Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2020/05/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]May 18, 1980.? The day Mt. St. Helens blew up.? It's one of those events that a person always remembers.? I was in Spokane, over 200 air miles across Washington state from the mountain. But it got pitch-black in mid-afternoon. We were buried in 3/4 of an inch of volcanic ash, which is finely-powdered silica the consistency of flour.? There was quite a mess for days and weeks to come.? I didn't have a good camera then, as I'd sold my Leica M2 to help pay for my bassoon.? But I do have one photo of myself taken with a rudimentary film point-and-shoot the next morning. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563 at N04/49910974171/in/dateposted-public/> Today I commemorated the anniversary by photographing the jar of ash I saved that morning. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563 at N04/49910974146/in/dateposted-public/> I was doing a lot of freelance writing then. The eruption gave me the opportunity to write a first-person account of what happens when a volcano dumps on your city.? If you'd like to read it, use the two links below, and view large. Reading it today, I was struck by how similar people's behavior was then and now.? Click on the photos to view large, and the text is quite readable. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563 at N04/49910453643/in/dateposted-public/> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563 at N04/49911270277/in/dateposted-public/> --Peter