDeleteLoved the "Holy Sh*t!" part. I remember being 18 and losing control of my car on the 120 degree bend of a single track road in Scotland (That's a road where there is only one lane and you have to use the slightly wider parts of the road or designated 'passing places' to get past the oncoming traffic). When my car came to rest with two wheels dangling off the road above a small stream and the other two hanging just above the pavement I discovered I was half way through the word "Fuuuuu...." I never did find out what was at the end of that word. ;-)
LOL.
ReplyDeleteRed wine.
White carpet.
Earthquake.
Not a drop spilled.
"Forget standing in the doorway Milly. We've got to save the important stuff."
LOL
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