"Where in North America?" --- Section III

[CalOldBlue]

No, I need to go play with that someday. Like many people who live in a tourist area, there are things I have in the category "I have to do that someday, but I have a lot of time....". E.g., I've never been to Alcatraz, despite living in the Bay Area for 6 decades.

As to fill and the 1989 quake... yeah, I did my term paper in a California Geography class I took at Cal on the 1906 quake; learned a lot about liquefaction, etc.

So when the 1989 hit, I found myself faced with a dilemma. I was in the basement of a modern, glass-facade building built on landfill at Sierra Point (first point that juts into the bay south of Candlestick point).

Amazing what can flash through your mind in a few seconds: do I stay in the garage and wait for a 5 story building to pancake on me, or do I try to run outside, possibly to be speared like a bug by a shard of glass exfoliating from the building?

Split the difference; ran to the garage entrance and waited to see which way things went: in my case, nowhere... building did fine.

Can't say the same for my commute home. Popped in my car and made it as far as the Bay Bridge entrance before getting shunted off onto the Embarcadero freeway (y'all may recall the Bay Bridge had a few problems that day and for months to follow).

Spent hours trying to get out of the city, watching the smoke rise from the Marina from the downtown area, trying to phone home, driving around trying to avoid gridlocked traffic. Low point was pulling over south of Market near the Federal courthouse to think things over, and buying a can of beer from a homeless person (he had a sixpack) for $5. He was happy, I was happier.... really needed that beer.

Eventually made it back to my parent's place in Millbrae for the night.

..... One final thought: I was never so prouder of the people of The City than that night. In spite of all the chaos, in spite of all the traffic, dead traffic lights, whatever: people were remaining calm and courteous. People took turns at 4-way stops, nobody honked their horns, folk waited patiently at payphones for others to make their calls. The City showed it's class that evening. ......