Have you ever seen a movie in the theater or on TV and just really got into it? Have you ever then told a friend about your experience only to have them say in a nasally, condescending or erudite manner that they much preferred the book version? Don't these pseudo-intellectual wanna-bes really make you want to projectile vomit all over their shoes? In fact I wish that whenever anybody even thought of uttering this ridiculous turn of phrase that a hyperactive irish man would sneak up behind them and whack them over the head with his shillelagh (a stout, knotty stick used for delivering a good beatin'). But this brief aside is not the subject of today's post, it serves only as an introduction.
Do you know anyone who has been in an earthquake and acts like they have something over you because you have not experienced one yourself? I sure have. All snooty and self-absorbed. They should be put on a whomp-down list just like the book readers. Well, perhaps I should now add my name to such a list. Yesterday afternoon at about 1:51 p.m. (EST) my area was "rocked" by a 5.8 magnitude (on the Andy Richter scale) quake. I was in my office and the whole place started shaking deeply without warning. It wasn't a gentle shaking either. I think I may have wet myself a little during the experience. Certainly my nerves were a bit frazzled and jangled. But I am sure that you couldn't possibly appreciate what I went through not having been there yourself.