Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of Loma Prieta:Minimal losses, many gains
When ya ain't got nothin', ya got nothin' to lose.-Bob Dylan
When the earthquake that came to be known as the Loma Prieta quake hit on October 17, 1989, my downtown Berkeley office and living space consisted of 168 square feet. My rent in the rent controlled unit was still less than $200. I was the proud owner of a multicolored 1972 Chevy Van with the dominant color being rust. I was in between relationships. I had a number of friends but nothing serious in the way of commitment. I had a few massage clients and was working part time at the Berkeley Y as a masseur and enjoying a foot loose fancy free kind of life. Nothing changed with the temblor...
When the quake hit, I was giving a massage to Barbara Branaman. In those days, I was providing a fairly vigorous session on mostly clothed clients involving much movement on my part with my eyes closed. I had no idea the quake was hitting until she drew my attention to it. "We are having an earthquake. Perhaps we should move to the door jamb" was her suggestion. We did...
My apartment was on the 2nd level overlooking Don and Reinhard's Auto Service. The door opened onto a walkway much like a Motel 6. As we stood in the jamb, we watched as a car, precariously balanced on a lift, swayed back and forth. Don held onto the side of the garage door frame. Light posts on Addison Street swayed for a number of seconds.
"Wow! That was a big one!", I said.
"Nahhh", was Barbara's response. I found (just today) she thought I was just an East Coaster not familiar with earthquakes. We realized only part of the extent of the damage when we found there was NOTHING on the radio and TV. One of the first reports when the radio came on was the Bay Bridge had collapsed. Fortunately, the report changed quickly to being "just a section" of the bridge had collapsed.
Like I said earlier, I didn't have much nor have much connection to anyone. I was not like Barbara who became very serious and concerned because her husband was in San Francisco working. I was home, safe, with no power outages that would be able to check in with the few folk I knew, fairly quickly, and go on with life, unscathed. The adventure was just beginning.
A Weird Reconnect
Over the past week I have been reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Loma Prieta. I have reached out to a number of folk I knew in those days that are part of mystory with their own stories of this historical event. I found Barbara on Facebook. We had not connected in years. We had a couple of exchanges and that was it.
Mi' lady and I took a walk around Chavez Park, in Berkeley, this evening. Against all odds, I saw and spoke with Barbara on that walk. She was going in one direction and I in the other. After the initial shock and thought it could be her, I turned and called her name. She responded.
I said, "Branaman?"
She said, "Bob?"
Knowing my (non superstitious) love of symbols and signs, mi lady asked what I thought the universe was saying to me, having me cross paths with a person on the eve of an event she was a big part of 20 years ago. I'm pondering it. Because of my current direction, it is like coming full circle to where I started some things I never completed. Back to the Future resonates. Who knows?
The aftermath of the event was different for everybody... I had it r-e-a-l easy which was of benefit to many. That tale is coming up.
Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of Loma Prieta:
Minimal losses, many gains
When ya ain't got nothin', ya got nothin' to lose.
-Bob Dylan
When the earthquake that came to be known as the Loma Prieta quake hit on October 17, 1989, my downtown Berkeley office and living space consisted of 168 square feet. My rent in the rent controlled unit was still less than $200. I was the proud owner of a multicolored 1972 Chevy Van with the dominant color being rust. I was in between relationships. I had a number of friends but nothing serious in the way of commitment. I had a few massage clients and was working part time at the Berkeley Y as a masseur and enjoying a foot loose fancy free kind of life. Nothing changed with the temblor...
When the quake hit, I was giving a massage to Barbara Branaman. In those days, I was providing a fairly vigorous session on mostly clothed clients involving much movement on my part with my eyes closed. I had no idea the quake was hitting until she drew my attention to it. "We are having an earthquake. Perhaps we should move to the door jamb" was her suggestion. We did...
My apartment was on the 2nd level overlooking Don and Reinhard's Auto Service. The door opened onto a walkway much like a Motel 6. As we stood in the jamb, we watched as a car, precariously balanced on a lift, swayed back and forth. Don held onto the side of the garage door frame. Light posts on Addison Street swayed for a number of seconds.
"Wow! That was a big one!", I said.
"Nahhh", was Barbara's response. I found (just today) she thought I was just an East Coaster not familiar with earthquakes. We realized only part of the extent of the damage when we found there was NOTHING on the radio and TV. One of the first reports when the radio came on was the Bay Bridge had collapsed. Fortunately, the report changed quickly to being "just a section" of the bridge had collapsed.
Like I said earlier, I didn't have much nor have much connection to anyone. I was not like Barbara who became very serious and concerned because her husband was in San Francisco working. I was home, safe, with no power outages that would be able to check in with the few folk I knew, fairly quickly, and go on with life, unscathed. The adventure was just beginning.
A Weird Reconnect
Over the past week I have been reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Loma Prieta. I have reached out to a number of folk I knew in those days that are part of mystory with their own stories of this historical event. I found Barbara on Facebook. We had not connected in years. We had a couple of exchanges and that was it.
Mi' lady and I took a walk around Chavez Park, in Berkeley, this evening. Against all odds, I saw and spoke with Barbara on that walk. She was going in one direction and I in the other. After the initial shock and thought it could be her, I turned and called her name. She responded.
I said, "Branaman?"
She said, "Bob?"
Knowing my (non superstitious) love of symbols and signs, mi lady asked what I thought the universe was saying to me, having me cross paths with a person on the eve of an event she was a big part of 20 years ago. I'm pondering it. Because of my current direction, it is like coming full circle to where I started some things I never completed. Back to the Future resonates. Who knows?
The aftermath of the event was different for everybody... I had it r-e-a-l easy which was of benefit to many. That tale is coming up.
Try To Stay At Home
Loma Prieta Day Two and Three
The cantilever section of the Oakland/SF Bay Bridge had collapsed. A section of the Nimitz Freeway had collapsed killing many people. The October 17 quake had made a mess of things for those dependent on their automobiles, out of necessity or convenience. Government officials pleaded with people to NOT drive their cars. Most complied.
After calling around cancelling the rest of my schedule or receiving calls cancelling appointments, I hopped into my car and headed out of town.
Much to my wondering eyes did appear a virtually empty Hwy 80. Even in the dead of night, I had never seen so few cars on the road as there were that day. It was much like scenes in the History Channel series, 'Life After People', except a few had survived. It was like that until approaching Napa, CA enroute to Harbin Hot Springs. What better way to get out of the turmoil of an earthquake than to go soak in warm water pools at a clothing optional retreat center?
I was far from the only person that escaped the city for Harbin. In one of the function rooms folk got together to relate their experience of the event. One got stuck in the tube on BART. Another had lost their car in a pile of rubble. The stories were incredible. Fortunately, not one of those that made it to Harbin ever felt as though their life was in danger. The BART survivor set up the room much like a BART car and had us role play the quake as she had experienced it. My personal story paled by comparison, but once they knew what I did for a living, I was talked into providing some stress relief which was merely a warm up for what was to come.
