My thoughts and prayers go out to Japan

I feel so badly for the people of Japan. I can't imagine facing a disaster like this. I think of my hometown and the hills and streets I drove, the trees I watched grow over my lifetime, the building I visited daily. When I try to imagine if a tsunami came and washed the familiar trees away, shaved the landscape, and demolished favorite houses and stores--how do you cope? How do you comfort yourself when you find yourself in a wasteland that barely resembles everything you knew? How do you feel safe when home is washed away?

It's overwhelming and I just feel terrible for them. Now I'm watching the news about the nuclear power plant and newscasters promising us that nothing like this could happen to our power plants. It was the tsunami from a 8.9-9.0 earthquake that did this. How do you really prevent something like that? Japan was one of the most earthquake prepared places on earth. If this happened elsewhere in the world the devastation would have been even worse--if you can believe it. How can you say a force of nature could not happen here? New fault lines can happen at any time, and what about California and its existing fault lines? What about other acts of nature? When will we learn that a form of power you can't reach to safely shut down in an unforeseen emergency is not a form of power to rely on?

It's so frightening, but people are coming together to save the survivors, there's news of a four month old baby girl found alive and safe in the rubble after days. I hope that good news continues, I hope that the people know the world's thoughts and prayers are centered on them.

A friend of mine began an effort to fold a million paper cranes to send to Japan. If folks don't have money to give or goods to send, they can still show the Japanese people they are praying for them and hoping for them. If folks have sent money and goods, it's an additional donation of love. For everyone wanting to share their hearts with the people of Japan it's a beautiful way to occupy worried hands and show caring thoughts. If you want more information, please contact me and I'll let you know where you can send the cranes.