By Anthony Passonno
Acid Logic, Seattle Bureau Chief
Seattle Washington
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Wednesday, or "Hump Day"
as they traditionally call it, began like any other in Seattle. The
traffic was bad, as usual, and the coffee was warm and frothy, like
a warm, frothy Seattle summer. By 10:00 am, the streets were crowded,
with Dot Com hotshots, Baristas and Bailiffs, Soccer moms, Soccer kids,
and the homeless of Pioneer Square all asleep in their sweet, simple
naivete, not yet aware of the danger yet to befall them.
By 10:55 am, their slumber
was rudely awakened by the first major earthquake to hit the Puget Sound
inroughly 50 some years, and the effect was as could be expected.
The quake, which was clocked
at 6.8 on the Richter scale, shook homes and major businesses alike,
closing many schools, and even Boeing's local plant due to safety concerns.
Destruction was widespread,
though not as bad as it could have been considering the severity of
the tremor and the relative unpreparedness of the general population.
A few local businesses withstood major damage, with Seattle's Fenix
Underground, a nightclub, losing the entirety of it's front section,
including the awning and windows.
Local geologist Akira Shugokawa,
from the Seattle/Japan Institute for the study of Geological Phenomenon
and Giant Monster Research, spoke at length about the recent events,
and was quite candid about his beliefs.
"Well, the general concensus
here in the Seattle office is that we believe that Godzilla was probably
involved, as our Tokyo office has been tracking the giant lizard for
two weeks with GPS, and we have him tracked to the Washington State
area, at approximately 9:03 A.M., Seattle time."
Washington State Officials,
including members of the University of Washington Seismology Lab, dismissed
Dr. Shugokawa's report as the ramblings of a drunken lunatic.
Godzilla could not be reached
for comment.
