Does looking at the photo of this nuclear plant send shivers down your back?
I go cold when I look at it.
It's the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant, and 30 years ago this Saturday, it very nearly disappeared, perhaps taking with it, me, my family, and most of my friends.
Some of the memories have faded with time. But here's what I do recall:
The day started like any other school day. I attended Central Dauphin High School, and around the time that the breach in the core occurred, I was on the school bus, with the windows down, headed to the building. It was a nice, sunny day.
Home room was normal. After first period, I saw more people than usual clustering in the halls, whispering to each other.
Second period, I had Business Law class. I remember my teacher saying to the class that they were hearing that something was going wrong at T-M-I, but that it probably wasn't serious.
Then, an announcement came over the loudspeaker, saying everything was fine, but that we should close all the windows in the school.
Shortly after lunchtime, we were all sent home. Lots of kids parents' were waiting for them. My mom was at work (very close to the plant), so my sisters and I rode the school bus back home.
Ironically, ALL THE WINDOWS on the bus were OPEN.
My school was just outside the 10 mile radius, but my house was just inside the so-called "danger zone". Of course, we wouldn't learn this until much, much later.
I don't remember being very frightened, just confused. What was going on? Details were very slow to come out. But in the days to follow, mass evacuations were discussed, many people left. We stayed.
And stayed.
School was cancelled for weeks. I remember lots of kids I went to school with running up to each other exclaiming "I don't want to die a VIRGIN!" (I doubt many of them actually did anything about that, but they wanted us to know the situation).
We watched a lot of TV news, especially when President Carter came to town to assess the situation. He was actually qualified, being a nuclear engineer in the Navy before going into politics. He and Roselyn donned yellow plastic booties and marched around the plant, analyzing the situation and concluding that the community was safe.
There was a lot of talk about cancers that might form 20 years later, or possible thyroid damage. It should be noted that in 2002, my mother developed what she was afraid was thyroid cancer. When she had the surgical procedure to remove the thyroid, what the doctor found was that she had started to grow a SECOND THYROID. I believe my mother's body sensed that her thyroid had absorbed as much radiation as it could take, and her system compensated in the best way it knew how, by creating another thyroid. It's now in medical books. But, nobody has made the Three Mile Island link.
And, as a high school student one part of this near-disaster looms larger in my mind than anything else. THE BILLY JOEL CONCERT WAS CANCELLED!!! Many of us had tickets, but the concert was called off because of the uncertain situation.
He was supposed to play at the Hersheypark Arena, but I think the venue was needed in case there was to be an evacuation.
I got to meet Billy Joel when he played at the Tacoma Dome around 1990, and I mentioned that I had been disappointed when his concert was cancelled. He exclaimed "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"
For just a couple of weeks every year, this tree looks this way. The pattern of the leaves will remain until the fall.
One tulip says it all. Yesterday was glorious. 
Why did I even bother? I signed up a month ago, and the minute they read my profile, they close communication.
Yeah, this kind of put that whole tea-bag protest thing into perspective for me.
This is a portion of a fresco owned by the J Paul Getty Museum which the museum is returning to Italy.
......if it weren't so cluttered with sleeping pooches!
I guess when you're Oprah, you don't have trouble finding perfect clothing!
I am particularly drawn to the sharp lines, mingled with the softness of the feminine forms.
I know. 
For the second time since December, I have trimmed my own hair.
Somehow I think all would be right with the world, if I could just have a slice of this cake right now.
Shortly after 8 this morning, the most enormous snowflakes I have ever seen started falling in my Seattle neighborhood.
And yet....it's hard NOT to judge, with word that Bristol Palin and her babydaddy have called it off.
I spent several hours poking around Twitter today, posting a few times, and reading more. 
I've cracked a lot of eggs in my life.....and that's not a metaphor for anything but cooking.
It's been a while since I posted a painting by my favorite Impressionist, Mary Cassatt. She painted this one in 1900, and I just love the wise look on the child's face, as if she is upset the artist has interrupted the moment, and would rather study her mother's needlework than pose for a painting.
I don't mean to scare anybody, but often in my life, periods of change or stresse are forecast and marked by tornado dreams.
There may not be much relevance in the blogosphere for a broadcaster like Paul Harvey. He spent his mornings going through newspapers, reading his script from actual pieces of paper, collaborating with his colleagues in personal and telephone conversations.
