Yeah, it rattled here, too

Shortly after 5:30, the cat woke me up.  Don’t know if he sensed something, or if it was his usual “Hey, the sky is getting light and I’m awake, so you should wake up, too, and pet me!” routine.  Most likely the latter.

Anyway, at 5:38 things started vibrating, which continued for 20 seconds or so.  Recognized what it was immediately.  After the shaking stopped, wandered down stairs and flipped on the TV– the local newsies were taking phone calls and marveling about how the quake had rattled the lights on their set.

In Wisconsin, folks were calling 911:

The transcripts of the calls were just released.  Two dozen nearly identical exchanges along these lines:

911 Operator:  Ja?  What seems to be the problem?

Caller:  Say we just woke up with the room shaking. It's probably nothing, but the missus thought I should call it in.  So I called it in.  End of story.

911 Operator:  Well thanks a bunch.  You're right, it's probably nothing, but thanks for calling her in.

Caller:  Looks like she's gonna turn cold tomorrow.

911 Operator:  Oh ja, they say a fronts comming in.

Caller:  You got that right.

Meanwhile, Republicans were immediately held responsible:

1. If it wasn’t for President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, his “tax cuts for the rich” and his Global War on Terror, adequate funds would have been available to fund successful earthquake prevention research at the U.S. Geological Survey;

2. The earthquake occurred as a result of non-union labor being involved in the earth’s construction process...

(...you get the idea.)

Oh, and go buy a T-Shirt.  (Ain’t capitalism wonderful!)

And there was an aftershock, around 11:14.  Missed that one.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 22:26:34 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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