We're all shook up

I feel the earth move under my feet

I feel the sky tumbling down

I feel my heart start to trembling 

Whenever you're around

- "I feel the earth move"  Carole King, composer

AUBURN - We happened to be standing together in the center of the parlor when we heard a roar and felt the entire house shake beneath our feet.

We stopped talking and stared at each other as the house rattled around us. The rumbling lasted for about 20 seconds.

My wife thought a tractor-trailer rolled across the front yard and just missed our home.

I figured our furnace was on the fritz.

Then I stepped outside to listen for one of the many freight trains that pass through Auburn every evening. 

There was silence. Everything was quiet.

I was no longer puzzled. I concluded that Maine and many parts of New England had just experienced earthquake, and it was a doozy by this region's standards.

My wife watched Facebook light up with people from across that state reporting that they also felt the ground violently shake.

They were not alone. It was a moving experience.

I tried to call my sisters in Massachusetts, but I couldn't get through due to the volume of calls.

This was one of those moments in my life when a phone call does a body good.

When I did reach them, my sisters were as excited as the rest of New England. Both my sisters thought they were going crazy when the quake struck. We ruled that out when we confirmed that a quake had just rocked the area.

Terri scanned Web sites, searching for any morsel of information that a strong quake had just rattled most of New England.

About 30 minutes later, we learned that a 4.0 earthquake shook up everybody across the Pine Tree State. The epicenter was located in Hollis Center, which located 20 miles west of Portland and 100 miles north of Boston.

Anthony and I headed outside with a flashlight to check for structural damage to the house. We did find small cracks in the cinder blocks of the foundation and the asphalt in my driveway developed a couple of small fissures. But a chisel and cement can fix the cracks. I wasn't concerned.

I experienced a smaller earthquake years ago when I was working at the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. I was on the second floor of the newspaper's offices when I notice my editor's computer screen rock back and forth, and he was not sitting behind it.

Over the past, three decades, I have felt the earth rumble underneath my sturdy legs three times, and an earthquake had nothing to do with those moments. My enduring marriage, the birth of my son and the death of my mother were events that rocked my world.

But on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, Mother Nature sent us all a stunning reminder that she has the final say when it comes to all matters of the Earth - and our lives. 

A word to the wise

Dear Mr. President,

Your remark concerning the private sector fell into the category of "What were you thinking of, sir."

Mr. President, your comment was a slap in the face to the nearly 15 million Americans who can't find a job in an economy that rivals the Great Depression. And please don't tell me that only nine million Americans are unemployed. The number is far greater than what is being reported in the media.

Despite all the nonsense on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, Americans are tuned in and are simply disgusted with their nation's so-called leaders.

During one of my classes, seniors and I were discussing the poor economy. One bright student said, "That's all we have ever known." Its remark that I have never forgotten and it is comment that should not sit well with you, sir.

By the way, Mr. President, I am a Democrat who is also an Independent wannabe and dreams of a presidential candidate who can demonstrate common sense and has a clear understanding of the phrase, "We the people."

I am not a Republican and I am not writing this letter to lambaste you. The GOP is doing a grand job of using your miscue as fodder to dominate the news cycles.  This will become one of the GOP's favorite campaign ads using your own words.

President Obama, Maine Street has been disappearing and empty neighborhoods have become a sea of repossessed homes. We are a nation that is now home to the under-employed who live day to day, never mind week to week. We have NOT come out of the recession. I know many fellow Americans who share my sentiment.

We fight wars in the Middle East with the foolish notion of spreading freedom with tanks and bombs. I do commend you on your drone program to destroy Al Qaeda and making that difficult decision of placing our soldiers in harm's way to remove bin Laden, but our involvement in the Middle East to protect oil companies is sucking our economy dry.

Mr. President, the private sector is a shambles. Thanks to greedy CEOs and Wall Street, and the fact that we exploit Asians and Hispanics to produce our goods, Americans are lucky to find jobs as store greeters. Of course, thanks to the enormous expense of attending a reputable university, our sons and daughters can look forward to vying for jobs as underpaid clerks at fledging department stores and gas stations.

Sure, there is plenty of blame to go around. We could begin with the last president and then move right on to corrupt banks and indifferent politicians who forgot that they represent us. I know you were handed the keys to a nation treading water, and it really is the most difficult job in the world. Still, your comment was out of step with what you truly believe.

Sir, I voted for you and I will vote for you again because Mitt Romney is about appealing to me as an abscess tooth. 

President Obama, there are many reasons why I find you appealing as a second-term president, but I am not writing a letter of praise.

But please take a good look around the country and you will see many Americans slipping into poverty.  It doesn't say much about the private sector, does it, sir!

Despite my reservations, and that fact that the GOP's candidate is just another drumbeater for big business, I will vote for you. 

You have my word, but be more careful how you choose yours, sir. Your re-election to a second term depends on it.