Quaking

According to my local news channel, we experienced an earthquake about 5:20 this morning. It actually was centered in Southern Illinois, but people felt tremors as far north as this area in Western Michigan. An e-mail to my younger son in mid-Missouri revealed that he felt nothing, but his friend in St. Louis felt it. I expect to contact Jackie soon to see if she felt it. (Dare I ask her if the earth moved?)

I was so tired last night that I went to bed early, and to be honest, I might not have felt the quake even if I'd been sleeping at its epicenter. Well, if it had thrown me out of bed, I might have noticed. Maybe.

Yesterday was a long day. I decided coming back to town that I'd go a different direction, so I cut across to Rockford on 10 Mile Road. Pleasant, short, no problem. I noticed lots of houses for sale, but who would want a house right on such a busy road? Then I stopped to get a bite of lunch (even though 4:30 p.m. is a bit on the late side). The fast-food restaurant was next door to a Cookies by Design shop, and I'd promised the night class I'd have a bit of goodies for them, but I probably should have gone to the grocery store. I spent $12.10 for 12 cookies. They were gourmet, which (since I didn't eat any of them) I'm translating to mean "regular cookies in an extra-large size." The students seemed to enjoy them.

The excitement came when I tried to leave the shopping center. Traffic (which had been nearly nonexistent when I drove into the center) was backed up for miles. A nice man in a red truck let me in ahead of him, and it didn't take long until I saw the cause of the backup. An accident, of course. A white car with a crunched in front fender was across the left lane, diagonally. The passenger side of the windshield showed evidence of a head hitting it--the circle with surrounding ripples of broken glass radiating from the center. There were ambulances, fire engines, police cars, rubber neckers, and a guy with a large video camera. He was on the side of the road filming the activity. Yet the evening news had nothing in it about the accident. That's unusual since normally, the local news (a full 90 minutes from 5-6:30 p.m.) covers everything over and over again to fill up their time slot. There was no coverage on the online version of the station, either. Strange.

I got a long email from my brother Curtis yesterday. He rambled on and on, which is amazing for him. Usually he is as terse as my younger son is. I'm glad to have reestablished contact with him, but he didn't allay my worries about his health. As usual, he sort of glossed over that. Much of the time he spent going on and on about this girl he knew from high school. (Middle-age folly up ahead?) Curtis has been married for nearly 30 years, but his heart attack last year has probably given him a carpe diem sense of needing to sow some wild oats. His youngest child is now married, his wife is sitting death watch with her ailing mother, and he works nights as a prison guard, so I imagine a little excitement seems to be what he thinks he needs. However, he also might want to remember that he'd be more likely to have another heart attack if he tried to have an affair.

I cannot end my entry without mentioning how spectacular the weather has been. When I got home yesterday, my husband had the attic fan running and the doors and windows open. It felt good. Shortly, though, it grew too cool for the fan. He's out playing golf this morning (such a surprise!). It may rain tomorrow, so if I need his attention and company, I'm likely to get it then. Today will be wasted. He'll get home around 1:30 or 2:00, take a nap, and then go work in his office until time to eat. Mr. Excitement. I suppose I need to be Mrs. Excitement and do some much-need work today myself. After all, I can't expect the earth to move every day. S.