Mother Nature Tugs At Her Girdle, But We Roll On

Happily there have been no fatalities yet which, of course, could change by the time I finish typing this sentence.

Many of you apparently live where there are no earthquakes, but! don't get cocky; you have tornadoes, forest fires, hurricanes - there is no place that is absolutely safe from Ma Nature.

These recent events have so far been "rollers" not BAM!  CRASH! which will indeed get your attention.  These are the babies that will throw you across a room.   During the first one here -a roller as have been all subsequent events this time and Redondo Beach is 166.1 miles away - Richie was snaking out the downstairs bathtub; I was upstairs reading in his recliner.  He yelled up, "Did you feel that?" and I  yelled back, "What?!"  "We had an earthquake!"  So I said, "Oh." and turned a page.

I am not foolishly blasé about them.  My first experience follows... I moved out here in 1964 and we all lived a quiet life until 2-9-1971.  I was in my studio apartment, about to step into a hot bath, when I decided a quick pee would not be a bad idea.  As I sat, stark naked on the toilet, we had a roller and stricken, I thought "And this is how they'll find me - stark naked, jammed into a toilet bowl."  Talk about an ignomious demise...

The next of note occurred on 8-6-1979.  I lived in an apartment in Beverly Hills (yes, 90210 and you may be sure that I mentioned that little number on any possible occasion) overlooking an alley behind the building.  Somewhere in the dead of night I heard a noise that sounded like a train derailment careening up that alley.  I ran to the living room and looked out.  The power line and pole was swaying!  But there was nothing else notable going on so I went back to bed and next morning, got up, showered, dressed and headed off to work.  My job was within walking distance and during it, I passed the rather posh liquor store.  The floor was awash with busted liquor bottles to a depth of about two inches.  It reeked!  But the sidewalks were clear and everything else looked "normal."

Time flew and I was married, we'd bought a house and thoroughly enjoyed life.  Then, 1-17-1994 came Northridge.  Which has been - so far - the worst yet.  I'd already noted that the o nes that touched the South Bay generally took place around 4 a.m.  They were all gentle, low-powered rollers and I got used to them to the point that I didn't bother to get up,

But Northridge chased my lazy butt out of bed when the rattling and shaking and noise of a lot of things banging together - and most tellingly, the bedroom ceiling light was swaying - all of upstairs was right above my head.  I hung on the bedroom window sill and spotted what had to be the refinery in a roaring blaze.  The earthquake seemed to be going on and on and on!   It was later found to have lasted "10 to 20 seconds."  It's certainly not my place to sneer at scientists, but let me say, "It felt like three full minutes!"

Richie and I both took (and passed) Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Things to do:  grab a bottle of liquid detergent that you keep taped to the gas shut-off wrench, and go to your gas meter.  Rub the soap into it and look for any bubbles (gas leak).  Shut off gas.

If you and your house are okay, go next door and walk all the way around it looking for structural damage.  The rule at CERT is:  save yourself first, then go help others who in turn will help others.  CERT was designed to be a stop-gap while the real First Responders go the direst situations.  If your area has this program, go for it!  It's not just for earthquakes!

I forgot to mention that one effect of an earthquake is sounds.  Last night, getting out my toothbrush, I heard slow drops of rain.  Extremely puzzling this as no rain whatsoever mentioned anywhere.  I reached up to turn out the light and a picture was swinging gently back and forth!