My husband was upstairs starting to shave and I was downstairs in my study when the earth threw its tantrum. It seemed as though the house joined the earth by throwing things at us...The pictures missed me… The lamps missed me…The puppies jumped in my lap and huddled. My husband was about to put the razor to his face when he got introduced to my toiletries as the medicine cabinet started hurling its contents at him.
We were okay. The only thing that went out was phone service. We pay for four lines and none of them worked.
While my husband ran to check on the neighbors, I proceeded to get ready “just in case”. We have emergency water supplies and such in a cabinet outside, so this was more of an exercise in minimizing breakage. My car was moved out of the garage in case another tremor were to either empty the attic or render the door unusable. Breakable items not already laying face down on the floor already- that’s where it went. The major exception was that if it required a ladder to take down- forget it. For 72 hours- I assume the place I least want to be is where my feet aren’t firmly on the ground.
We were very lucky. The grocery stores nearby had their shelves emptied and quite a clean up ahead of them. There are houses
I wish I had a better telephoto lens. In the canyon behind my home are some old trees where the larger birds disappear in to. The earthquake shook the old leaves and dried stems of vines to the ground. The structure of the limbs is now visible. I watched the hawks sitting on their throne, waiting for the bunnies and other wildlife that comprise their diet to emerge. I would so love to share that moment with you on film, as nature showed me grace in the disaster's aftermath, but my little lens doesn’t do the sight justice. But your imagination will.
So instead, I will leave you with Lydia’s list to prepare for an emergency. Always kiss your loved ones when you part for the day- there are no guarantees that life will be the same at the end of the day as it was at the beginning. Don’t run your gas tank until empty- you may not be able to fill up to get home or get away. Keep the barbecue maintained and with back up fuel on hand in case it becomes your main kitchen appliance if you can’t get back inside your home. Keep enough cash that if the banks are closed- you aren’t worried about imminent poverty when disaster strikes. Keep your sense of humor. But most of all- keep your faith.