Tsunami Update #3: Home Safe and Sound

Mom and Dad are back home in Kihei after the all-clear has been sounded.

"We had a good tsunami," said Mom cheerfully when they phoned to tell me to stop worrying. "We met some new friends and we had a barbecue." They had met the owners of a ziptrek business in Kula, who opened up their shop so that Mom, Dad and some other evacuees had a bathroom to use, and then they all ended up getting together and grilling some steaks in a nearby parking lot. Evacuee tailgate party!

In all seriousness, though, while I'm glad my parents' experience has been positive (and safe!), I feel for my friends in Chile and hope they and all their loved ones are safe and sound.

Tsunami Update #2

Just got a BB message from Dad:

"Thanks for your note. We are still waiting. It has passed the time it was supposed to hit. We are in an office of zipliners that we met on a hill overlooking Kahalui. Hopefully we will have a good view. And it becomes a non event."

Tsunami Alert: Mom and Dad are OK

They were evacuated from their place in Hawaii this morning at 6 a.m. and are waiting it out in Kula. Both Alex and I tried to get through all morning and couldn't; my Uncle Doug managed to talk to them and they were OK. I got through briefly on my Dad's Blackberry but they had to hang up because the evacuation sirens started up again. Not able to get through now. Will keep updating here.

When there's nothing left to burn you have to set yourself on fire.

This is a dramatic media installation in an abandoned building at the corner of Hastings and Abbott. Very striking. As I stood staring at the flickering video flames with my mouth open, one of my "neighbours" (I use the term loosely), a ghost of the downtown east side, stood beside me, silently, watching. Then he turned to me and smiled. "Groovy, huh?"

Very.