For a few minutes from Georgia to Main on
AUGUST 23, 2011 around 2:00PM in the afternoon
the question rang out:
What was that?
The answer:
A Rare East Coast Earthquake.
Magnitude 5.8
That an was extremely far down on the list for most of us not used to the earth shaking beneath our feet. In Washington and New York, their nerves still raw, thoughts instantly turned to terrorism. In small towns and rural areas near the epicenter and elsewhere, guesses ran the gamut: A truck crash, a plant explosion, a bomb, a train derailment & a fat person walking upstairs. No, it was an earthquake. Thankfully, there ended up being no known deaths or serious injuries from Tuesday's quake, but cracks appeared in the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral. Windows shattered and grocery stores were wrecked in Virginia, where the quake was centered. The White House and the Pentagon were evacuated.
With the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks just weeks away, people were shaken physically and emotionally and poured from high-rises like the Empire State Building in New York. "I ran down all 60 flights," accounting office worker Caitlin Trupiano said. "I wasn't waiting for the elevator."
The scope of the damage - or lack of - also quickly became clear on from twitter & myspace to facebook. Instead of collapsed freeways, people posted images of toppled lawn chairs and yogurt cups, broken Bobbleheads and picture frames askew on walls.
Those along the West Coast who are used to the earth moving couldn't help but take a jab or two. "Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake??? Come on East Coast, we have those for breakfast out here!!!!" wrote Dennis Miller, whose Pleasanton home sits on a fault line.
"We were laughing," said 26-year-old San Francisco resident Stellamarie Hall, "but we definitely understand that New York and certain metropolitan areas are not designed around earthquakes." Those few who knew what was happening had braced for worse, some remembering the Indian Ocean quake that triggered a tsunami and a nuclear disaster in Japan. "I knew it was an earthquake, but my first thought was, 'Oh my God, something's going to happen to the power plant," said 21-year-old Whitney Thacker in Mineral, Va., a town near the epicenter where the sidewalks were littered with fallen stones, masonry and broken glass. "It was scary."
So now that we have survived and the aftermath of jokes and laughter are part of this culture, Join in the fun. The Sullivan Shop has all you East Coast Earth Quake Gear.
3. IT HAPPEN AGAIN. - The funny phone call at the beginning of the movie to Tracy went something like this: Tracy: Phil?
As always, I try to find the comedic light at the end of every tragedy. I tried to find away to make the situation laughable. 
This is what I know for sure. When Friday night comes and it's time for a babysitter, I am not calling Casey Anthony. In fact, I would leave my newborn infant home alone before allowing Casey Anthony to step within 100 yards of my property lines. Casey Anthony is free. HIDE YOUR KIDS! 
