I have a habit of remembering unimportant dates, but I’m pretty sure if I say “October 17, 1989 at 5:04 pm,” most Bay Area residents would know exactly what I am talking about. Because 30 years ago today is a date that everyone in the Bay Area remembers. The biggest earthquake of most of our lifetimes.
I was hanging out with Chris Fondacaro on the field at Resurrection School and we heard a rumble, and we looked to the south and saw the field rolling, like someone had picked up a carpet and shook it. The flag pole looked like a metronome. The trees looked like they were going to break in half. But it was a pretty short quake, all things considered. And so we went inside, and some people were crying, but everyone was pretty calm about it.
My brother’s friend’s mom picked us up and took us to her house, since she was going to pick us up for soccer practice. It took maybe 90 minutes or so to go 2 miles down Stelling Rd in Cupertino. Everyone was out on their lawns and no one really wanted to stay in their homes. When we finally got to our house, the floor was covered with books, broken china, plates, and cups. We all slept downstairs in the office that night.
One of the craziest things about that earthquake was that the A’s and Giants were both in the World Series. You can go on YouTube and find a broadcast of the pregame. The quake happened during rush hour, and initial estimates feared that hundreds of people had died, especially in the collapse of the Cypress Viaduct in Oakland. But both Bay Area teams were about to play in Game 3 (the A’s had plenty of fans too in those days), so many people had left work early to go watch the game at home, and there was no rush hour traffic at all. The official death count from the quake was 66, of which 42 were at the Cypress Viaduct.
So anyway, that’s what I’m thinking about today, reflecting on what that event has meant to so many people. Stay prepared and safe in any way you can. Hope you all have a nice day.
Image by Lisa McElroy (http://captivewildwoman.blogspot.com/2009/10/1989-world-series-earthquake-game.html)