Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Memories of Loma Prieta

Fans of Wait, wait... Don't tell me! heard something of a "best of" this past weekend. Amongst those who retold their favorite memories was Al Michaels, former ABC sports anchor. His favorite memory was covering the 1989 World Series contest between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants. He was nominated for an Emmy award for his impromptu newscasting when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay area during that series; his unique circumstance put him in position to be first on the scene with real, actual, very important news. How that related to WWDTM, I have since forgotten. Anyhow.

I had my own walk down Loma Prieta memory lane this evening. As I was sitting in the garage, putting the finishing touches on my Jack o' Tiki and Hissing Kitty Pumpkin, the ground began to rumble. Since it was much too late for anyone to be getting a UPS delivery, and since it really felt more like a monster UPS trailer pull, than just one little truck, I knew it was an earthquake.

That's what some earthquakes feel like. Long, rumbly vibrations similar to those made by delivery trucks. (the other kind is a sharp jolt, like UPS accidentally hit the house).

The 1989 quake was a slow rumbler, just like tonight - except longer and harder. That time, my desk did a samba across the terracotta floor of my office. Tonight was gentler and kinder, at least for my neighborhood. Given that it was a 5.6, I am certain there is real damage, but still, it's just a medium-sized quake.

Most friends have checked in, and lots of cell phones are out of commission, so I'll wait to call my friend that lives closer to the epicenter tomorrow, just to be sure that her family is all okay.

2 comments:

MLE said...

I'm glad you are OK and sans damage!

Despite being over 100 miles away from the Loma Prieta epicenter, I was riding my bike and fell off the bike during the quake. I still think of October 17 as Earthquake Day (along with ex bf birthday and Matt FBIL's birthday).

Monkey McWearingChaps said...

Glad you're okay!