And now ... the aftershock

The strange thing was, we didn't feel anything, but we seemed to hear everything! This morning, at 4:40 mind you, Elena and I woke up to the sound of our closet door as if someone, or something, was trying to bang it open. Immediately, we thought the cats, both of them, had somehow locked themselves in the closet and were trying to get out. So I got out of bed and opened the door, but there were no cats. That's when we heard all of the pots and pans hanging from our pot rack banging and clanging from the kitchen, which sent us scurrying over there only to then hear our eldest daughter crying from her room. I couldn't figure out what was going on, and neither could Elena. I wondered if the wind was blowing hard enough to do this! Of course it wasn't, but what else could it be. Turns out, we experienced a 5.2 earthquake that occurred down in West Salem, a town I know well from driving through it for years to go visit Elena. And just a few moments ago, I felt an aftershock, as the floor in my office began vibrating.