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Well, there’s nothing like the anniversary of a natural disaster to remind you of the passing of time (and of course, your age). I just recently saw an online article about the 20 year anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, October 17, 1989. When I read that, I suddenly felt like I had opened up a time capsule, since I had lived through that quake.

Twenty years. Wow, where did the time go?! Hubby and I had been married two years, were living in a cute little apartment in San Jose and both had decent jobs. This was before kids, and I’m glad that they weren’t on the scene yet, as that would have added a whole other element of fear and confusion.

Being that this happened at rush hour and I was commuting home on the freeway from my job at Sunset Magazine (maybe I’ll tell you more about that later), I was not immediately aware of what was happening. All I knew was that my tiny Toyota Tercel, going 60 mph, suddenly felt like it had flats on both sides of the car. Then, when I saw all the other cars’ break lights and the ancient trees lining the road whipping side to side as if they were rubber, I knew we were in the midst of an earthquake… a big one!

Growing up in California, quakes were part of the territory. I had been through a few minor ones already, but nothing like this. Getting from my point on the freeway to my apartment took me almost two hours (normally a 30 minute or so drive). Power was out, so street lights were not working. It was mayhem to say the least. Keep in mind that this was before cell phones, so I had no way to contact my husband. Our only option was to meet back at the apartment.

Here’s what I found when I got home. We hadn’t accumulated too much stuff up to this point, so it could have been worse. Sadly, we did lose the toasting glasses from our wedding (shown on the floor in this pic).

 Upstairs in the spare room, heavy opjects — TV and weight set — were tossed to the floor.

These are the only pictures I took that day. I wish I had captured the sky (orange and smoky) and all the people milling around outside. It was all very surreal. I remember it was one of those unseasonably warm, Indian Summer days. Everything seemed out of place, out of sorts.

Hubby had been on campus at a local community college where he was taking a class with a friend. He actually saw the wave in the ground, rolling through the parking lot. Pretty freaky. Fortunately, he made it home shortly after I did. No scratches, bumps, or bruises… just a little shaken up.

We got an extra day off together, as both of our work sites were closed for repair (fallen ceiling tiles, etc.). And we were forced to go out for breakfast, since we had no power on our street. And if I remember correctly, we spent the rest of the day fielding phone calls from friends and family.  

Looking back, I’m so thankful that we were both safe that day; that my commute didn’t involve traveling over one of the Bay bridges; that we both made it home in one piece. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that 20 years has gone by with so much living packed into that time — buying our first home, the birth of our two girls, moving to Idaho, building our home, raising our girls, college shopping, college payments…

Ah, yes, I’m definately feeling old as I think of this. There are those “landmarks” in your life that bring you back instantly to a certain time and place, good or bad. This was definately one of those.

How about you? Do you have an event that takes you back, a landmark of sorts?