Fukushima 50 …

Yea… I’m here and back at Lucky #13  on duty today.

 As usual, I was simply “swamped” over 4 day break and didn’t find the time to check in.

When I say “swamped”, I mean that literally. I’ve been knee deep in mud and muck for about as long as I can stand.

No, that’s NOT my tractor but the situation I’ve been faced with all week is very similar.

Of course, being mired in mud is not necessarily always a bad thing ….

I almost feel bad … here I am complaining about the mud, being stuck etc .. and then I see this poor  gal …

She’s not dressed for this …. obviously, she was caught completely off gaurd …

It almost hurts my eyes to see her like this …. ALMOST  (LOL).

Ok, so on to something more serious. So We were sitting here watching Katie on the evening news. It seems as though we have some new Heroes emerging from the tragedy in Japan.

They are calling them the “Fukushima 50“. They are 50 workers who choose to remain inside one of the nuclear power plants in an effort to save others … here’s a quote…

“Since the disaster struck in Japan, about 800 workers have been evacuated from the damaged nuclear complex in Fukushima. The radiation danger is that great.

However, CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod reports that a handful have stayed on the job, risking their lives, to try to save the lives of countless people they don’t even know.”

Read the entire story  HERE.

Kinda reminds me of a couple thousand guys back on September 11, 2001.

Remember those guys?

They kept responding in. They poured into those buildings. They climbed those stairs and kept climbing.

To  ” save the lives of countless people they don’t even know”

Here’s another quote from the CBS coverage … “The official said that his friend, one of the Fukushima 50, told him that he was not afraid to die, that that was his job.”

“That” was his job … well I’ll be damn.

You know, it’s not just the talk of these “Fukushima 50” that take me back to that day .. some of the images do as well.

It’s almost ironic … eerily ironic

That aerial photo of the power plants came from The New York Times ( article  HERE ).

The same New York Times that posted aerial shots of the World Trade Center attacks and the devastation they brought to Manhattan

You following me here? See the similarities?

The New York Times as in from New York City. The same New York City that is closing stations. That has implemented “brown outs” …

The New York City where our “New York THOUSAND” … The FDNY responded from!

I wonder how long it will be before the Fukushima 50 are forgotten?

How long before Japan begins shutting down power plants and laying off employees?

Now, I mean no disrespect to Japan or the Japanese people. Nor is it my intent to take away from the devastation they have encountered. They are faced with a horrible tragedy that seems to be far from over. No, this was not a terrorist event but horrific just the same.

For whatever reason, the coverage keeps taking me back to that September day.

Task Force 1 and 2 have been deployed and are on the ground and working in Japan. Dave Statter has the full coverage  and a description of operations  HERE .

My thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and Sisters from TF1&2 as well as with the Japanese people.

Stay safe and in house!

Captain Wines