The Beat Goes On

Now. I won't deny that I likely suffered from some form of slight post (pre??) traumatic stress disorder up to 24 hours after the incident, however, I will say that there was hardly chaotic pandemonium all around, as has been reported by many news resources. Actually, things were pretty calm in the building where I reside even after a mass text message went out statewide in Hawai'i (falsely) warning  residents of an impending ballistic missile.

It actually felt like a hoax, a hack even, and--without panic--the three things that ran through my mind simultaneously once I was notified of the message were:

1.  Why aren't the sirens going off?  I'm pretty up on local  processes and know that the outdoor siren warning system that is annoyingly tested on a monthly basis without fail should be sounding off in the event of a tsunami, hurricane, missile strike threat, etc. (Note: I later learned that the sirens did sound off on some parts of the island.)

2. Huh??? My husband is continually tuned in to national news (which I often hear by default and which we laugh about and discuss frequently) and last I knew, Trump 'nem were busy offending Africans and Haitians, not having another war of egos with Kim 'nem. This seems so all-of-a-sudden.

3. Where is said missile coming from? Are people just randomly shooting missiles? Or am I just to assume North Korea is the culprit?

And finally:

4.  Is there any knowledge of whether it's headed for O'ahu, Kauai, Maui, Big Island, Moloka Lanai, Niihau, or Kahoolawe--the seven main islands that make up the state of Hawai'i?

Yes, all of that was instantaneously on my mind in that moment.

Nevertheless, a querying mind is no match for an indication of a missile strike, so we took what precautions we could given the situation.

I waited in silence with the ones I love and pondered how--if the building collapsed--I would manage to push the rubble off the babies and myself.  Call me naïve, but I saw us all surviving no matter how it all went down.  My concern was moving cement blocks, which I somehow thought wouldn't crush us, even as the floors above came tumbling down!

Things were pretty much back to normal in the hours following statewide confusion.  Beach time with the babies, my two and a neighbor. 

To say the very, VERY least, thank goodness it was not real. In reality, though, we've got water stored away and have read up on sheltering ourselves from radioactive fallout. (There's also a "Get Off O'ahu" plan in the works). I certainly don't expect a missile of any kind to strike this island, and I won't live in a state of worry.  There's plenty of speculation about whether something like that would or wouldn't happen. In today's political climate, I'm just sure to keep my ears open and keep keeping on.

It's very Hawai'i for it to take 38 minutes for a correction text to be sent out.--Jimmy Kimmel.  

So, so true. The kicked back vibes here can be a bit much at times. Nonetheless, the Aloha is palpable.

 

Photo taken by her big sister.