Entry #5

The reading, along with a few interviews, really help me to understand the tsunami and earthquake through different perspectives. These may be different views or understandings from different people, but one thing has been a similarity throughout most of these perspectives. That is, the rolling of concrete like waves. This may may be a minor detail, but it proves at just how big the magnitude of the damage was. The earthquake took rocks, a hard-sturdy material, and gave it water-like properties. It's like taking adamantium (Wolverine claws) poles and using them as twist-ties. Bottom line, that's really awesome, in a good and bad way.

I really liked this reading though. I think that the four oral histories were very descriptive and did a tremendous job of helping me imagine what was actually happening at the time. One thing that sort of surprised me was how some of the people reacted. I think it was in the Norman Haul sectiont. There was this guy, and he was washing dishes. So when the earthquake stikes, everybody is freaking out, except for him. He instead, starts washing or drying the dishes a little faster. Another thing is the impecable timing that some people had. For some it was great timing, for others not so much. I think it was in the Caroline story where if they had stayed on the lake for 20 minutes more the casualty lis for Kodiak would have been a lot longer. I also admire some of the reactions to the earthquake. In the Hault story, you look at a guy who had just lost everything, his boat, his house, his expensive otter furs, and he just says, "But I have my life and my health and God watching over me. I knew I could start over, and that is what I set about to do." I really admire his outlook on the earthquake. It goes to show that even in the darkest and bleakest times, just look for the light because it's always there. You can't see the sun if your looking into a hole.