Today is the one-month anniversary of the 9.0 Magnitude Sendai earthquake and the subsequent 10 metre (30-foot) high tsunami that devastated the northeast coast of Japan killing thousands upon thousand of people, destroying families, friendships, an economy... ugh... it goes on and on.
But despite the doom and gloom, I'd like to share something with you.
Back on March 21, 2011, I received an e-mail from a reader who happened to stumble across my little Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife blog. This was after that reader read an entry on the amount of damage in the four prefectures that were hit especially hard by the earthquake (and tsunami) of March 11, 2011. You can check that blog HERE.
I'm going to reprint that reader's e-mail here:
Dear Andrew
Please forgive this approach out of the blue. I found your blog on the Internet.
Can you give me any help or advice at all in trying to track down some very dear friends who have for some years had an inn in Miyakoji-mura, Tamura-gun in Fukushima prefecture in Japan and to find out if they are safe and well. The inn is named Old Owls Farmhouse at 131-2 Shimonokubo, Furumichi, Miyakoji-mura. No reply/”system not functioning” recording from Tel. No. 0247-XXXXXX. They are Rimiko and Jun Nomita . I saw from your report on March 20 that you listed “Miyakoji-machi” as having been severely damaged. I realise you are many many miles away from Japan now but if you have any suggestions please, if you have a moment, send them to me.
Many many thanks.
Gillespie Robertson
I have "X-'d" out the phone number, but have left the address.
As soon as I heard about the earthquake and tsunami back on March 11, the first thing I did was contact Matthew and Takako (who are in Vermont but have family in Ohtawara-shi) to see if everyone was okay back home in Ohtawara, Tochigi-ken - and despite some earthquake damage, the people of Ohtawara City are genki (well). As well, Matthew's sister-in-law wrote and told us what her day was like during the earthquake. You can read about that HERE.
I offered Gillespie (of the UK) some advice on leaving the information with the Japan Red Cross on their website.
As well, my friends Matthew and his beautiful wife Takako offered to help by putting out feelers in Japan - to do what ever they could do to help out Gillespie.
Two weeks passed before Gillespie wrote back on April 4, 2011 with news on his Japanese friends. I'm going to present that here, as well:
Dear Andrew
I am delighted to report that the Nomitas are alive andwell. He is away working in China (on a conventional power station project) and she has moved from the exclusionzone to a small flat, about 50 kms from the nuclear plant at Fukushima . My letter -- amazingly -- foundthem. Their place is not badly damaged they say -- although only 17 kmsfrom the coast it was high enough above sea level to have avoided the tsunami,and well enough built to be still standing despite the magnitude of the quake. Ittook him 9 hours to track her down by phone from China when it all happened --- horrendously worrying -- but all is as well as it could be considering shehas effectively lost her home for a while and her livelihood (“Old Owls”was a small country inn) perhaps permanently. Still, a lot better than the fateof so many.
Once again thanks so very much for your help andencouragement.
Gillespie
There you have it folks! A happy ending in that the Nomita family survived. Sure they lost everything, but in the big picture, they lost nothing.
Somewhere smiling,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is by The Police. TRIOOFFRIENDS - which relates to The Police; Matthew, Takako and myself; and Gillespie, Jun and Rimiko. I love it when a title does it all - especially the 'message' part!
PS: Again, my thanks to Matthew and Takako for helping - and my thanks to Gillespie for, well, asking me for help - and then doing what HE needed to do to help himself.
