Earthquakes are unsettling.

Earthquakes are unsettling.

I know. I have been in several of them. I was in one yesterday in Rancho Mirage, California about 100 miles from the “epicenter” of the quake. I was on the golf course when the tremor rolled through. It lasted for about 20 seconds and shook the golf cart noticeably. Fortunately, I was not putting. But lest I get too far off the subject why say you are Earthquakes unsettling? Because they are unpredictable, uncontrollable and occur with no warning.

There are many natural disasters. Tornadoes are seen in the distance and the meteorologists often report they are coming in advance. Hurricanes are the same. The weather professionals take great pleasure in preparing us for the worst. Often we over prepare. Sometime we are under prepared. But earthquakes, unlike other potential natural disasters, just happen. It is, as if, nature has a life of its own in the realm of the earthquake. We should not be surprised. The Grand canyon is not appear to be the work of a smooth sculptress. Patient maybe but smooth never. If there are no injuries or no buildings destroyed, then earthquakes, just like the one that hit on Easter, are old news fast.

Yet the discussions of the quake and the tremors continue at a far more personal level. No one was hurt, yet thousands are affected by the experience. We talk about it at lunch. Our friends call us from the other side of the country and ask if we are alright. And we shrug the impact of the quake off. No damage done. No blood. No foul. But we are not okay. Because it is precisely the unpredictable, uncontrollable destructive characteristics of an earthquake that cause the fear. It can occur again, without as much as a tweet. It is threatening because it gives no warning.

Even a rattlesnake rattles, but an earthquake happens. Hitchcock missed the boat with no earthquake movie. Even Jaws had a forewarning with the sounds that still bounce around in our heads when we swim in the ocean. Earthquakes have no introduction. They just show up without as much as an invitation.

The expert seismologists are called by CNN and asked for scholarly comments. There aren’t any. They argue over the size of the quake. Was it a 6.9? Was it a 7.2? And we hear the statistics again. There are 10 million earthquakes every year and only approximately 100 in the 7.0 category. A few quick citizens with their video cameras make great home videos of water sloshing in the pool, the emblematic chandelier rocking with the tide and face to face interviews with probing questions. They get their 15 minutes of fame. How did the quake feel to you? Did any boxes fall from the shelves? How long did the tremor last? What did you do? And so on. Earthquakes are an analysts dream. It happened. No future forecast possible. The analysts have all the fun of expressing genuine profound opinions about a past event without the risk of being wrong. If only the economists had that latitude.

But the fear of quakes persist. And those of us who have read about, or experienced first hand, their destructive power are never quite free of a thought. Earthquakes are unsettling. They are unpredictable, uncontrollable and have the destructive power of a 100 hurricanes.

Quakes happen without notice and without prejudice. Quakes have, in my opinion, the uncanny ability to remind us of the uncontrollable aspects of life. It happens too.