I have to admit to be experiencing some withdrawls having heard about the 5.2 shaker on Sunday just outside of Anza -- which was felt all over the Southland (what the local newscast call the greater LA basin).
Digging deep, I don't miss the actual moving and shaking, per se. Since the survivability rate of earthquakes (so far) is astronomically in your favor, the event itself can be scary at the onset. However, once your brain kicks in and you realize what's happening, most of the time you just ride it out, watch for falling bookshelves, and can't wait to turn on the TV.
See, what I really miss about earthquakes is the local news coverage afterward.
I missed the big Northridge quake in '91. I was in a remote part of Oklahoma, researching and co-writing a historical screenplay. With no tv reception where we were staying, we had to run into the nearest diner that had cable TV, and convince them to switch on the news.
In LA, the local news "post-quaking" coverage is live TV at it's pinnacle of silliness.
If the quake is early enough in the A.M., you may be fortunate enough to see normally perfectly coiffed on-air talent without pancake makeup or hairspray.
Witness your favorite news personalities ad-libbing inadequacies as they scramble to find words not yet scrolling on the teleprompter.
Scoff at the quick response teams on the street, frantically interviewing the most inarticulate quake witnesses they can find.
He defends his actions here. Scroll down to "Part Three with Kent Shocknek."
It made the national news and he was chided for his behavior, but I liked Kent for his brazen display of self-preservation on live TV. The term "pulling a shocknek" even entered the slang lexicon for a short time, defined as "savings ones own butt."
Shocknek love y'all.
2 comments:
Things I missed about earthquakes when I was living in the midwest:
- That little lady from CalTech who always has the details on the quake
- Sleeping right through them
Things I didn't miss about them:
- Those damn people they interview
"Did you feel the quake?, Yes! Did anyone get hurt? Nope. Was there any damage? Nope.. oh wait a dish broke." LAME.
S was listening to NPR and heard a lady being interviewed from her "ocean side" apartment near Crescent City - she was describing the tsunami threat near her stretch of the beach.
She mistook ocean side for where my folks live down in Oceanside, and thought they were having to evacuate.
Seth speaks of Dr. Kate -- ah yes, everyone's favorite lesbian seismologist from Cal Tech. Calm in the eye of the media storm following any major shaking in the southland.
Dave brings up another thing I miss as much as after-quaking news coverage -- the post-quake water cooler stories, aka "where were you when it hit?" Best thing about quake anectodes is that they're all unique and many of them involve partial nudity or at least people running around in a panic in their jammies.
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