“Eerily silent” is about all one could use to describe Kumamoto now during this four-day vacation. My wife and I had thought about going to Ashikita to help with flood relief, but, ironically, the current heavy rains have put a stop to that. The Guardian has an article on this called “Wave of Silence” - humans create a hell of a racket, and when they stop, scientists from zoologists to geologists have a field day, able to check out the earth as it would be if humans didn’t exist. - William