Beauty out of ashes - How I survived a natural disaster

Part 1 of a 2-part series

As I boarded my plane toward the Northwest, I told my children the captivating story of the mountain blast that was heard around the world. I watched their eyes widen with amazement as they heard of trees being blasted and laid flat, rivers being swept away, fire, brimstone and the giant cloud that fell to the ground to cover the world in a fine powder.

All of the other monstrously huge events that take place when a mountain blows her top held their attention for most of the four-hour flight home. I ended my tale with the news that they were going to see the aftermath first-hand in just less than 24 hours.

The old cliché, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," had never been driven home more true than this summer when I visited Mount Saint Helen's national forests. Some would describe it as a barren wasteland, others as a natural disaster evolved into a work of natural beauty. I found it a thing of rare beauty.

In my former days as an Oregonian, I remember sitting on the roof of my apartment building on the upper northeast side of Portland more than two decades ago watching the mushroom-shaped cloud billow powerfully out of the top of the mountain residing across the Columbia River in our neighboring state of Washington.

For weeks the fall-out of ash and rain covered our beautiful city with a dark gray slime. The entrepreneurial sprit kicked in as painters, wearing masks to avoid ash inhalation, designed wild prints, plaids and patterns that sold everywhere. They even came with matching umbrellas. God forbid we were caught in a fashion faux during this natural disaster.

Somewhere there is a zillionaire out there telling his grandchildren how he made his first million on fashion accessories for mountain ash. Tourist shops still to this day sell bottled ash, postcards, videos and such, which is scooped up in piles by visiting spectators.

Carolyn Kempf is president of Elite Travel & Cruise in Cape Girardeau. (1-800-999-6003, 334-1234, carolyn@elitetravelinc.com)