Some mornings just feel different than others. Today, it was weird to awake to hear the news of a massive earthquake off Japan. It puts things in perspective quickly. You start to think about the force of mother nature. It's raw power and how we go through our lives without thinking about whether it will affect us or not. It's devastating to watch. People not knowing about the gigantic tsunami heading their way, strolling down the street. The image of huge fishing vessels over turned in a parking lot. It freaks me out. I start to think about my kids, my reaction. The belief that I'm some sort of super hero may only be a fantasy. How disappointing.
 My first thoughts were of people that I know with ties to the devastated region. A friend teaching in Taiwan, another who just moved from Tokyo, but has plenty of friends still abroad. Earthquakes are confusing. When you're in one you don't really understand what's happening. If it's long enough, you eventually figure it out, but smaller ones you just assume that you're hungover. It's like that feeling of falling in a dream, but you actually think your falling and your body reacts as such.(shit I shouldn't have watched Inception last night) I've been through smaller quakes, but none that stick out. The last was when I was in L.A. working on a production and there was one overnight. I had a long day on set, grabbed a sixer of rolling rock and 3 pack of Camels and retired to my room. I watched a high speed chase(that ended up going right past the hotel) and passed out. In the morning the crew was all excited that I was there for a 4-pointer, but I didn't recall. I thought I had knocked the shit off the night stand in my sleep. What a let down.
 The first one was in Hawaii about 27 years ago. It was a vacation that was scheduled for the entire month of December. There was short period of time that my Mom and step-dad got along, and we rented a villa in Maui. It was the greatest part of my childhood. I was about 12yrs old and could come and go as pleased. In the olden days nobody worried about their kids running off. We knew when lunch and dinner was, but it was optional. I spent everyday in ocean. Bogey-boarding, surfing, and roaming through the wooded areas around the beach. I went days without wearing a shirt, or showering with soap. I had turned such a shade of dark brown that my family could barely recognize me, and all the locals accepted me. It was one of the only times I could tell people that I was half black and they didn't question it.
 I loved Maui. I wanted to live there and surf the rest of my life. I still do, but I'm pretty fat to be surfing. The lifestyle was easy to fall in love with, after all I wasn't in school. No one ever supervised me. I remember one time the elevator got stuck between floors and me and some other kids just pryed open the doors and went on our way. There were these bullfrogs that were the size of small puppies. If one jumped and hit you, you'd fall down. We captured about eight of them and put them in this third kids bathroom, and waited until his Mom screamed. Then we ran to the beach and dazed at the stars. The final week, we stayed in Waikiki. It wasn't the same. It was touristy, and packed. The beaches were over crowded, and the waves weren't very big. Nobody knew what a Hawaiian pizza was, and the hot dog vendors specialize in Canadian Wieners, weird. I think that there was life lesson somewhere wrapped in that trip about seeing the true Hawaii compared to the one they dress up for you. Since then, I've been to all-inclusive resorts, and although nice, they lack the pizazz of the natural country. Outside of the 5 star Dominican resort is a country devastated with poverty, and corruption. On the other side of the island is Haiti still trying to recover from it's own crushing earthquake. We fly to these places and see the paradise that has been gathered, primped and preened, but underneath can be some serious scars.
  We tend to think that Japan will be okay. We know that they have emergency response for such occasions, and that they are prepared for the idea of a massive earthquake, but reality isn't always as reasonable as the projections. They have the worlds 3rd largest economy, and have suffered devastating circumstances in the past, but it doesn't mean they won't need our support. The friends and family that live here, that have friends and family there. It's not about politics, or who gave more, it's about people. I know it eases some people's vacation to bring clothes or extra money to all-inclusive resorts, so that they can help the staff while getting a drunk, and massages. Somewhere on a beach was a twelve year old boy that was playing in the ocean, and catching frogs.I want him to be okay, so I can read is ramblings one day. I'm sure there will be fundraisers, blood banks, and charitable donations available to aid those less fortunate than us today. There is always something we can give to help, even if all we can afford is time.