Sha Sha Sha Shakin'

What is that? Is that the result of an earthquake?

How about this one? What is it?

Those are just cracks in my backyard cement. I was looking for something clever to blog about the BIG ONE of 1989. Today is the 19th anniversary of our big 6.9 earthquake. Let me just tell you-those who are unfamiliar with earthquakes-this one was not any fun at all. I was in college, on the 10th floor of my dorm building in San Francisco. That building was never lived in again after the earthquake-lots of asbestos (spelling?). It was later imploded. That was pretty cool though! Anyway, the aftermath of that earthquake was the scariest time of my life. I couldn't reach my family. I had lost my car keys in the quake and I was stuck. A bunch of us spent the night on the floor at a friend's house. There were aftershocks all night long, and the fires from the Marina were horrible. I spent most of the remainder of that semester living in a study room. My one friend lived at the house of one of her professors. All of the residents of that building were farmed out to anyone willing to house any of us. The staff of the college was great-many opened their own homes. My two friends and I lived in a study room, on cots. It was horrible, but also really great. People really pulled together to help one another, and that was very comforting.

That said, I still would rather live through an earthquake, which is completely random, than a tornado or hurricane to which there is a "season" every year. I'll take my chances, and many say that will be here soon enough, as I guess we are just about overdue-at least on the Hayward Fault. I'll cross that bridge when/if I get to it.

I'm wishing good thoughts to those who lost loved ones during that earthquake, and those who were injured. I hope we all learned something about life and being prepared.