City VS Country

I go to DC, a major metropolitan city in our country that surely has it's share of danger and crime.  All is peaceful. I come home to my small town in Vermont. I am home less than twentyfour hours before the following two things happen.

1. I receive the following email on our town email list.

Hello  Neighbors,

    Some of you may have been aware of a manhunt this morning for a suspected kidnapper/rapist.  State Police were going door to door in some neighborhoods, searching for him.  I have just been informed that there was a report on the noon news, that the suspect has been caught.  I just thought that it might help you sleep better tonight.!

--Sally

I had seen a  strange man when I went for my run this morning. But would a kidnapper/rapist be strolling right down the town center? 

2. I was on the phone with my son when I realized I was paying no attention to what he was saying because the bed was shaking.  I told him I thought we were having an earthquake and then I thought I was crazy.  I looked under the bed not sure what I expected to find.  I still wasn't convinced it really was an earthquake until I saw a post on FB about it.  Here is what I found on line.




  5.0 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter located on the Quebec-Ontario border rocked Vermont this afternoon, with reports of the tremblor extending as far away as Cleveland, Ohio, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Report: US Geological Service on the quake

The USGS said the quake, which occurred around 1:45 p.m., was centered 33 miles northeast of Ottawa near Buckingham, Quebec. Originally measured at 5.5, the quake was downgraded to 5.0.State Geologist Larry Becker in Waterbury said, “We felt it here. I was sitting in my chair and started rocking back and forth. ... It looks like it probably was an event.“


The last “event“ in Vermont came in April 2002, when a quake near Plattsburgh, N.Y., was felt in the Champlain Valley.


Reports from Swanton, Huntington, Milton, Montpelier and beyond spilled into the Free Press newsroom and are being posted online.

Mark Bosma at Vermont Emergency Management reported a stream of calls from Vermonters wondering if the shaking was an earthquake. No damage has been reported in Vermont.




Thankfully I am headed for New York CIty on Saturday where I will be safe once more!