Shake, Rattle & Roll

I would imagine Californians think yesterday’s coverage of the East Coast earthquake was the most overblown news story of all-time. I mean they continue shaving when a 5.8 strikes. It’s like telling people in Buffalo that you got hit with a six inch snow storm…they would view that as flurries. However the truth is earthquakes are way down on our list of worries when it comes to Mother Nature so the fact our ground shook yesterday afternoon was a big deal.

I was in my office working on my computer when my chair starting vibrating…kind of felt like one of those beds you put quarters in. Anyway I got up and ran into the hallway where a co-worker screamed “did you feel that?” First thing I did was run outside and look up at our tower thinking it might have had something to do with what we felt. Of course within moments were knew it was an earthquake as the phones started ringing off the hook. My wife, who was on the beach in Seaside Park at the time, told me later that lifeguards immediately called swimmers out of the ocean and it fueled speculation that there was a shark in the water. All in all it was quite an interesting afternoon. By the way you may have noticed problems trying to use cell phones immediately after the earthquake as many reached out to loved phones to make sure they were okay and it just slammed the cell systems. However even though you might not have been able to call someone you could still text them which is a good thing to know for the future.

Now that we’ve survived the earthquake we turn our attention to Hurricane Irene with the threat increasing along the New Jersey coast based on the latest path. Sunday looks like the day we should be braced for the powerful storm.

Hopefully the weather will not be a problem for Saturday’s “Grand Slam” Summer Celebration that will be hosted by the Ocean County College Foundation in the school’s Health & Human Performance Center. The event is a major fundraiser for the foundation’s scholarship fund and will include live entertainment, a gourmet buffet, and both live and silent auctions. Being honored as Humanitarian of the Year at Saturday’s event is retired New Jersey Superior Court Judge Robert Fall.
It all gets underway at 6pm and for ticket information you can still call the OCC Foundation at (732) 255-0492.