Every May 18th Now

I have 2 things to celebrate on this day. Or rather, the best word may be commemorate. They are not exactly happy events. One is just an awesome event. The other is a very sad event. But I cannot let this day go by without at least an honorable mention to 2 of my favorite things today. Today is the 39th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. That was an awesome event. But I say I commemorate this day because 57 people did die in that eruption. That was a sad side effect. Of course my heart goes out to those families that are left behind today. The eruption was very awesome, as events go, and it helped shape NW history. It was not a big eruption as volcanic eruptions go, but it was an awesome eruption. You can see the details of it in the video here...

I still remember it, even though I was a kid. I am a bit of a survivor though. Though we were miles from the actual eruption, we still were affected by it, just like everyone around us was. Many people believed the mountain would never actually erupt. But one person did. He knew from the beginning it was going to blow up. That was David Johnston. He knew it would blow, and he also knew the eruption was going to be a violent one. Unfortunately, he was working there the morning it happened and he got caught in the blast. No one knows for sure if he died, though now he is presumed dead. But he was never seen again after the eruption. That's a shame too! He was a rather nice-looking guy.

This is his sister, Pat Ruthenburg...

In the article linked above, she's holding up a picture of him. She also got to meet with the student who, like me, has referred to Johnston as a "Mount St. Helens hero". That student, whose name is Mindy Brugman, is taking part in the production of a book titled 'A Hero On Mount St. Helens', with the main author, Melanie Holmes. I remember back in 2012, I called him a St. Helens Hero. Because he was. He saved lots of lives, by keeping as many people away from the mountain as possible. He was, in the truest sense, a hero.

Now, onto case #2. Today is also the second anniversary of the day Chris Cornell got his wings. That was a very sad event. I remember what I was doing that day. Ma was visiting, and I had just gotten Mya. She was still a teeny baby. Well, thanks to Katrina, I've gotten to like Chris Cornell a lot. I've even put a couple of his songs on my MP3 player now. Well, I always thought he was kinda handsome, because he reminded me of my Michael. He even knew how to shake his hair around like Michael did. Even though they both have totally different singing styles. Chris Cornell has blue, puppy-dog eyes though. Michael has sweet, soft, brown eyes. I always say Chris Cornell has puppy dog eyes! LOL! Because they remind me of a puppy's eyes; almost pleading to be picked up and hugged. Chris Cornell was obviously 100% a dog person too. LOL! He even has a song that is titled "Call Me A Dog", and he worked with a group called Temple of the Dog. Plus, he had several dogs (and no cats). I even saw a picture of him with his mom once and she was holding a sweet, solid black pomeranian. So, it's obvious he was a born dog-lover. That alone to me, makes him an awesome person. He didn't even care about the size of the dog, unlike some men who think they can't be a real manly man unless they have big dogs. But I have a lot more respect for a man who loves dogs so much, he even loves the little ones.

That's Chris with one of his pugs.

He also had the prerequisite big dogs too. I know he also has what looks like a rottweiler/german shepherd cross

And also one that looks like a white swiss shepherd (formerly known as "white german shepherd").

Here's his daughter Tony with another sweet pomeranian...

And check this out! Chris Cornell in just the last few minutes increased my respect for him 1000 fold! He also loves lemurs...

And yeah, he had a cat once too, but that was back when he was a teenager, living with his drunken father. I'm sure he grew out of it. But anyways, one of my favorite songs he did, he did it with his other group, Temple of the Dog. It's a song called Hunger Strike, and it is hauntingly beautiful! I also got the video, and I will share it here. What attracted me mostly to the video is this awesome lighthouse! My family knows how much I am fascinated by lighthouses. Anyways, listen to this song!