The safest place on earth

CHICAGO, IL


Cars bob in the water like toys in a child's bath. What appears as fall leaves and other natural debris floating down a swollen spring creek is in fact entire neighborhoods washed out to sea in a single swoop. I stare at the television in disbelief. The images are startling to say the least. 


The earthquake in Japan and the following tsunami come the morning after I purchased an airline ticket to Thailand via Tokyo. Barring further earthquakes, I'm sure the Tokyo airport will be up and running when I fly through, and of course this is trivial in light of the hundreds who have lost their lives and the thousands who are just plain lost. But still, it makes me wonder if any place is safe. 


Two weeks ago, I returned to the states after weathering the devastating earthquake in Christchurch. I of course was lucky- I didn't lose my home, and not a single person I know was injured or killed. I even managed to walk away with my passport and nearly all of my personal belongings. But after a few days of earthquakes and aftershocks, I was all too happy to pack up my rattled nerves and head home. Travel weary after 40 hours of travel, I arrived in Cincinnati......just in time for tornado warnings. 


I woke up in the middle of the night to the warning sirens. I laid in bed for a moment in my half-asleep stupor and pondered whether I actually needed to head downstairs. Tornadoes don't terrify me the way other potential disasters might- the result of familiarity, I suppose. Midnight trips to the basement were a semi-regular occurrence in the springs of my childhood. What's that they say about the devil you know? Best not to take a chance though- I grabbed a blanket and pillow, along with a book in case I couldn't sleep, and the laptop I tripped over just for good measure. Halfway down the stairs, I thought about my passport, wallet, camera, and hard drives laying on a table upstairs- the four things that never left my person after the earthquake in Christchurch. This time the storm passed without incidence. 


Now as another earthquake shakes the world, this one more violent than the last, friends in various places in the Pacific are warned of tsunamis, others on the west coast of the states are evacuated. Somewhere in between images of Christchurch still smoking, and Japanese cities washed out to sea, the images of boats navigating flooded New Jersey streets appear and I wonder if the whole world isn't falling apart. (And this says nothing about political turmoil rocking every corner of the world).


I feel largely oblivious to all of it. I have passed the week holed up in a chicago bungalow reading stories, changing diapers, and cleaning up vomit (stomach bug + preschooler= LOTS of laundry). Somewhere in between naps and goldfish crackers, I've even managed a conversation or two with my sister. This I suppose falls into the more mundane chapters of my life. I realize my adventures in spit up and dress up are hardly exotic to anyone living in the vicinity of wee ones. 


While the sleep deprivation and constant noise is certainly distracting me from the ongoing events of the world, I wonder if some of my oblivion is just that it's all too much. At some point the barrage of tragic images and discouraging news is overwhelming. I feel helpless in light of it all. 


I found great irony in the fact that at the time of the Christchurch earthquake, two incoming USAP (United States Antarctic Program) participants were watching a video on the serious dangers of life in Antarctica. While the voice on the video went on about the risks of hypothermia, and frostbite, and getting lost in a whiteout, buildings crumbled along with lives. But in the two weeks since my return, as I digest the news of natural disasters, political disasters, and other sorts of turmoil, I start to wonder if Antarctica isn't the safest place to be. Or perhaps just the easiest, well away from the perils of the world.