We have friends in Japan. So when we first heard of the massive quakes there, we’ve been glued to the news and have followed every story, and watched every video. Contact has been made with everyone and all of our friends are alright. Thank God. We continue to pray for the people of Japan.
I’ve been asked by a few readers, how they can help. The answer there is the same as in all the other disasters… The Red Cross.
After Katrina there was some stink about the Red Cross in their use of Katrina funds. You know what? I don’t care. My Grandparents where Red Cross Volunteers for years and years and they went all over helping people in dire needs… that’s what the Red Cross does and outside of Governments, they are the biggest dog in the fight. They are a great organization. If you want to do something to help Japan, contact the Red Cross.
Japan has been an important ally to the US and our Economies are tied together like we were a married couple. Even tighter than our ties with the UK. We need to help Japan to stand back up… get them on their feet again. Japan is a part of us… and they need us… Please, donate everything you can. Do what you can.
I lived in northern Japan (Aomori Prefecture on the Pacific coast side) for almost 5 years and have been through my share of quakes there…but NOTHING like what happened recently. I haven’t heard from some of my friends who live(d) in Sendai and it’s quite possible that they are all dead, which is something that would hit me really hard. All I have is some pictures of them from a few parties (one of them threw me an extravagant party when I married my 2nd wife, a Japanese national) that they threw for me. Also one of my best friends recently moved back to Misawa to work for ATOC and I finally got some e-mails back from him and he has been telling me some pretty bad stuff that is on the Japanese news, which isn’t completely reported in the English speaking news. He is extremely busy now taking in aid shipments and whatnot. From what I learned about Japan is that no matter how bad the damage is, they will get the job done and do it very quickly. They aren’t like the Americans who loot & riot during disaster no matter how dire the situation may be. They will actually stand in line for hours to actually buy something from the only convience store that is open instead of just bumrushing the place and taking what they want. They’ll pull through this in a short amount of time for such a large disaster.
It’s that cultural difference that makes them strong.
My woman is half Japanese. We are still waiting for contact from her people on Honshu. They are north of Tokyo somewhere, like I have a clue. Somewhere up and away from the sea so that is promising.
This is a terrible thing that has happened, I’m sure you have all seen the vids of the waves rolling in. All those people swept away in their cars and their homes. Wow, just wow.
God, please take them home swiftly without a lingering, suffering death in some ditch or clinging to a piece of debris out in the sea.
I just hope they get those reactors under control soon, that is a potential huge mess for the islands and the rest of our world. What a mess. Think about having to clean all that up, they will be finding bodies for months or maybe years. As someone who loves Japan and the Japanese culture, the only words I can think are NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO.
Look it up, it’s a Japanese Buddhist thing, a chant and a prayer.