I think that there are natural phenomena we fear and natural phenomena we can embrace. I don't mean being afraid of a tsunami and embracing a rainbow. But rather, being comfortable with certain types of disasters.
Growing up on Long Island, hurricanes, ice storms, and blizzards were commonplace. Tornadoes and earthquakes were not. I can look back upon memories of walking on cars buried in the snow, the beauty of our birch trees bent to the ground in a coating of ice, and row boating down our street in the eye of a hurricane. I even remember fondly when we ha no power, and due to the ice ran out of heating oil. We slept in the living room with a fire going, a window cracked for fresh air. I'm sure my memories are rosier than my parents on this one. Nevertheless, as a result, these disasters don't scare me.
Others do. When I was in L.A. I suddenly needed an earthquake plan. Earthquakes freak me out. My plan was to leave LA as soon as possible in case of an earthquake. Tornadoes are worse. Tornadoes are my nightmare. How can a storm destroy one side of a street while leaving the other unscathed. Tsunamis have their own issues, but with the tsunami warning system in place I am not worried. I will be happy to evacuate.
All this makes for interesting discussions. Friends from California don't mind earthquakes, but blizzards completely freak them out. Those from the Midwest say I shouldn't worry about tornadoes. We each are comfortable with our own familiar natural disasters. All others are the stuff campy 70's horror flicks are made of.
Unfortunately, as climate change takes hold, these natural disasters are no longer regional. I never felt an earthquake in L.A., but I have here in Toronto. Tornadoes have touched down in the area. We were touched by hurricane Sandy. (The nearby bus stop was so touched it's no longer there.) I expect a cold, snowy winter. We've had drought and flooding.
God, if you're reading this, we get it. We need to act (a decade ago, maybe two). If you're trying to teach us to watch out for each other. It's working, at least on a small-ish scale. The Red Cross is already taking donations for this disaster relief. Everyone is sharing and checking in (thanks to Facebook). Hopefully we can continue without the disasters.
Meanwhile, I'll take the hurricanes and blizzards any day.
*Title credited to Sean. Thanks honey.
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