My mother, sister, and myself had sat down to an early dinner not much before the earthquake hit. My father was away on business, as it happened, for a couple of days. If I recall correctly, dinner was mac and cheese, and being a quick eater I’d finished my dinner and my drink just as the quake started. We moved under the nearby door frames by the dining table and waited it out. A few dishes came tumbling out of cabinets and shattered on the tile counter of the kitchen, but nobody was hurt. The water heater in the garage toppled off its footing, though, spraying water into the garage, and we went out and turned off the water and the gas line.

After a quick review of the house and making sure there was no other damage, and almost getting hit on the head as I opened a cupboard and the iron came tumbling out, I went out to the neighborhood to see if anyone needed help. I was 15 at the time, and a member of the Boy Scouts, troop 614. I threw on my uniform shirt, I don’t think I bothered with the uniform pants as I was in a hurry, and grabbed a water main wrench and large crescent wrench from the garage just in case I needed to deal with a gas or water leak, and went door to door checking on the street. I knocked on at last a hundred doors, though I don’t think the majority were home from work yet. Of the houses in my neighborhood, just up the hill from Valley Gardens Golf Course, there weren’t any that I visited with major visible damage, and only a few people needed water or gas turned off.

In my wanderings I recall a police car paused to chat with me and took my name and information, though they didn’t stay long as I didn’t have anything of concern for them. A couple weeks later, though, I received two letters of commendation for my efforts, one from the Chief of Police and one from the Mayor, I think.

Later, when things were less critical, I recall riding my bike down to the abandoned Sky Park airport and watching the helicopters land, though I don’t recall exactly what dignitaries were supposed to be on them.

By Jeff M

Advertisements