Quote of the Week- Bryan Adams

We go from classical music to contemporary pop/rock as we quip Canadian singer Bryan Adams who turned 52 on Nov. 5. I had always assumed that Adams, who I saw in concert threee times in the '80s and '90s when he came to my hometown of Roanoke, Va., was from British Columbia. But, Adams is actually a native of Kingston, Ontario.

This month, we are quoting famous Canadians, and there are many more of them than one might realize! (Frogive me for making fun of our neighbors to the north).

Though he recorded three solid album in the mid-to-late 1980s, Adams will probably be best remembered for singing the ballad ("Everything I Do"), I Do It for You." Like most people of my generation, I have come to despise this tune that was number one for an astonishing seven weeks in 1991, when I was 21.

Here is the quote from Adams, who last released an album (simply called "11") in
2008:

"I only write songs for myself, I don't try to appeal to anyone else."

SIDEBAR: On a more serious note, I wanted to pay my respects and appreciation to Atsushi Miyazaki, a Japanese aid worker, who was killed by the 5.7 aftershock to the devastating Oct. 23rd earthquake in Van, Turkey. The aftershock also occured in Van on Wednesday. Miyazaki was killed when the Bayram Hotel in Van collapsed. 604 people have officially died as a result of the original quake. In addition, to Miyazaki, some ten people were killed on Wednesday. For info on how you can help, go the main Turkish-American web site (www.ataa.org).

Special Coverage- Horrific Earthquake in Turkey

Yet another devastating earthquake has hit Turkey, my late father's country. The BBC reported 138 confirmed dead a half hour ago as of 9:00 p.m., New York time (12:30 a.m. London time, 4:30 a.m. Istanbul time). The 7.2 earthquake struck the province of Van, near the Iranian border. Turkish newspapers are reporting that up to 1,000 could very well be dead when the final numbers are reported, which could take weeks to resolve.

A similar earthquake struck the province of Van in 1976, and that disaster killed over 5,000 people. An earthquake in the city of Erzincan, due north of Van, in 1963 has one of the ten worst casualties total on record (internationally).

The Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" is reporting that up to 3,000 to 4,000 buildings in the area collapsed. The same publication quoted Bekir Kaya, the mayor of Van (the city), as saying that it was hard to get in touch with anyone to assist with the devastation due to the devastation of the city's telecomnunications infastructure.

The earthquake occured at 1:41 p.m. in the afternoon, local time (Turkey has one time zone). Ercis, a city that is 55 miles away from Van, reportedly has the highest casualty totals.

As evening fell on Van and Ercis, rescue workers were using campfires to work whatever light they could to potentially pull victims out of the massive rubble.

The Turkish Red Crescent, (http://www.kizilay.org.tr/english) the country's equivalent of the Red Cross, is also working with the relief effort.

NOTE: Deprem is the Turkish word for earthquake.