The Myanmar Cyclone and the Loma Prieta Earthquake

When a Disaster Hits You by Surprise

When I heard about the Myanmar Cyclone, I immediately thought how lucky we are in this country when a disaster hits. Not only do we have more money to help our citizens, but we have means of communication. This means more than people realize.

After having been in Hurricane Fredrick and Hurricane Elena, I thought I was ready for anything. Little did I know what was in store for me when I moved to California.

I moved to Salinas, California in 1988. I loved it! If you are a gardener, you'll know what I mean when I call it "zone perfect." The weather was absolutely glorious. There were two rather warmish days in August, but that was it. The winters weren't cold either. I remember these orange poppies growing all over the place. Yes, it is a truly magical part of the country.

But, as usual, there must be some flaw in paradise. I experienced my first earthquake not long after I had moved there. The walls shook the pictures on the walls just a wee bit, and we all ended up laughing about it. I thought, what is all the fuss about? Every now and then there would be another one like that, and I came to just ignore them.

We went to San Francisco every now and then. What a fabulous city! The sea air is so refreshing despite the fog, and the homes and streets are charming. The food is fantastic! I felt as if there was nothing that would ever get me out of California, I loved it that much.

I never spent much time in Oakland, but one trip we went over the Oakland Bridge just so we could experience the view. It was a pretty Sunday in October, and the view was fantastic. However, we regretted going over the bridge because of the traffic. There were just too may tourists in town for the World Series.

I went back to work that week, feeling rejuvenated from my fun weekend. By Tuesday, however, I was impatient for another weekend to start. On Tuesdays I worked two jobs: my day job as a substitute high school teacher and a night job as a waitress. I went to the night job, already tired from my day at school, and hung around the bar talking with the rest of the staff. Game three of the World Series was about to start, and we all were speculating on how it would turn out.