Devastation Up Close And Personal

Thank you to all who wrote concerned about Chile and the impact of last week's devastating earthquake. As the death toll continues to fluctuate -- now nearly 300 people have been confirmed killed -- and the extent of the damage is fully understood, it is clear that this is a disaster of mammoth proportions.

On a personal level, my close friends and their extended family members -- and there are many of them! -- all survived unscathed. They were among the very lucky.

Accounts of the fifth most powerful earthquake on record are horrifying. My friends' story goes something like this: Very early in the morning, a loud, deep sound from within the Earth woke us. Then, the house shook violently for two minutes. We held onto each other, listening to things fall from shelves and walls. And then a long silence.

All of this happened at about 3:30 a.m. In the dark. Can you imagine?

One of the families escaped certain danger by, amazingly, having left their farm the day before the quake to return to the city. (Summer vacation is ending in Chile.) Had they stayed one more night the massive walls shown here would have fallen on the children. Note the width of the walls. There are beds underneath.

One more night.

My friend's decision to leave a day early undoubtedly saved lives. But what of those whose decision to leave a day early undoubtedly led to injury or death?

Thankfully, this is not a blog devoted to the metaphysical or to religion. (We can talk metaphysics later, assuming there's a good bottle of wine involved.)

Since then, the region has been beset with 51 aftershocks of between 4.9 and 6.9 on the Richter scale. (For those of you unfamiliar with the logarithmic nature of the Richter scale, a 6.9 quake is 100 times more powerful than a 4.9 shake.) Think some nerves are a bit frayed?

Very sadly, though, the destruction has touched everyone. All know someone who was either injured or, tragically, lost a loved one. (While not well-communicated here, the tsunamis that hit Chile soon after the quake were killers. Many swimmers -- especially children -- were washed away when the first waves hit. Indeed, the tsunamis have caused more death than the earthquake itself.) All know people whose lives are now forever changed.

Also, very sadly, is the observation that this earthquake has erased yet another segment of Chile's history. People, communities, politics and structures define a country. Chile has lost much that defined its long history. Many of the country's older, cherished buildings were destroyed, buildings that had survived years of political tumult and had stood to signify both the good and the bad. These buildings also stood as symbols of hope, of what could be. Yet, now they are gone. Entire portions of Chile's central coast have been washed away. These, places, too, are now gone.

It's as if the earthquake and tsunamis took the older, more refined Chile and left only the younger, modern Chile. How does a proud country, one attempting to become a great nation of the world, overcome such loss?

Chile will rebuild its roads and bridges. It will repair its infrastructure. It will build anew. And if my friends have anything to say about -- and they do -- it will again thrive. And I'm sure I'll hear all about it firsthand when I'm with them in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, consider helping Chile. Buy their wine. The sauvignon blancs are particularly good, as are the carmeneres (the Chilean merlot) and cabernet sauvignons. And before drinking, join me in a toast to the wonderful people of Chile who are, at this moment, attempting to rebuild their lives and their country.

Next week we'll get back to business. Literally. I promise.