Born again...again

And The Rhythm Of Life is a powerful beat,
Puts a tingle in your fingers and a tingle in your feet.
    —Sweet Charity, 1969

It’s the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
    —The Lion King, 1994

Yakima was hit hard by the eruption Of Mount St. Helens in the spring of 1980. The city was in the path of nearly two and one-half cubic kilometers of debris projected from the mountain and high into the air; moret than a quarter-century later, some remnants continue to circulate in the stratosphere.

At the end of that day, the mountain was more than a thousand feet shorter and 57 people were dead. It was the most destructive event of its kind in U.S. history.

The biggest and heaviest chunks of matter fell to earth before reaching Yakima and the lightest particles passed above and beyond the city. Gravity acted as a filter, delivering tons of ash the consistency of sand down to this town— some 90 miles east-northeast of the mountain.

This ash, which coated the community to the depth of four or five inches, arrived in the form of a huge, dark cloud about an hour and a half after the explosion— having traveled about a mile a minute.

People who lived through that day tend to speak about it rather quietly. When the earth sends such dramatic messages from its very core, one can’t help but take notice— and to accept the reality of the event.

Memories of the aftermath include sweeping, shoveling and washing individual portions of the aerial effluent from roofs, walks, yards and vehicles.

Ash was hauled to formerly low areas, including gullies and canyons, in quantities that erased topography and created new flatlands for later development.

Every witness was also a participant as particles of silicon and other detritus dropped earthward, feeling at first like rainfall, but soon filling the skies and transforming day into night.

At the time, it must have felt that the world was ending, that everything beautiful was being engulfed in grey, ashen death.

But after it was over— and as always— the people and the earth recovered.

Perhaps it was because of the contrast between desolation and life, but most of those who survived Mount St. Helens recall that spring flowers and fall crops were more bountiful for years after the eruption.

Death and rebirth. The eternal cycle of life.

We are reminded of this repeating pattern every year as the seasons change. We are reminded of it in our personal lives when we encounter loss and recovery. And, from time to time when wind, water or fire reveal the awesome power of nature, we are reminded that the cycle of life is universal.