ROBERT'S TRIP TO GUAM - MARCH 11, 2011

EARTHQUAKE!!!

JAPANESE EARTH QUAKE IN TOKY0
It happened on March 11th, at 14:46:23 JST

Bob landed in Osaka, Japan at 4:30pm JST.. was flying over Japan near Tokyo when earthquake hit; landed 1-1/2 hours after earthquake hit. (flew over northern Japan before landing in Osaka)

Osaka is 350 miles southwest of Tokyo, Japan. He flew over Alaska,the Bering Strait and Russia; then down southward into Japan. He was in the air above Japan (near Tokyo) when the earthquake hit, then landed in Osaka at 4:30pm.

Is this man blessed or what? (so are we as his family!!)

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Let me tell you how my day went on Friday, March 11, 2011:

I was getting dressed to go to a dentist appointment at 10 a.m. My Dad in Florida called me at 9:10 a.m. I wondered why he was calling, because lately I've just been calling him. I also wondered why he was calling so early in the day. He asked me if Bob was in Guam and if I had heard from him. I told him that he should be there, and that he was supposed to land about 3:30 a.m. (Guam time) He asked if I had turned the TV on. I said not yet and he said, "You'd better turn it on!" He then told me about the earthquake, and that I better try to call him and see if he's ok, and then to call him back to let him know if Bob was ok.

I turned the TV on and then started panicking after what I saw. I tried to call his cell phone several times, and it just went to voice mail!!! In the next few minutes, both my daughters called, worried about their Dad. (I also cancelled my dentist appointment...I could not relax until I heard from him!)

Since I couldn't get him on the cell phone, I tried to find the phone numbers for his hotel and the Bank of Guam (where he works when he goes there). I started panicking more when I couldn't find them! I then went to the internet to find those numbers. I realized it was the middle of the night in Guam, so I tried to call his hotel. The first time I called them, they said that he wasn't registered there!!!! I knew he was, so I called again. They told me then that he was registered, but had not checked in. I was even more worried then!! I went to his e-mail, found his confirmation number, then called back and asked them to check one more time. The hotel operator this time said that he had just checked in 20 minutes earlier, and asked if I wanted to speak to him!

Finally, I heard his voice, and what a relief. He sounded puzzled that I was calling him. I then told him about how bad the earthquake was, and he said, "Well, I knew something was going on when I was changing planes in Osaka (Japan)." He saw everyone gathered around the TVs in the airport terminal, but didn't know any details.

Robert left Salt Lake City, UT on Thursday, then changed planes in Seattle, WA. From Seattle, he flew to Osaka, Japan. He chose to go through Osaka instead of Tokyo only (?) because there was only a 4-hour layover there. He would've have had an 8-hour layover in Tokyo if he had flown there.....THINK ABOUT IT! (see the timing above) If he had chosen to fly through Tokyo, (1) he may not have landed, and (2) he may have never have gotten to Guam (at least not without a lot of problems).

We were not sure of the timing of the earthquake and when he was actually flying over Tokyo. So last night, we looked on the internet; then, we determined the time he landed in Osaka. We realized that he had to have been flying near or over Tokyo at the time of the earthquake.

Since this is so long, I'll copy the timing again here, so you can see how remarkable his timing was:

JAPANESE EARTH QUAKE IN TOKY0
It happened on March 11th, at 14:46:23 JST

Bob landed in Osaka, Japan at 4:30pm JST.. was flying over Japan near Tokyo when earthquake hit; landed 1-1/2 hours after earthquake hit. (flew over northern Japan before landing in Osaka)

Osaka is 350 miles southwest of Tokyo, Japan. He flew over Alaska,the Bering Strait and Russia; then down southward into Japan. He was in the air above Japan (near Tokyo) when the earthquake hit, then landed in Osaka at 4:30pm.

Robert, we love you so much and we can't wait until you get home safely back home. I tell you everyday how much I love you and how special you are. I always tell you how much we all love and appreciate you. We are so glad that you are still with us...so always remember that. (We'll keep telling you so you will never forget.) SO, GET YOUR "BODY" HOME, so we can relax!!!

Both of your daughters told you that you're never going there again, so you have to listen to them!

We will see you late on March 31st!! (we'll add your story then)