Earthquake! Gempa!

An earthquake, gempa,  just hit Jakarta. It was a big one--basar sekali! I was sitting at my desk writing. First my vision started swirling and I felt myself swaying. The earthquake lasted a long time, long enough for me to wonder why I was dizzy? Why was my vision blurring? Hadn't I eaten enough? Was I getting sick? Then I heard clinking--glasses, bells or some metal--clanging, the walls creaked, the walls undulated. The pool water sloshed and splashed like a wave pool. I ran into the doorway. Called to Rusnati, "are you all right?" Yes, yes she was. She stood in her doorway and we looked at each other, pointed to flags waving, trees swaying, the Papua people teetering, the world wobbling.

"Call your house," I demanded, when it stopped. "Call your daughters. See if they are all right."

My phone rang then. Curtis. He was fine. His tall tall office building seemed fine. They had all run downstairs and outside. "You ran fast," I remarked. "It was a long earthquake," he replied.

It was a very very very long, rolling quake. Not one of those jerky, vicious ones that hit like a car smashing into a wall. We can only hope that means that everywhere it was felt the quake passed as gently as it did here.

An afternoon earthquake: one more  reminder:

Love freely; live joyfully; play and sing with gusto! This is the time we have.