Pushing on full throttle

When the tsunami hit Japan, I didn't blog. I had feelings about it, but I guess I just didn't have time. I watched a few videos that made my stomach turn and I anxiously awaited for email updates from friends who were in and around Tokyo. After everyone rang in safely, all there was to do was to watch the news and stay posted until the initial hysteria calmed.

And now it's calm.

In the calmness, it's easy to forget that the aftermath is still going on. That the towns are still in ruins, that people are still without homes, that communities are isolated from each other without food or water.

And then stories like this surface and remind you of all of that. But at the same time, it lifts your heart to the spirit of human survival, to the love of a long life and fond memories.

"My feeling at this moment is indescribable," he says with glistening eyes. "I talked to my boat and said you've been with me 42 years. If we live or die, then we'll be together, then I pushed on full throttle."