Across the Pond

Does anything bring out the truth about people more than a crisis? Images and reports from the earth quake, tsunami, and radioactivity stricken Japan show a stoicism in those affected that is rare. When I first came to live in L.A. in 1999 the comparatively light Northridge earthquake of 1994 which registered as a 6.7 was still fresh in people's minds. It was then that I learned how Californians deal with the constant threat of a major shaker: they accept that the big one is getting ready to rock us and prepare for it. Schools drill children on earth quake safety, residents keep earth quake kits in their garages and cars. Such preparation is sensible and it calms the nerves. It makes us feel we have control over what will happen. It takes some fear out of life. Does preparation ensure that we Californians will respond as stoically as the Japanese when our time comes? No. The culture on this side of the Pacific is different. We see it every year when the wildfires burn out ...