DEC 1, 18 .. MY HEART STOPPED BEATING.. AN EARTHQUAKE IN ALASKA..

I flew from Irkutsk West into Kyzyl, Russian Siberia, yesterday afternoon.

Below is a little closer look at Kyzyl.

All was well. All was swell. It was fun and it was giddy. Patti and I texted and spoke more than a few times. We were in contact when I landed safely in Kyzyl. We spoke from the automobile I was riding in with friends from the airport. All said, “Hi Patti.” We spoke from the restaurant we ate at here in Kyzyl. Again all said, “Hi Patti.”

I went to a private home. Got settled. And (I was near the point of utter exhaustion after the events of the day) I went to bed.

This morning I awoke and texted Patti. I got no reply. This is not all that unusual since Patti is living-a-life there in Anchorage.

So after waiting about 20-minutes for Patti to reply, I texted her and said I was going back to sleep. I did and slept another full hour to 8am in the morning here in Kyzyl.

I was pretty sure that by this time, well over an hour later, Patti would be available to call me. So I again texted her. No reply.

MY HEAT STOPPED BEATING !

Andrej sent me the following text message :

“Cap, there was an earthquake in Anchorage. 7.0. I haven’t been able to get a hold of Patti yet.”

I don’t DO drama but let me assure each and every single one of you ..

MY HEART STOPPED BEATING !

I don’t DO panic. So I replied to Andrej that I got his text, that I too had been trying to contact Patti with no success and that I had no idea there had been an earthquake in Anchorage.

I texted Andrej the phone numbers of Patti’s most important people and asked that he call them. I then began to text them myself.

And I learned Patti was OK. That her power had just returned. That there was no damage to the condo. That she had been trying to call me.

Below is Patti’s e-mail to me :

We had a MAJOR earthquake just before 8:30 this morning that jolted me awake and seemed to go on forever, followed by significant aftershocks all day long. The power, phone, internet, went out immediately. I was able to get batteries into your little radio and so got news reports about the damage throughout the day. Lots of road, ramp, overpass damages – rock slides, collapses, windows cracked and blown out in various places around town. Schools are closed until Wednesday while they evaluate the extent of damage The power just went back on minutes ago (about 6pm). There are pictures on the floor and clutter around, but no damage that I can see. I had 16 messages on the phone when it went back on, so I have a lot of calls to return, plus I need to get something to eat.

Sigh … other than that Mrs. Lincoln, it is a great play …

Whew.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 

Right now I am at the library in Kyzyl. They have NO Wi-Fi. My Lenovo is NOT configured to accept an ethernet cable. So I am on a library computer with much Russian formatting BUT seem to be doing OK. I must never forget that for years and years I never had a personal laptop with me and always used library computers. So that actual life experience is standing me well.

I have no Wi-Fi at my home-away-from-Irkutsk here in Kyzyl.

So time will tell what will come down. I am speaking at a meeting in about one hour so wanted to dash into town and get online. Mike and I are staying with the daugher and granddaughter of Mike’s good friend here in Kzyzl.

Whew.

More to follow tomorrow.

Cap

I will say this about my new Siberian home : To this point in time, I feel that Kyzyl is the real-deal when it comes to my expectations of what I was going to find in Russian Siberia.

• ← NOV 30, 2018 … CAP’S WONDERWORLD SPINS ON …
• DEC 3, 18 .. CAP IS CAPTIVATED BY KYZYL, THE REPUBLIC OF TUVA, SIBERIA →