I lived in Anchorage 48 years ago; my dad was in the Air Force & was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, which is located just outside of Anchorage. We were here for two years and went home a year earlier than scheduled when my grandfather was dying from cancer.
Otherwise, we would have been here in Anchorage for the 9.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred on Good Friday in 1964. I remember seeing that earthquake's devastation on TV from my grandparent's home in Maryland; very strange seeing the destruction of your old home on TV while you are safe and sound in a new location.
In any case, we have a picture of me, in our Alakan home with me in my PJ's & looking fresh from my bath, celebrating my 5th birthday by blowing out the candles on my birthday cake as my little sister, Dana, looked on. There is a very Norman Rockwell-ish feeling to the picture, at least to my eyes.
Who knew, 48 years later, I would once again celebrate my birthday here in Anchorage, Alaska, only a few miles from were we lived in 1961?
Yep, today is my birthday and I've been milking it for all it's worth with my dear wife, Mary Lynn. You know how the (not) subtle hint goes... "Hey hon, you could get me that (fill in the blank) for my birthday?". A few days go by and, hoping she has forgotten about our last purchase "for my birthday", I make the same request for something else. She's so sweet she pretends to have forgotten about the previous 'birthday purchase' and she says yes.
In any case, I had (another) great birthday here in Alaska. Am I lucky or what?
Speaking of earthquakes and feeling the earth move, there is a web site you can visit to read about the last few earthquakes that have hit Alaska. Go to www.aeic.alaska.edu/Seis/recenteqs/index.html and you can track them yourself. Always interesting, slightly more interesting & less academic when you are actually standing in the center of one of the earth's most seismically active territories...
In Southeast Alaska we had a 3.3 magnitude earlier today, a 4.1 yesterday and a 5.5 magnitude earthquake 5 days ago on June 22, 2009. Actually, MLA and I were driving just outside the town of Willow, which was the epicenter, when that earthquake occurred. We were in the RV moving from Talkeetna to Anchorage, and even though a 5.5 is a pretty good jolt, we didn't feel a thing. Or I should say we didn't notice anything unusual. When you are driving down the road in the RV it sort of bounces and bumps along anyhow, so we just chalked the earthquake up to a little 'road noise'.
In fact, we only found out about the earthquake when our son called about an hour later to see if we were OK. "What earthquake?" was our reply!
We spent time exploring Earthquake Park, where an 8000 foot by 1500 foot piece of land slid into Cook Inlet during the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Hard to comprehend just how powerful earthquakes are and how disorienting it is to humans when their world starts moving in ways most of us consider impossible.
Many people talk about the ground moving in waves, or rather, watching waves roll through the earth, even through hard surfaces such as sidewalks, etc. People said the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 scrambled their brain; seeing things happen around them they (previously) knew couldn't happen simply overloaded the brains ability to deal with the events.
The last few days we've been in contact with a lot of family and friends; it always great hearing from everyone and getting the latest updates on what's happening 'outside'. I spoke with my Aunt Charlotte and when she heard I was in Anchorage, she reminded me about my Great Aunt Ruth's daughter, Dot, who followed my mom to Anchorage in 1961. Dot ended up meeting and dating Mel, a guy my dad worked with at Elmendorf AFB They were later married.
When I spoke with Mel earlier this week he told me, after dating DOT in Alaska, she returned to Maryland and he returned to Louisiana when his tour of duty with the Air Force was completed. After a couple of weeks he went to Maryland to see Dot. As Mel puts it "I moved to Maryland to see if things would work out with Dot.. we've been married now for 48 years... we should know in another couple of years if it's going to work out...". They are a great couple. In fact they have had two RV's and put over 100,000 miles travelling throughout North America.
We still have some additional activities/sights we want to see in Anchorage: the Anchorage Museum, the Aviation Museum, the Native Heritage Museum and the Northern Light Theater. I'll let you know how it goes...
Thanks everyone for all the cards, phone calls and happy birthday wishes -- it always means a lot!
Hey Hon, maybe we can get me a wide-angle lens for my birthday....
See Ya!
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