Survived a boat sinking in World War one, became a bootlegger, died by pyroclastic flow? Talk about living one hell of a life. Have you ever seen the gif recreation of the north flank collapsing? It's one of the most unsettling nature related things I've seen, mountains aren't supposed to move like that.
Mutherfucker, i filled a small jar full of ash by brushing it carefully off my swingset. 1400 miles from the mountain. We didn't need Weekly Reader to convince us that volcanoes were no joke. That shit came down on us fuckin' five states away. And not yer teeny East Coast states neither. Colorado Utah Idaho Oregon Washington. I'll bet that jar is still around somewhere. I know I got a photo album with little gray pieces of Scotch tape in it...