Mukilteo Musings

25th Anniversary

Twenty five years ago today Mount St. Helens erupted with a blast that changed lives forever. Fifty-seven people died that day and whenever I hear that number, I always add one more. I wrote about why and how on my blog over a year ago in Natural Disasters, parts 2 and 3.

http://mukilteomusings.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_mukilteomusings_archive.html

Tons and tons of ash spewed into the atmosphere. Both of my newspapers today have anniversary coverage of the eruption with incredible photo galleries.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002278777_helens18m.html

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/224735_helenscience18.html

Today, it rains and the weather is cool. Clouds hide the mountains. Twenty five years ago, it was blue and clear and still and gorgeous--so much so that as we jogged with our Golden Retriever, Monty, that morning along the shores of Lake Washington in view of Mount Rainier, we heard a remarkable BOOM! The ash dumped on Eastern Washington and into Montana where my Dad, a smoker with heart disease, walked through it with a handkerchief over his face for a week before his heart exploded.

These two events will forever be inextricably intertwined in my soul.