Is It An Earthquake?!

Is It An Earthquake?

So I was sitting here this afternoon, working, when I felt the ground shake. Remembering the recent quake that shook my cousins up in Georgia, I wondered if we were having another!

But then it kept happening. My cats were also freaking out, and it sounded like heavy equipment. And it sounded nearby! Walking into the den, I noticed a huge yellow machine over the back hedges, and it looked for all the world like it was taking down the house behind me! Sure enough, when I walked around the block to find a group of my neighbors watching, this was the view of the nice one-story brick house with the barrel-tile roof that used to stand there. There was a sign on the front of the lot saying something about a custom home going up on the lot. My neighbors across the street checked Sunday's paper and found that it had recently sold for a lot more than my property is valued by the tax assessor...I guess my assessment will be going up this year!

That house was solidly built, had survived many hurricanes and near-misses with them, and was always kept up nicely by the older couple who lived there. I remember them as being older from the time we'd moved into this house when I was 8, and their grandson was actually one of my classmates in school. It's a shame to see it go, but I guess everybody wants only the new these days. Here's hoping that the replacement is an attractive addition to the neighborhood!