This week Hawke's Bay played host to American cycling legend Lance Armstrong.
It was great news, because the Bay's not a bad old spot to call in and enjoy away from the rigours and demands of the hard-nosed world out there.
Although it was regretful that Hawke's Bay also turned on an unexpected experience Downunder for Mr Armstrong, namely a 5.6 earthquake which would have shaken him awake. Interestingly enough, he flew out aboard the Gulfstream jet which had been parked up at the airport all week just six hours after the shake.
Sorry Lance, but you live down this way you sort of get a little used to them.
Wary and anxious, but sort of used to them all the same.
I spoke to a seismic expert at GNS Science a few hours after the shake and he said there was no significance in the fact that there had been two shakes, emanating from the Taupo region, in as many days. Nor was there any connection to the Christchurch aftershocks which continue to rattle that populace at the rate of about a dozen a week.
The great tectonic plates and faults beneath our feet are too complex, too varied and too numerous for there to be a connection and the depths were all different.
But, the scientific chap said, if there was any silver lining to the dark cloud of being frightened witless at 4 in the morning it was that such an incident heightened awareness as to the need to be prepared.
I think it would be fair to say the vast majority out there simply are not.
There is a "she'll be right" attitude which, again I think it would be fair to say, is practically impossible to remove.
The disastrous and unexpected has no schedule or deadline. It doesn't give you 30 minutes to whip down to the shop to get a week's worth of tinned food, some water and biscuits, and maybe some gas at the garage for the barbecue if there's no power to cook with.
At the very least a home should have a few litres of frozen water tucked away. And some cans of food. Not hard to do, but it comes back to another old chestnut that's hard to break, "oh, it probably won't happen here".
Put that to the people of Christchurch or Brisbane and see what they say.
I reckon even old Lance is already putting a list together.
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