Christchurch, NZ
We have, to a degree, made light of the titanic forces that shaped and continue to mold this tiny island nation within the South Pacific’s ring of fire. We don’t do this out of lack of respect; simply out of acceptance of how very small we as humans are before the fury of Mother Nature.
As people who have lived in Northern California and Southern Florida we have learned to live with the fact that a natural disaster could just up and kill us at any given moment and there is, in the end, precious little we can do about it. Coming from the San Francisco Bay people ask Greg what they should do if there is an earthquake. His response,
“The truth of it is that if you actually have enough time to realize that an earthquake is what’s happening, you have more than likely already survived it.”
What he doesn’t say is that conversely, by the time you realize you’re in danger from an earthquake you’re probably already dead.
Christchurch Cathedral
Before the 2nd quake – taken by us
After the quake – thanks to wikipedia
That knowledge, mixed with our unapologetic and absolute love of this country, made the fate of Christchurch weigh heavily on our minds as we prepared to depart New Zealand.
