Reposted from my Minds (https://www.minds.com/gdavidturnblom/) account.
Forty-two years ago today, what is possibly the most devastating natural disaster in the history of the United States occurred. The incident resulted in the deaths of at least 57 people, thousands of trees and animals, and destroyed property in the neighborhood of around $1 billion, which today would be more than $3.5 billion. I am speaking of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the first instance of a lateral eruption recorded by science.
Prior to this eruption, Mount St. Helens had been showing some signs of renewed life for around two months, beginning in March, 1980, with a number of small earthquakes indicating magma movement. Among the first visible signs of the upcoming eruption was a new crater which appeared after on March 27, accompanied by rising ash that traveled comparatively short distances, although some reached Spokane, WA, nearly three hundred miles away and Bend, OR about 150 miles south of the volcano. A second crater joined the first two days later, along with blue tinted flames that emanated from both craters and later on lightning bursts caused by increased static electricity.
By April 7, the two craters had joined together, and scientists began detecting movement in the north face of the volcano as a bulge started forming along the surface. This bulge would eventually extend around five hundred feet from where the north face had once been, moving about five or six feet each day, this believed to be caused by magma entering the base of the volcano. Why this occurred on the north face rather than elsewhere on the volcanic surface appears to have resulted from weakened rocks on that face due to atmospheric conditions.
Then on Sunday, May 18, 1980, at 8:32 AM Pacific Time, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 began just below the north slope of the volcano and caused the largest landslide ever recorded. This landslide exposed most of the inside of Mount St. Helens and the actual eruption began moments later, blowing out most of the north face of the mountain, leaving a large horseshoe shaped crater. Thousands of tons of rock, dirt, trees, and other debris ended up being thrown miles away across several hundred square miles of land and ending up in several nearby rivers and Spirit Lake.
While I don't claim to be a geologist, I have long had a fascination for what happened at Mount St. Helens and would like to help spread word of what happened. I'd like those who lived at the time to understand how significant the event was, and for those who have since been born to recognize the importance of this event on world history. Although other volcanoes may seem to have brought about greater effects, such as major weather changes, Mount St. Helens introduced scientists to new ways of looking at volcanology.
My post here isn't intended to reveal the whole of what occurred, just pique the interest of those who believe they might learn more about what happened and how it influenced the world. If I accomplish nothing more than striking up a little dialog, I'm delighted. And that's what I feel is most needed in the world today, and my primary reason for posting this very brief account of the Mount St. Helens eruption.
I hope to provide contributors with my writings in my science fiction/fantasy polyverse. I intend to post the opening scene of my first novella, the Golden Harp and the Beanstalk soon, then make other material available as my efforts progress.
I also intend to present my thoughts on a variety of subjects including politics, religion, and society from time to time, but my focus will be on my writings.
I am hoping to find time to make posting on locals a regular thing again, but I am unsure of how to arrange my schedule for this due to a number of things that are happening in my life right now. Among these, my father is literally on his deathbed, and may pass at any time, I am doing my best to preserve all of the music my father wrote for posterity, and I'm trying to keep myself up with my own writing. My father's declining health has greatly contributed to keeping me from posting over the past two years. If I am again delinquent in posting, understand that it is not because I don't care, it's just because I haven't figured out how to better organize my time.
A post on quora.com from a person in despair prompted me to write the following post. I should point out that this person expressed fear that he or she had committed the unpardonable sin, and there were other answers to his post that I felt were inadequate for assuring him about the love of God. Here is my response:
Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is a very difficult concept that is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, in great part becuase Satan, the father of all lies, wants it to remain unknown and drive people into despair. Despite what many others who have answered this question have postulated about the nature of this sin, it is not, and has never been, attributing Christ’s healing power to Satan, which, while sinful, can be forgiven. The Apostle Paul, who once persecuted the disciples of Christ as agents of Satan, believing they used that power to perform miracles, repented of this sin and became one of Christ’s most loyal followers. He did commit a form of blasphemy, that of ...
