Bluster between North Korea and the United States makes for a fair bit of tension on the geopolitical landscape these days; throw in false reports of ballistic missiles headed to Hawaii on Saturday and Japan on Tuesday, and the chatter on coffee row sounds more like it did during the Cold War than it has in a long time.

Yesterday Jenn Clevinger and Shannon Peacock shared their experience of being in Hawaii for the false alarm Saturday, and now Duane Smith has also reached out to the Swift Current Online newsroom, saying what it was like for him.

"My wife, Bev and I were," Smith wrote via email. "We were sitting on the lanai when the alert came through a friend's phone. I was familiar with the sound right away as they have tested it previously. I checked my cell and it was there as well so knew it was real. While we were in a state of ‘awe’ it was a bit surreal. We realized that there is basically nothing that could be done so why worry about it. We took comfort the good Lord has given us a good life. We also did think if it was happening it would be on Oahu vs the Big Island where we were. Overall we were quite calm about it." 

Smith said he sent some messages to loved ones before finding out shortly after via Facebook that it was a false alert.

Later in the day they swung by some farmers markets, but many were closed with signs saying things like 'went home to hug loved ones.'  

"The locals were definitely more concerned," Smith said. "This is valid given that on [December 1] they reactivated the nuclear alarm system from WWII so given that and the recent rhetoric between the USA and [North Korea], and having experienced WWII on the island, it would hit home more to them.

"All is good for today," finished Smith. "Another Mai Thai in hand."