Blame the Americans (Again?)
When I heard about the earthquake in the Caribbean yesterday I thought back of our own earthquake in 1969. I was sitting in a movie house that night watching Blackbeard’s Ghost.
The Ceres earthquake remains the most destructive earthquake in South African history. It occurred on 29 September 1969 in the Ceres/Tulbagh area near Cape Town and registered 6.3 on the Richter scale. We live in a very stable region and the previous time anything remotely similar happened was in 1890.
But that was not the only thing that happened in 1969. Neil Armstrong also made his famous speech when he became the first human to step onto the lunar surface on July 21.
Back in my country the two events were quickly tied by some of the older people; and the poor Americans got the blame. Scratching in God’s territory, it was said, caused the earthquake.
I was 17 at the time and the two events were tied together for life. Every time I get to hear about an earthquake, I see an old man waving a crooked finger in the air,
blaming the Americans for yet another disaster.
They must be pretty used to it by now. Tall trees catch the most wind. I wonder what we can blame them for next.
A great day to you all.