Their Monster Quake has been upgraded to 9.0 and the devastation it has caused is truly of biblical proportions.
That these proud peoples will bounce back is without question, as they have in the past, most recently after the close of WW II.
I can well remember when imports from Japan in those postwar years were mocked for their poor quality - just as I hear today it said about Chinese imports - but that did not last long. Indeed, before long, Japan was challenging and surpassing our very best in the categories of price and quality.
Japan and our second major enemy of that War are now economic powerhouses of the world. Japan stands number 3 and Germany is the lynch pin of a United Europe. Without both countries at our side, the dangers posed by both China and Russia would be so much more threatening.
A couple of years ago we had a Japanese student live with us for a few weeks. She was part of a high school group for which their curriculum required them to live with a family in a foreign country.
We of course got to know this young lady as well as the rest of kids with her from her Japan and found them to be just like our children when they were teenagers. Full of life, full of fun and always on the go.
That said, they had not yet graduated to body piercing, tattoos and strangely coloured hair. Hopefully they never will - but I digress.
I think of those kids when I see the accounts of what is now taking place so far away. I know full well that their spirit and enthusiasm for life will carry them through and along with them their country.
We here in Canada are so very fortunate that these types of disasters are rare occurrences and we need to thank God that this is so.
In the meantime we also need to do what we can to help those unfortunate folks. A great way would be by donating to the Red Cross.
As I see it...
'Galagher'
