February 2005 | Editor’s Note
Forces of Nature
Life is tenuous. We all know this, but we conveniently have amnesia until something—a wall of mud, a tidal wave, a misguided automobile— catapults this immutable fact into the forefront of our minds. Maybe that’s why we’re so fascinated with news images of disasters, or why cars slow to a crawl when passing a major crash on the freeway. It reminds us of something we know we ought to be remembering.
When we decided to do a story in honor of Valentine’s Day, we determined to up the ante from the usual couples saga. We would find pairs who not only have survived the high divorce rate, they’ve done the almost unthinkable: they’re in business together. Living and working as one, they are in each other’s company 24/7, and while there is no corporate entity dictating their activities, they also have only themselves to rely on for things like paychecks and health benefits.
Everybody at WLT loved this story idea; the challenge was finding qualifying pairs, and after a brainstorming session, we all went home for the long holiday weekend to plumb our personal databases for people who might be appropriate. I woke up the following Monday morning thinking about Steve and Maury, the delightful duo who run the Country Kitchen Burger Stand downstairs from our office and have been together for decades. I smiled through morning traffic, pleased I’d thought of including them and knowing how much they would enjoy being featured. I arrived at the building before the stand opened, and before I had the chance to go downstairs to present my proposal, our receptionist handed me a condolence card to sign. Steve had injured himself and, quite unexpectedly, had left this earthly life over the weekend. I was stunned at such apparent randomness.
While we were still reeling from the shocking reports of an equally random tsunami in the Indian Ocean, January storms caused further death and destruction closer to home. What an amazing influence water has over our lives! If we were to experience a tidal wave here, the loss along our coastline could be epic.
The last tsunami to directly affect California was in March 1964. An earthquake off the coast of Alaska caused waves as high as 21 feet in some areas, and resulted in at least 11 deaths in our state.
“Not very big,” you might argue. “We have nothing to worry about.” But according to University of Washington seismologist Brian Atwater, who works with the US Geological Survey, the west coast of the US, with it’s shifting tectonic plates, has been significantly deluged 12 times over the past 4,500 years. This averages out to one serious tsunami approximately every 375 years, if they occur in a predictable cycle. But nature doesn’t function that way. Historically, tsunamis have occurred as close together as 250 years, or as far apart as 1,000 years, with the most recent slamming our coast in 1700. Are we 305 years into a 1,000-year cycle? Or are we 305 years into a 306-year cycle?
Relationships may seem as unpredictable as nature, but unlike natural disasters, people have the power to influence the course of their personal interactions. Anyone who has been committed to another person for more than a few years can tell you that it requires work and determination, from both your partner and yourself. There’s no guarantee of outcome, but the benefits of personal growth will last even if the relationship doesn’t.
Just as the couples in our cover story have established a spiritual connection and communication that can sustain them over the long haul, so, too, should we be deepening our intimate relationship with Mother Earth. We may not be able to control nature, but we certainly can work with her. We’re all getting flowers for Valentine’s Day—what are we giving her in return?
From my heart,
Abigail Lewis
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