"Natural" Disasters

Bob and I have been guilty of many things -- financial ignorance, laziness, do-it-yourself-opathy, and now eco-egocentrism -- the belief that we can disturb the cosmic balance of chaos by our mere presence in a given location. This realization came after our most recent trip to the Southwest to visit the Grand Canyon and Sedona (otherwise known as Red Rock country). While we were south of Sedona in Oak Creek the wild fires started, quite a spectacular vision at night (click on my cool pic!), and now, a few weeks later, the fires continue to burn and decimate vast areas requiring evacuation of Sedona. Similar disaster had struck shortly after Bob and I enjoyed the Big Easy together, when New Orleans was washed away by Katrina. This is not to mention the numerous medical emergencies that have stricken those around us on planes, trains, buses, and restaurants (i.e. "Is there a doctor here?!") over the years.

If any of you follow the "Lost" series on TV, and have seen the "Numbers" episode where Hurley believes that he was ultimately cursed by the numbers that won him the mega millions jackpot (i.e. because of his curse, the plane went down in the first place, and ill befalls all those around him), it's possible that Bob and I share the same sort of fate. As an eerie footnote, one of the cursed numbers on that Lost episode, 23, is in my birthdate -- coincidence? I think not!

We might have inherited this gift of destruction and chaos from a husband and wife team at work who had travelled to Alaska shortly before the infamous Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, to Israel immediately prior to the start of the Intifada that sparked a wave of unrest engulfing the region, to Kasmir directly ahead of the violent labor strikes, and to Kauai which was buffeted by a massive hurricane after their vacation there.

Which leads me to conclude that you should not recommend your favorite vacation spot to us unless you're willing to lose it.