I was down in Buffalo when I heard the news about the huge earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan. Of course, as soon as I turned on the television, there were ten or twenty videos depicting the enormity of the quake and the subsequent devastation from the ten meter high wall of water it created. I heard they’re now upgrading the measurement of the quake from an 8.9 to a 9 on the Richter Scale. Yikes! One video showed a large cargo ship sitting in the middle of a street, a mile from shore. Another showed a river of cars and broken buildings flowing rapidly through a city center. The only word that comes to my mind is “incredible”. Every time I look at the pictures from one of these natural disasters, I wonder how the victims will ever recover. As of last night, there are three nuclear reactors in peril, and one that appears to be melting down as I write this. Of course this catastrophe will play into the hands of those who oppose nuclear energy, but how often does a natural disaster of this scale occur … every thousand years? Talk about Murphy’s Law! And what IS the viable alternative to feed the world’s insatiable demand for electricity? Windmills and solar panels only generate a fraction of power required. In so many of these natural disasters -- the Kobe quake back in 1995, Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, the quake-generated tidal wave in Indonesia back in 2004, the quake in Haiti last year -- the destruction is unfathomable to me. Not being from an earthquake-prone area, I never really thought about the damage a tsunami can do until I saw the results of that quake in Indonesia, and now this latest quake in Northern Japan. Of course, whenever there is a disaster of this magnitude I, the consummate scholar, do my usual anemic and unsubstantiated internet research on the subject, this time having to do with tsunamis. While most quakes apparently occur in the Pacific, in 1929 (before or after the stock market crash?) there was a quake-generated tsunami on the east coast of North America. Though it caused nowhere near the destruction that this most recent tsunami caused, it did hammer the coast of Newfoundland with waves up to 23 feet, there were 28 casualties, and there were reports of tidal waves as far south as South Carolina. I’m guessing that a 25 foot tidal wave might do some serious damage to Manhattan, or Boston, or Washington D.C. What are the chances? Who really knows? Clearly, this is a crisis requiring international assistance. I thought to my naïve self, isn’t this what the militaries of the world should be doing; not killing men, women, and children, but fighting our common enemy, Mother Nature? She’ll kick our ass and cull the herd in the end, but it wouldn’t hurt to put up a fight. Free oil for every victim rescued. Dream on Jamie.
A moment of silence for legendary Buffalo Sabre Rick Martin, who died Sunday, apparently of a heart attack while driving his car. He was only 59. Martin, or “Ricco” as he was nicknamed when he was part of the famous “French Connection” back in the 70s, had a blistering slap shot. He wasn’t pretty to watch, as was his line mate Gilbert Perrault, but he sure could score goals. That was back in the good old days when the Sabres franchise was in its infancy, and when hardly any players wore helmets. Last Sunday night I was lucky enough to attend the Sabres home game (they beat Ottawa 6-4, but had lost to the Leafs the night before), and after the game the whole team pointed their sticks towards Martin’s number hanging from the rafters. The Sabres have a new owner, Terry Pegula, and he may be the deep pocket that will once again elevate the Sabres to be Stanley Cup contenders. We’ve come close a few times. Notice I say “we”? I am still a closet Leafs fan, don’t get me wrong, but as usual the Leafs choked again this year. They only started to get hot when it was too late to matter. They’re out for this year, but mark my words, they’re getting better and they’ve got a couple of very exciting young players. Next year if they can stay healthy, I think they‘ll make the playoffs for sure. For now, GO SABRES! O.K., so I’m a “Hockey Ho” … I’ve got to root for somebody!
My heart goes out to the people of Japan, and today I will make a contribution to the International Red Cross to assist in the relief effort. How much can one country endure?
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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