The Day My World Shook [WRAP]

Well, it looks like she knew we were talking about her!


11/01/13 00:37:57 46.19N 122.19W 1.1-0.8 AC
11/01/13 03:46:31 46.19N 122.18W 3.6-0.2 AB
11/01/15 19:24:45 46.19N 122.17W 0.0 1.2 AA


LINK

Bah. See, this is why I don't participate in these writing contests, lol. With people like Slayer competing, I never even stand a chance. Slayer, you are an excellent writer, friend. And sometimes I hate you for that. jk. Good job

reply to post by Mr. Toodles

I assume you posted this in the wrong thread.
Anyhow, I will comment on it as if you didn’t.

I think Westcoast has just a good of chance of winning this [WRAP] competition as anyone else who entered, her story was original, compelling and I loved it,

It’s not about how many flags It gets or how many friends you have to spam it to or how many people read it. It’s about touching the ones who have read it.

Originally posted by westcoast
Well, it looks like she knew we were talking about her!

11/01/13 00:37:57 46.19N 122.19W 1.1-0.8 AC
11/01/13 03:46:31 46.19N 122.18W 3.6-0.2 AB
11/01/15 19:24:45 46.19N 122.17W 0.0 1.2 AA


LINK

Lol I have no idea what those numbers mean
are you telling me Mt ST Helen is waking up again?
I saw allot of the other ones were “waking” up

I feel our earth is cranky, it’s a shame she doesn’t take out her anger on the ones who are causing it. I feel mainly for the animals.
All this crazy stuff happening reminds me of a piece I wrote in my book. I’ll share it with you if you like.

Excuse me as this piece is not edited

The world had been poisoned her air her earth and her trees, Gaia was dying, the peoples of her earth had done it again, but Gaia was forgiving, she understood that with every good there must be an evil and without it the universe could not be, For everything has an opposite.

Now with the silence, The Earth began to heal, turning slowly, silently in the depth of space her waters settling on the newly upturned dust, her ocean floors emerging to breath in her air, in sadness her highest mountains began sinking deep into her belly, they would not breath her air, see her sun or her moon again.

The mountains and the trees that once grew to reach the havens and the stars would now sink into her darkest depths.

Yet with the slightest of hope and with the love of Gaia she would find a new purpose for her beloved mountains.
For life survived, the humans were not as powerful as they thought they were, for Gaia had her own secrets and schemes. Her instinct for survival was strong, for she would not yield. As she had learnt, she had adapted, evolved and overcame her torture. Time was all she had, for Gaia was wise she used that time to heal, to prepare her earth, her seeds scattered, though weak to begin with, they also overcame, they grew and adapted just as Gaia had done.

anyway i hope this little piece lifts your spririts

reply to post by Whateva69


Wow....I loved that. Very beautiful!!! Wish I could give you ten stars!!!

I'm not concerned about the wrong post. I take it to mean that Mr. Toodles (love that name!) read my story. So no offense. Slayer has an awesome thread, but like you said it isn't about stars and flags. What's most important for me is that someone enjoys it, so in that case I am happy with my entry!

As far as Helens...naw, no sign she is going to erupt or anything. Its normal to have some rumbling, she is still very much active. I just found is funny she had some quakes right now.

I am giving this a shameless bump.


There have been a whole bunch of GREAT entries!!!! (the earlier ones are getting a bit burried)

Good luck to all!

reply to post by westcoast

Superbly written and quite compelling. It's a very different perspective on all this to see it through a child's eyes. Even though words would be inadequate to fully convey what you went through and the turmoil of emotions, you have probably come as close to it as is possible. Thank you very much for sharing this experience with us.

Best regards,

Mike

reply to post by JustMike


Thank you Mike! After reading your own story...that means a lot.

reply to post by westcoast

That was very interesting.


This part struck me in a profound way.

I also realized that fear will completely take you over if you let it and if you can master this emotion than you can handle whatever life throws at you…even a mountain.

I don't think it get's much bigger than that.

Something we should all heed.



Especially around here.

reply to post by timewalker


Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it.

I learned some hard lessons at a young age, but it has helped me out a lot later on in life.

I think we all need a reminder that compared to even relatively small events geologically speaking, we are but a smudge in comparison. It's when we start underestimating nature and over estimating our own worth, that we walk a very dangerous line!

Well, seeing as how there are only a couple of days left in the competition, I am giving this a shameless bump.

I do actually have something to add though too. Begining on 2/14, Helens has been experiencing a swarm, being kicked off with a 4.3 mag quake. That may not seem that big, but for a volcano it is quite significant. I was alarmed enough to start a thread on it:

Something stirring at Mount Saint Helens

Through this process I learned something new about the area. This quake and multiple after-shocks have all occured in an area to the NW of the Moutian called the 'Mount Saint Helens Seismic Zone'. This was the same location of the last big quake (5.5)that occured in 1981. Now, I find this significant becuase they determined back then that this seismic area existed, and did so due to the movement of magma. They are saying (so far) that there is no sign of this right now,but ofcourse, the true nature of this swarm has yet to be determined.

Just to give you an idea of active she has been the past two weeks, here is an incomplete list:


MAP 2.3 2011/02/14 20:21:42 46.278 -122.216 4.7 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.1 2011/02/14 19:54:51 46.274 -122.215 2.8 9 km ( 5 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.3 2011/02/14 19:35:08 46.285 -122.216 5.4 10 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.1 2011/02/14 19:12:06 46.276 -122.211 3.8 9 km ( 5 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.3 2011/02/14 19:01:25 46.279 -122.212 4.9 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.3 2011/02/14 18:54:06 46.285 -122.213 6.0 10 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.2 2011/02/14 18:47:55 46.279 -122.208 4.6 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.8 2011/02/14 18:37:45 46.280 -122.209 4.5 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 4.3 2011/02/14 18:35:25 46.282 -122.212 5.5 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.2 2011/02/15 19:53:54 46.303 -122.182 10.5 11 km ( 7 mi) N of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.8 2011/02/16 20:02:07 46.278 -122.213 4.6 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.4 2011/02/17 20:07:19 46.283 -122.225 1.4 10 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.4 2011/02/17 20:07:19 46.283 -122.225 1.4 10 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.5 2011/02/17 10:55:04 46.279 -122.215 6.3 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.3 2011/02/18 08:08:07 46.280 -122.210 3.9 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.5 2011/02/19 21:59:31 46.278 -122.220 3.2 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.0 2011/02/20 02:28:54 46.203 -122.186 1.5 1 km ( 0 mi) NW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.9 2011/02/24 22:23:56 46.290 -122.221 0.0 10 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 1.0 2011/02/24 14:41:00 46.282 -122.205 3.0 9 km ( 6 mi) NNW of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA
MAP 2.0 2011/02/26 13:08:15 46.200 -122.189 2.1 1 km ( 0 mi) W of Mount St. Helens Volcano, WA


Here's to hoping my story never has a sequal!!

reply to post by westcoast


Hey Westcoast,
I read your story when it first came out and I still think about it. I love the whole child's view and perspective, I think you nailed that really well. I think back to my childhood and hiding under the blankets to keep the monster from finding me. My monster wasn't a mountain blowing up in my backyard bigger than life and taking out the sun; that would be eerie to say the least. I remember in Middle School watching slide shows of the guy who took pics of the eruption and they found his camera, he didn't make it, but I'll never forget those pics. You were a part of history, you know?

reply to post by westcoast


You've done a great job describing this amazing event in vivid detail. I give you a big star, westcoast. I myself am barely old enough to remember seeing the eruption on the news, but my aunt who lived in Oregon bought me a souvenir pen filled with St. Helens "ash" as a memento. I wish I knew where it was. Anyway, good luck in the contest!

Thanks you guys....and it is so funny you mention that pen. I had one too, but I couldn't tell you what happened to it. We had so much ash that it was just so normal to me and I didn't realize it wasn't everywhere else too. (I was 9 remember) Even to this day, if you drive through the canyon between Yakima and Ellensburg you can see the layer of ash in the strata.

Nowadays I don't have to worry about Helens....but I have Baker and Glacier Peak in my backyard. Neither one of those have erupted for about 300 years.

Such a compelling story, and so vividly constructed! The image of your father running towards you at the park stands out for me the most. At that age in a young girl's life, before you have begun to lose your sense of innocence about the dangers of this world, your father represents safety and security. Dad is as yet still perceived as invincible, as larger than life. Seeing your father with that look on his face must have been confusing at first and then truly frightening for you, and I felt that, as if I was there.

Thank you for sharing this with us!

reply to post by dalloway


Thank you! I'm so glad that you thought it worth the time to read it. Yes, I always looked to my Dad for strength and stability. To see that he was scared made me realize that he was not in control, so I couldn't pretend to be either. I think that was something else I learned through all of that, that no matter how much you might like to think you can control the world around you it can be torn away in an instant.

The ability to cope and press on is a characteristic born of strife and fear.

reply to post by westcoast


Hey Westcoast,

Thought you might be interested in this picture. This was captured a few years back from the web cam (static image) from the Johnston observatory. If you look to the left of the icycle, do you see an image of a face???.
lol, though it was cool.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3743372903fb.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/10bad78c8d60.jpg[/atsimg]

Very cool pics...and yes I see it! Either like an Indian or Eskimo. Are you familiar with the artwork of bev doolittle? If not, I think you would like it. Amazing water color paintings hidden pictures that are done so well you just can't believe it.

You should go HERE

My favorites: Second row, first on the left. Indian woman...set my spirit free. See her reflection???

Third row, second from the right; the forest has eyes. You can look at for hours and still find more.

Row seven, third from the left; music on the wind. This is the one print I actually purchased when it first came out. The only 'real', numbered artwork I own. I have it above my bed....I have owned it for years, but every time I gaze at it....I see new things. Amazing.

reply to post by westcoast


WOW, they are awesome.
She makes no reflection, so she is free. cool
She's good.

reply to post by westcoast


Oh my god...Oh my god, you won I’m so excited for you.

I told you it was awesome when you first posted it.

Thank you for taking us all on this journey with you. x x x