Californians, the Weather, and Earthquakes

Only in CA will you find a boy walking to the high school in short sleeves and shorts on a 47 degree morning, I'm sure he's betting on at least a high of 55.

Only in CA will my little almost-5 year old ask on a clear, sunny, crisp 57 degree December day, "Can we put the pool out, I'm hot!"

Only in CA will you get Californias all excited when an earthquake hits, then hits again, then hits again all in 24 hours! 

Only in CA do we throw around numbers in conversation like 3.7, 2.0, 4.1 and we're not talking grade point averages!

Yesterday we were shaken awake by one of those 4.1's.  Earthquake that is.  Normally something you go "WHOA!" and then fall back asleep to.  But, all the kids woke.  Mainly because DQ was freaking out.  A few things fell from her bookshelf and she doesn't like the sound of walls moving around her uncontrollably.

I don't blame her. 

It can be scary.

I was driving a driver's education car in the Loma Prieta quake of 1989.  Trying to remind myself, the right pedal is the gas, the one to the left was the break and trying not to drive with two feet.  My teacher marked me down when I did that.

Just as soon as I reached the stop sign, a rumble passed beneath the car.  I don't remember running over a bear, but that's kinda what it felt like. 

I looked across the street and saw a facade of the building where my hairdresser worked fall straight down to the ground. 

It was surreal.  The car was bouncing, people were running from buildings, my driver's ed teacher was yelling at me!

"Turn around!  Wait, get out, let me drive!  We need to get back to the school.  I need to find my kids!"

When the rocking and rolling and shaking stopped,  we flew down the street, the teacher mentioning to us to never run stop signs and speed as he was doing to get back. 

Only a few blocks from home, I walked from the school to find our backyard soaked like a rainstorm had hit.  The swimming pool  had sloshed water about and I ran inside to see what else was amiss.

The kitchen floor was covered in broken dishes and nerves were shaken.  News of the quake and how hard it hit the bay area was on the radio as the World Series was going on at the time and was suddenely interrupted.

7.1 was the initial report, though I think it was reduced to a 6.8 later on. 

I told DQ that story last night after we were hit with 2 more shakers that registered 3.7 and 4.5.

She was even more scared and has permanently left a blanket and pillow on the floor in our room, just in case she has to run in there and sleep in the middle of the night.

Now I'm scared.