on this day...

18 years ago, I was in 7th grade at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and School in Fremont. Every year the 7th and 8th grade classes went to Outdoor Education. This is where we spent 4 days in the Santa Cruz Mountains at a small college. We had looked forward to it since 5th grade.

After the commotion of choosing rooms and roommates was over, we had a brief orientation and then we were off to our various classes. Towards the end of the afternoon I was in the "Editable Plants" tour. My best friend at the time, Christy Morris, and I were giggling and joking about pushing one of the boys over the edge of our walkway down the ravine - it wasn't that far down, but it was pretty steep and there was a creek at the bottom. We jumped at the sound of a horn behind us - it was the ranger in his Jeep and he needed to get by. As we made way for the Jeep on the small trail, the loudest "BOOOM" you ever heard shot through the air. I thought that the engine had exploded in the Jeep (ah, a mechanic's daughter), but as we looked back at the Jeep it started to bounce about 3 feet off the ground.

I was not sure what was going on. To my amazement and disbelief, I was thrown the ground and had to cling to the vines and plants to keep from falling down the very ravine I had been joking about. Meanwhile, our tour guide was trying to keep us away from the dangerous Jeep that was bouncing all over the place. The dirt trail moved in waves before my eyes - it moved fluidly, like when there are too many kids a pool and the water splashes about. The trees bent like rubber from one side to the other, hitting the side of the mountain and then bending over to graze the ground. Leaves, dirt and dust flew everywhere - obstructing my view. I don't remember being terrified as much as I remember feeling confused. Once the jolting had subsided, the earth moved in a swaying, gentle, side-to-side motion for a bit before it calmed to a still. We all laid on the ground looking around at our tousled, freighted classmates and it hit us… Earthquake.

You see, this wasn't just any earthquake; it was the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Those 15 seconds seem to make time stand still. We rushed back to the campus, to find utter destruction. The only building that seemed to be solid was the chapel/cafeteria. The retaining wall between the mountain and the dorms had split all the way along the entire wall and shifted 6 inches out. The bunk beds were over-turned, the toilets and showers were shattered and our belongings were everywhere. It was as if the room had been literally turned upside down. Our teachers and counselors gave us 10 minutes to grab whatever we could find and we had to leave the rest. In retrospect, I am guessing that we should not have been allowed back in the dorms, at all. The search for our belongings was fruitless.

Because of the road destruction and the heavy traffic, the teachers opted to stay the night and leave in the morning. We had no outside communication with our parents, this was before most people had cell phones (something my mom took care of the very next day) and the land lines were down. We were all so worried about our families and knew they must have been worried about us, too. The entire night was riddled with aftershocks. I don’t think any of us slept. We didn't know the entire extent of the destruction until we saw Watsonville on the ride home. Piles and piles of bricks took over the roads. We didn't know about the bridges and fires until we finally got home. It turned out that our location was just 4 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

Today, I honor the memory of the many people who lost their lives that day. My entire family and home was fortunate to come out unscathed. It had to be a God-thing that we were all OK. It’s just so weird to think that it was 18 years ago… Am I really that old?

*** Correction: the earthquake was 17 years ago (Oct. 17, 1989). I just cannot count. Thanks, anonymous. ***