The first quake was triggered by people when Tuesday's Mardi Gras celebration turned violent near Ned's, the Pioneer Square tavern that Bueche owns. An innocent man, who was severely injured in mayhem that swept through the neighborhood, later died. The second quake was unleashed by the Earth during Wednesday's 6.8 temblor that rattled the Puget Sound region. The brick building that houses Bueche's business was so damaged that she now has to close her doors. A toll beyond words.
Tears fall like spring rain.
Bueche said yesterday in the deafening quiet of the tavern. Outside, a chain-link fence prevented people from getting too close to the entrance. At the top of the building, several floors up, sections jutted out like misplaced pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that could fall with little warning. Inside, people packed up items for a last call of a different kind. Bueche was in the process of notifying her 20 or so employees that a piece of their lives, like hers, was nearing an end.