Quake Reactions From St. Mary's Abbey/Delbarton

This just in from St. Mary's Abbey...

At approximately 2 p.m., on Tuesday, 23 August 2011, two tremors were felt at St. Mary's Abbey/Delbarton.

"At first it seemed as if someone with a heavy foot were climbing the stairs," noted Fr. Edward Seton, who was working at his computer in his room in Vincent House. "It reminded me of the Carole King song: I feel the earth move under my feet!"

Another monk reported it was felt in Old Main. An alum working in New York City called to inquire if the tremors were felt at Delbarton and said there were numerous reports of precautionary building evacuations in Manhattan and environs.

On the other hand, our esteemed headmaster Br. Paul Diveny, working diligently in his office on the ground floor of Trinity, was completely oblivious to the quake. That is what we call fo-cus.

Earthquakes are hardly common events in New Jersey, but a colleague recently transplanted from California was quick to confirm that we had just experienced a genuine earth-shake. Meanwhile The New York Times reported that this 5.9 magnitude earthquake originated in Virginia and was felt all the way from North Carolina to Maine. Whoa, Nelly.

Bonus: we now feel more than adequately prepared for the pounding feet of 540 boys [fall classes begin September 7]. So thanks very much, Mother Nature.

Rock on.