George,

As the floor in my office vibrated & windows and doors at the Greyhound Station rattled, other thoughts went through my head before "earthquake". Since 9-1-1 and daily bad news from Iraq, my first fleeting thought was "explosion". My second thought was the question, "Where?..." followed by "Where are my kids, Charly, my mom,...?"

After a chat with my co-worker and concluding that it was more than likely an earthquake, I called around to see what others felt and knew. In spite of the lapse of time since 9-1-1 and our distance from horrific world news, my gut reaction to yesterday's earthquake confirmed that these are still jumpy times...

Diane Taylor (electronic mail, December 10, 2003)