"Congratulations, You Survived" - A Note on Humor

   My first reaction when I see anyone here is to hug them,  ask them 'are you ok?', and hope with all my might that they will say yes I'm ok, my family's ok, my house is ok. Which has rarely been the case, but you can always hope. So it really caught me by surprise when my uncle (who recently flew in from the States) walked up to a friend of ours, shook his hand, and said (with a big smile on his face): "Congratulations, You Survived."

      I couldn't help but laugh, however cynical it might be. And I can't help but laugh now as we sit discussing the very real possibility of another earthquake. It's not funny, I know. But the reality is too hard to handle and people need to distance themselves from it. Some people choose to do so through humor. I thank God for those people.