After writing my post earlier tonight, the rains stopped and
life began to return to normal around here. People went out on their bikes,
others went for walks, and people lit up their barbecues. I was happily
surprised with a visit from my cousin Vincenzo, his wife Mariella (yes, the
third Mariella that I’ve referenced this week), and his youngest daughter Mila.
It was a great visit, and I got to see photos of their new dogs. Along with Zia
we talked for more than an hour. 
Shortly after we said our goodbyes, Zia and I were talking
while out on the patio. Suddenly the ground started wavering like it was rolling.
I took Zia to the doorway, which was tough to get to with all of the wavering,
and we stood there through the rumbles for a solid minute. It was our second
earthquake in three days. The first was overnight on Tuesday. That night my bed
was shaking really hard, but in my sleep state I thought it was the wind. I
found out in the morning it was an earthquake or as the Italians call it,
terremoto. Tonight, the people here are spooked. Many are still out in the
streets almost two hours later. I walked downtown shortly after, and the
streets were filled with people, but the stores were empty. Everyone was
talking about the earthquake. It must’ve really scared some people because for
the first hour and a half after the quake the ambulance sirens were wailing
non-stop. UPDATE: Just as I was about to post this we had another tremor that
lasted about 10 seconds.
If anyone is wondering, I’m nowhere near the awful tragedy
in Genoa, Italy.
