Day 142 - America

Thought of the day:  It's a day of disasters and scares.  Before I boarded the flight this morning, I heard and read about the 8.9 earthquake in Japan and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear emergency.  It was, is, a terrible disaster indeed.  And then a few minutes prior to landing, it looked as if our plane was engulfed in smoke that came out of nowhere.  It was eerie and I had never experienced anything like that before on my frequent flights.  The ride in our small plane got bumpy soon afterwards. Some passengers screamed. I was a little scared too but there was nothing I could do other than holding Lila's hand tightly. Luck for us - it was just a scare.  The smoke came from an ongoing Lefthand Canyon fire in Boulder - the third major fire near Boulder in just a few short months - and not from the aircraft. After going through a bit of clear air turbulence, the aircraft proceeded to land smoothly.  I was, needless to say, quite relieved when we landed.  At the same time, I couldn't help thinking how powerless we are over so many things - earthquake, tsunami, fire, plane crash, to name a few.  Yes, the chance of any of these happening to us is very small, but it's still a miracle that we survive every day.  Not only our life is a miracle, every single day of our life is a miracle too.

Photo of the day:

Passengers taking interest in the huge "America - Why I Love You" map displays in Denver International Airport.  Everything in DIA looked beautiful to me today after the flight experience.