We have officials all over the world on this forum...
but how many here can remember what they were doing 24 years ago today?

May 18th, 1980

(Possibly the officials in the Northwest have a better recollection.);)

On that date, CYA meant "Cover Your Ash".

I don't think anyone would've thought of my existance 24 years ago :)

Interesting.
I hadta be watching TV.
I love seeing the Big Play!

Tell ya the truth kid we were all waiting for you!

We just thought you would be a better speller...

On May 18 1980 my one and only goal in life was to pass differential equations. That mountain didn't explode nearly close enough so the final wasn't cancelled.

BTW, Randy Johnson just pitched a perfect game at Atlanta. Cool!

Is this one of those Watergate inquiries? :)

I was 5. I was probably out in the yard playing, completely unaware of what was happening outside of that area.

No, think "Mt. St. Helens".

I'm with you, Nevada, except I had just turned 6 and was concentrating on my kindergarted finals.

I was in Indiana, watching TV and sweating it out, since my just acquired husband was in the northwest, and I couldn't get ahold of him on the phone.

When I got home three weeks later, we went to visit some relatives southwest of Portland and the scenery was almost unbelievable. In Portland, most of the stuff had been dealt with. But in the rural areas, the ash was about 6 inches to 2 feet thick on the ground, and the car churned up a constant cloud (think of the Peanuts character Pigpen) which ruined the paint job. We were living at the coast, and quite a bit south and didnt get much ash there, although there was some.

21 and 3 months old, sucking down the worlds suppy of beer!

Cool???? COOL???? Looks like I need to slip a little somethin-somethin into one of the Big Unit's drinks now too...

Not to worry. Even as we speak, Squiggy is out scouting the next "Randy Johnson" for ya.
http://craphound.com/images/squiggyfootball.jpg

I was at a pulp mill on the Oregon coast doing some consulting work that day.

Portland actually escaped the effects of the first eruption - we first got it a week or so later. The prevailing winds were from the W at the time and areas NE & E of the mountain took the brunt of the effects - I remember pictures of ash 6+ inches deep in the streets of Yakima & tri-cities.

It was pretty awesome - 3+ cubic miles of the mountain essentially evaporated in a matter of a few seconds. As you drive along I5 between Portland & Seattle you can still see some of the huge mounds of ash that were dredged from the Columbia River to reopen the shipping channel.

I can see Mt. St. Helens from my office (on a clear day). All I do is stand up, turn 180 degrees from my chair and there she is. It's amazing seeing a mountain with its top blown off.

At the time of the erruption, I would have been in 7th grade in Mt. Juliet, TN....a little out of it's range.



[Edited by Camron Rust on May 19th, 2004 at 12:56 PM]

24 yrs ago?....
 

Looking out my office window, I can see Camron looking out his window at the mountain without a top.

At the time, I was a HS freshman (for only a few more days) in Wyoming. My parents had bought a car for me that I couldn't drive until I turned 16, in December. Silly parents, do they really think I didn't drive it until my birthday? ;)

:lol:

BTW, you probably could have done just as well as *I* did on my DiffEQ final. I am sure glad THAT is over with... ;)

Hey, icallfouls, you better turn off that web cam because right now I can see you looking out your window watching Camron looking out his window staring at a mountain without a top.

Not a pretty picture... :eek:

I was a junior in high school here in Washington State, but I'm in the greater Seattle area so the plume wasn't visible to us. The teachers let us watch the coverage on TV all day. Of course, there was no such thing as CNN so we just watched our local news coverage.

Z

Re: 24 yrs ago?....
 

Geez Skank, MORE Wyoming stories...you were too wild back in the day, pal...

At the time, I was working at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland. Within just a few days, people were coming in trying to sell our gift shop stuff made from ash, stuff stuffed with ash and just ash.

We actually did sell surgical masks and they were a big hit.

The museum eventually put together an exhibit on the eruption including footage shot from helicopters that flew over the crater. Many of the comments compared the landscape on the mountain to that of the moon.

My son Josh was born a few weeks after the eruption and when we brought him home from the hospital there were still pockets of ash along side the roadways.

So before the big ash collection what did you exhibit at OMSI back then?

An umbrella, a few sheets of paper and a buzz saw?

:) <------Note smiley face

Actually, we had some really cool exhibits: Juulie's first pair of fishnets, Bill Walton's brain spur (he has since grown another one) and a huge collection of stuffed baby harp seals and spotted owls.

In our gift shop, we sold a lot of bumper stickers, including:

"Save the whales - collect the whole set"

"Earth First! We'll clearcut the other planets later"

"Don't Californicate Oregon"

and my personal favorite

"Honk if your horn's broken"

Wasn't there a bumper sticker that said "Welcome to Oregon. Now go home."

Speaking of bumper stickers, some I have actually seen on bumpers:

"Imagine world peace"
"Imagine whirled peas"
"Imagine I care"
"Nuke the whales"
"F@ck the whales"
"My German Shepard is smarter than your honor student"
"I break for no apparent reason"
"Never let your mom brush your hair when she's mad at your dad"
"I will not tolerate intolerance"

OK that's enough...

At the risk of being editted for being off-topic, I want to state publicly that this is one of my personal favorite bumper stickers of all time. The other Golden Oldie I wish I had a copy of came out when Oregon was first enacting 55 mph speed limits all over the place. The government had a huge ad campaign that said, "55 miles per hour. It's not just a good idea; it's the law." The bumper sticker I saw a short time after that ad campaign started was, "386,000 miles per second. It's not just a good idea; it's the law." Not only was it clever and metaphysical, it helped when I took physics in college.

"Ambivalent? Well, yes and no...."

"If we are not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of meat?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead with a necrophiliac."

If you are pyschic, think 'honk'.


For Rainmaker:
-"All men are animals. Some just make better pets".
-"All men are idiots, and I married their king".
-"Who are these kids, and why are they calling me Mom?"

For Slappy:
-"Jack Kervorkian for White House physician".

[Edited by Jurassic Referee on May 19th, 2004 at 06:31 PM]

"Yes - I do own the whole damn road"

"My son sold the answers to your honor student"

"Don't honk while I'm reloading"

"If you can read this - gee, you can read - big whoop"

My favorite anti-Bush one:

"Redefeat the President in '04"

And there's the classic T-shirt for bikers that says on the back:

"If you can read this, my old lady fell off"

For Juulie:
"Men are like dogs - dumb but trainable"
My wife has that one on her key chain.

Until about six months ago, my friend had one that said, "Re-elect Gore in 2004."


When I bought my car about two years ago, I had one made special that said, "Stop Serial Substitutions!!" but I got tired of explaining it.

I was 18, living in an apartment, having lots of special "friends" over for visits (only HS senior with his own pad!) - life was good. Can't remember much, and certainly not one single explosive event. There were many such events at that point in my life. Some were memorable, some we won't talk about - actually I deny I was ever there.

First time I saw this one I laughed so hard I had to pull over. But the T shirt I saw was a little less subtle:

"If you can read this the b1tch fell off"

For Juulie:

"Dyslexics Untie!"
"Jesus is coming. Look busy"

For JR:

"Age brings wisdom...or it shows up alone. You never know."

Something we all know:

"Never underestimate the power of a lot of stupid people."

Uhmmmm......huh?

"I'm an animal lover...they taste great!"

I was a first year P.E. and science teacher when Mt. Saint Helen's blew. We were studying volcanos at the time...so she blew at the perfect time. (Of course ol' Harry Truman might not think so)

I was teaching near Boise, ID...so we didn't really get any ash...but my buddies in the Tri-Cities, where I'm from and currently live, certainly did!

They said they woke up that Sunday morning to a big black cloud coming toward them from the west. They thought it was a giant rain storm coming...untill the ash started falling and the cars started "choking" out. Man, the mechanics got rich that year...with all the ash infected engines breaking down.

You guys from the east might have trouble believing the POWER of that blast! The trees around the mountain were blown over like matchsticks. The government left them laying like that to this day to show the magnificent display of force the explosion had.

Does anyone have a pic they could share of the explosion or of the trees laying down?

I remember those pictures of the trees laying down around Mt St Helens but I couldn't find one. Very impressive

But I must say we guys from the east are not entirely clueless when it comes to impressive explosions and dust. Here's a picture:

http://elcajonfire.com/photos/wtc/28.jpg

Well said...
I thought about that after I typed my statement.

The difference is Nature's power vs. Man's power...or Nature's distruction vs. Man's distruction.

[Edited by RookieDude on May 19th, 2004 at 11:40 PM]

Won't be anything close to the power of the blast rainmaker is going to hit you with for that spelling.

Not tonight. I'm pooped. And besides, I've never made a blast about anything that would come within 10 orders of magnitude of Mt St Helens, or 9-11.

Yeah, I know what you meant. Interesting thing is as I was stumbling around the internet looking for your picture google gave me the picture I posted. I thought twice before posting it, maybe too much buzz kill.

One thing for sure the guy who took that picture is a hell of a photographer.

From <A HREF=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Images/may18_devastation.html>USGS Page on Mt. St. Helens</A>

This picture shows an entire hillside of trees that were blown down from right to left. The ones to the left of the hill were shielded from the direct blast but were singed from the heat.

<IMG SRC=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/MSH/Images/blowdown_elk_rock.jpg>

This one shows a closer view of the trees.
<IMG SRC=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/MSH/SlideSet/10.jpg>


A blast that blows away a cone of mountain that has a 3 square mile base and 1/4 mile high is simply stunning.

[Edited by Camron Rust on May 20th, 2004 at 01:50 PM]

Camron, thanks for the pix & link!

I recall there was an arial shot that showed a swirling pattern of fallen trees through the blast area.

Whoops...I spelled destruction with an i on my 16th hour of work that day...well that's my story and I'm stecking to it.;)
(Thanks for the pics Camron)

[Edited by RookieDude on May 21st, 2004 at 07:34 AM]

Maybe, but I'm pretty sure "Welcome to New Hampshire. Now go home" came first.

I don't want to start a political upheaval, but I think these are sad. He won, not just through judicial maneuvering, but by the actual votes cast, as validated by two separate private re-counts by different Florida newspapers, as well as a six-month research project by University of Chicago.

It was ugly, pathetic, sad on both sides; and not a particularly shining moment in American history. But to continue the "he stole the election" harangue -- 4 years later -- is unfortunate, IMHO.

Here's a link, albeit an old one. It's from CNN (which is generally thought to be more "liberal" than the average news outlet).

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/flo...ries/main.html

That's the version I've seen too. I don't ride anymore, sadly :(


That one is actually a Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson from the early '80s.


My favorite version of the "The End is Near" genre is: God is returning. And, boy, is she pissed! :)

You gotta think basketball for this one, Dan. I know that's hard for you. . . :D

(Horn, wave 'em in. Horn, wave 'em in. Horn, wave 'em in. . .)

For once, I agree with Dan. Great pictures on that site. Thanks, Camron.

Chuck -- Welcome home.

One huge difference between the two (aside from the terrorist aspect) is that the only ones hurt from Mt. St. Helens were those that refused to evacuate the area over the weeks of increasing activity building up to the blast.

Those killed in 9/11 had no warning.

The blast of St. Helens may have been 100 or even 1000 times the power of 9/11 but it was less deadly.

You used to ride?

So did I. Every coupla months I threaten to go buy a new bike and my wife tells me go ahead, she's gonna be real popular with the boys with all that money I leave her.

It's not that I mind her being popular...I just don't want to give her yet another chance to say "I told ya so".

Oh.

Never mind.

I thought she meant switching Cap'n Crunch for her Grape Nuts.

Virago 750. I think it was a '90, but I'm not sure. That was back when I lived in NH. Lots of wide open spaces to ride without worrying about some moron blindsiding you. Around here, there's just too much traffic and too many idiots on the roads.

Honda 750 in SoCal

Not very wide open, practically no rain and splitting lanes on the freeway during rush hour was a blast.

BTW, I once saw a bike carrying a human and a large dog on the 405. The dog was looking for a window to stick his head out of :)

You guys USED to ride? Cool...if we were all in the same area we could start some kind of Referee biker club! ;)
I used to ride all kinds of flavors of bikes but, finally got my dream bike back in 98...94'Harly Davidson Fatboy FLSTF.
Are there any other officials out there that would like to "join" our club and what type of bike do you prefer?

I thought she meant switching Cap'n Crunch for her Grape Nuts.

[/B][/QUOTE]Grape Nuts is a male-only venereal disease. Don't you know nuthin'?

Trail Bike.
 

JAWA 350.

I did a lot of motocross, short track & road racing back in the late 60's & early 70's - still have an original YZ250 in mothballs.

I haven't done much riding of late, but with gas prices the way they are I'm considering getting another bike. Don't want something real big - probably 500cc or just under. The Indian line was revived a few years years ago & I might take a look at what they have to offer.

That is one of the better links.

I've got a bunch of aerial photos that I shot somewhere in my negative archives. When I get a chance I'll see if I can find them & scan a couple.

My favorite way to show people the area was to load them up in the 182 & make a counterclockwise circuit of the mountain at around 6000-8000 feet. As you pass the ridge & first see the blast area, the effect was pretty awesome - even after seeing it dozens of times. The trees for 10+ miles miles in the direct path of the initial explosion were all laid out in rows radiating away from the center of the blast - from the air it almost looks like someone took a giant comb to them.......

[Edited by TimTaylor on May 22nd, 2004 at 08:59 AM]

Yes I remember what I was doing that morning.

I live "as the crow flies" about 100 miles from Mt, St.Helens, we had a scheduled baseball game that day, needless to say we didn't have the game, Huge distraction.

The ash fall-out ruined the engine in my 1970 Nova

Originally produced right here in Springfield, MA!!

I hear you -- try the northern VA / DC area!

Ride when I can. '86 Honda Magna althrough I wouldn't mind having a new Honda ST1300 (sport touring).

Music to my ears . . .

The beauty of all you M*ssholes . . .