Japan earthquake and tsunami

[abstamaria]

My friend Minoru flies over yearly to Manila from Japan to judge car shows here. He knows vintage automobiles but is very up to date on "tuner" cars also. But his keenest interest is in vintage and antique motorcycles, and he and his father have quite a few - Velocettes and others whose names I can't recall. He is an angler and likes to ride one of his old motorcycles to fish in a river near his home. He says there is very little that can compare to the joy and peace that brings. I believe him.

About 2 years ago he brought over and gave me a 1917 fishing rod and reel and the book "The Compleat Angler." These were intended to encourage me to retire earlier. I keep the fishing rod on a side desk in my office to remind me there is the world outside.

Minoru himself was unhurt by the earthquake and tsunami, but I think his and his father's collection may have been affected very badly. His email messages have been short, and I hesitate to press him for details. I know his brother's house, only a mile from the sea, was destroyed completely and that, for several days, Minoru could not contact him. Thankfully, he and his family were found later and are safe.

There are I am sure garage enthusiasts from Japan who visit GJ. I have seen home garages there, some small, others impressive, that would be interesting to many here. They are keen auto enthusiasts, and many, like me, are into deep-end or fringe-end, little known cars, like Lotuses, etc.

This is just a note to express my condolences and sympathy for the many enthusiasts there who suffered badly in the disaster and my hope that they will recover swiftly.

Andres

 

[toolsd]

I happened to be in Narita during the quake. I was on the jet, one of the pilots flying it to San Francisco. We were about to board passengers.

It's a mess. Ironically, due to Japan being so well prepared for a quake, the quake itself was the least of the problems. However, the quake caused the tsunami, a major problem. The quake also caused the shutdown of their nuclear plants, a MAJOR problem.

My condolences go out as well. And will continue as the effects of this disaster continue to cascade throughout Japanese society. We all are living on a thin margin these days, it doesn't take much to tumble the house of cards... and they got a lot more than "not much".

I was REALLY impressed by the response I saw. The entire flight crew just stayed on the jet while the two major quakes hit and for about seven hours afterwards. By the time we left the airport, TONS of support had been already dispersed to thousands of stranded travelers.

Tools

 

[Stargeezer]

Our young daughter was in Tokyo during the 9.0 quake. She is an SDSU student on exchange at Hosi University there. We happened to be on Skype with here as the quake struck. She was in her dorm, swaying back and forth on the laptop screen; with things on her table and desk crashing to the floor. She was unhurt. Then we got her out of there within a few days. She is home now and not too worse for the scare.

What a distaster Japan suffers! My heart goes out to the affected people and lost souls.