The Earthquake and What Came After It - Tom's Story

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The Earthquake and What Came After It - Tom's Story

Last night before I went to bed I " had a fist " in my stomach. " A

feeling I get only in three circumstances:

1) As someone is dying.

2) Before a tornado.

3) Before and earhtquake.

This morning I woke up at 4:35 from a bizarre dream. As I began to go

back to sleep two minutes later, the window panes began to rattle.

This was followed by the shaking of the bed, and also that seldom

heard but never forgettable brick on brick rumbling sound. I knew we

were having an earthquake.

The last one I felt had been four years ago, but this one started

with more gusto and was getting worse. The one four years ago began

slow and ended with 3 jolts and was 15 seconds or so in duration.

This one started with jolts, continued with bigger jolts, ended with

jolts, and lasted about thirty seconds.

I could tell this was not a severe earthquake, but I could also tell

it was one that was bigger than anything this region had experienced

in living memory, and I turned out to be right. For me at least. The

US Geological Survey would later give a preliminary estimate of 5.4

on the Rhicter scale, though later they took that down to a 5.2. Only

one in my home state in recorded history would prove to be bigger.

That one was a 5.3.

What was scary was that the bed was doing what I had seen beds do in

horror films where poltergeists reigned. It bounced, and once I

distinctly felt the lower right corner dip, but then hit hard when

the ground bounced back up, making an audible thumb that made me fear

everyone in the house would wake up, if they weren't already awake.

How could they not be? Last night before my mom went to bed, she had

opened the door to the dishwasher slightly to let the steam escape

and the dishes air-dry. I could hear the dishes and the silverware

jangling in their cribs. One of the unstable, knick-knack owls on one

of my dressers fell over.

The earthquake from four years ago ended in one final jolt. This one

seemed to taper off, and I had the idea that perhaps New Madrid Fault

might have let go in a big one, and we were feeling the effects was

up near Chicago. I got out of bed and stood up, feeling the floor

trembling beneath my feet, and I thought " Dang, I wish I had been

standing up while the main jolting was going on. That would have been

neat. " As it was, I could feel the last of the trembling, and had a

very light sensation of unsteadiness.

Then it was over. Outside, birds were chirping and dogs were barking.

When I thought to check the clock, it said it was 4:38 AM. The dogs

had barked with the last earthquake too, which had happened 4 years

ago after 1:00 in the morning. But this time they were barking much

more insistently, as though this was more serious.

I hadn't heard of too many earthquakes lasting for thirty seconds or

more unless they were BIG. Or maybe the west coast was having a biggy

and we were just feeling it over here.

I turned on the lights and opened the door to my room. I could see a

light downstairs was on. Ever since dad retired he had been spending

3:00 AM to 5:00 am watching late night TV before going back to bed

and catching some final Z's. I called " Dad? Did you feel that? "

No answer.

I pulled on some clothes real quick and stumbled downstairs. " Did you

feel that? I asked? That was an earthquake? " He was sitting at the

kitchen counter eating and watching TV.

" Feel what? " he asked.

" That was an earthquake. Probably the biggest one we had in years.

Did you hear it> I heard the dishes rattling in the dishwasher. Some

of the pictures on the stair walls are tilted a bit. Something in my

room fell over. "

" I didn't hear anything or feel anything, " he said, " but then, I had

my head in the refrigerator a minute ago looking for food, so maybe I

didn't notice. "

Typical. He had slept through the last one and hadn't felt this one.

Mom had felt the last one, but had obviously slept through this one.

" If I didn't feel it, it could not have been that bad, " he said.

Three earthquakes ago, roughly 15 years ago this would have been, mom

and dad had been sitting at the kitchen counter when THAT one hit.

Mom had told dad to stop shaking the counter. Dad had countered that

he wasn't shaking anything, and he had said he didn't feel the

counter even shaking.

Anyway, I noticed dad was watching the news so I ran back upstairs

and turned on both the TV and the radio and listened. I had to wait

about two minutes before quake reports started coming in. On the

radio, it came in during the traffic report.

Indianapolis said that it was a .9 by their measurements. I thought

that sounded ridiculous. It took another 15 minutes for them to find

out from the USGS that it was a preliminary 5.4 and centered NOT in

Indianapolis or ville as the media was claiming, but in West

Salem Illinois along the Wabash extension of the New Madrid Fault.

So I was right about location to a degree.

I went back down stairs to tell dad who by this time had the TV off

and was doing a crossword puzzle on the sofa. His only comment was

that 5.4s must not be bad since the quakes count not be heard or

felt. I have heard his voice being less disinterested, but not often.

I went back upstairs to hear people now calling into both stations

and talking about being jolted awake. Someone reported pictures

falling off the wall. Another said they had cracking plaster. A news

team was sent out to cover it.

I went to sleep at about 5:00 AM and woke up at 10:00 AM, got in the

shower, and experienced the sixth aftershock of the day. This one

was 4.6 on the Rhicter scale. I was standing in the shower and the

landscapers were working next door. When the house shook, I was

annoyed. Couldn't they be more careful. But then the shaking

continued. It was not as big a deal as last night, but I felt it. I

shut the water off, got a towel, and checked the dream catcher

hanging from the light fixture in my room. Raven had given it to me.

The only time it turns is if a breeze is going through the house.

This time it was turning, but the windows were closed. Slowly, it

came to a stop. I was a tad worried because my mother was having

cataract surgery. At this moment, she would be in the chair

undergoing the procedure while dad waited in the waiting room. I

would not want the doctor to laser the wrong section of her eye.

By now they had pictures on the news showing fallen bricks in two

different locations downstate and there was a story of a porch

collapse downstate as well. One place in Louisville Kentucky had lost

some brick off the top of a building.

No one was reporting injuries, but now news was coming in about

people feeling the most recent aftershock. The initial 5.4 quake had

now been downgraded to a 5.2. People from Milwaukee to Georgia had

felt the quake. People who had not felt the one four years ago said

they certainly felt this one. Every time the news went to commercial,

there was an annoying song tacked on as the " outro " , obviously to get

a laugh. " Shake it up " by The Cars. " I'm all Shook Up " by

Elvis. " You Shook Me All Night Long " by AC/DC always at the

refrain " The walls were shakin', the earth was quakin', my mind was

achin' " etc.

Perfectly tasteless. Perfect nauseous. Perfectly NT, I thought.

When mom and dad got home, I asked if they had felt the

aftershock. " What aftershock? " they said in unison. I explained that

the last one had happened at about ten fifteen or thereabouts. Mom

said that she would have been surgery at that time and she hadn't

felt anything. Dad hadn't either. And both of them had asked the

staff at the eye surgeons if they had felt the earthquake and all of

them had said " no. "

Annoying.

Annoying as hell.

I was starting to describe the earthquake as it happened, but I could

see mom was tired and so just shut up, keeping her feelings in mind,

which was good, because she wanted quiet, and she wanted to be left

alone.

Throughout the day, if either my father or I spoke above a whisper,

she cringed and expressed extreme annoyance.

I went upstairs and worked on my painting. I watched TV and the news

kept having people reporting on what they had experienced. It

seemed " Everyone " knew about the earthquake. "

As time passed, people called throughout the day to find out how she

was recovering from the surgery. I picked up three out of ten or

eleven of those calls. The first one I took was from my aunt, who

lives In Wisconsin. I told her mom was fine except I was worried her

eyes would get drilled out by accident during the aftershocks.

" Oh yeah, " my aunt said. " I heard there was an earthquake, but I

didn't feel anything up here. The neighbors said they did though. " I

gave the phone to my mom, whose face lit up. She spoke so loud that I

could hear her up in my room. After the call, my dad whispered

something to her and she irritably told him not to talk so hard and

to leave her alone.

Another person I could not talk to about this.

After dinner I picked up another call. This one was from a friend of

my mom who lives 20 miles south of Chicago and 20 miles closer to the

epicenter than us. Knowing that the joke about the earthquake

happening during the eye surgery had gotten a laugh before, I

employed it again. This time, there was silence on the other end of

the line.

" What? " This woman asked.

I said I had my fingers crossed that they didn't do any damage during

the most recent aftershock.

" What are you TALKING about? " this woman said.

" Did you not hear there was an earthquake today? "

" Where? In California. "

" Haven't you been listening to the news today? "

" All day. I work at home and have the TV on the whole day. There was

nothing on about an earthquake that I remember. "

" It's been on all the local channels. ABC, NBC, CBC, WGN, FOX. "

She thought a minute. Then she said, " Well, I DID hear on this one

channel they were playing `All Shook Up' and `Shake It Up,' and some

other song I think. `You Shook Me.' But I figured they were talking

about milkshakes. I never would have associated it with earthquakes. "

" Milkshakes? " I asked.

" Yeah. You know, the food critic segment or something. We had an

earthquake? "

" One that was 5.2. And then six aftershocks. The highest and most

recent being 4.6. "

" 5.2 and 4.6 what? "

" On the Rhichter scale. "

" On the what? I don't know what that is. Must be something that only

savants know, " she giggled.

(Keep in mind folks that this woman is about ten years younger than

my mom. 55 or 56 in other words. AZs another peripheral thing, once I

was diaagnosed AS, I told my mother not to tell anyone else because

it was a personal thing and from time to time I remind her not to

tell anyone. So naturally everyone knows that I have AS now. Even

people I have never personally met.)

" Um, did you want to know how my mom is doing? "

" Yep. And I'll have to ask my husband what this rictus thing is.

Whatever. The earthquake couldn't have been that big. I didn't feel

the earthquake or any of the aftershocks. And I've been up since 6:00

this morning. "

My mom's face lit up as she took the phone. She paced around

downstairs as she spoke loudly. After she hung up, there was quiet

again. Later my father passed through the living room and asked if

there was a gardening insert in the newspaper. He wanted to buy some

stuff for the garden. My mother irritably told him to be quiet. She

was very tired and didn't like loud noise.

The next call was my sister, who lives in Minnesota.

I said " Did you hear about the earthquake we had. "

" We had an earthquake? " she asked.

" Well you didn't. I doubt anyone that far north felt it. But WE had

an earthquake. "

" What? The United States? Who specifically. California? "

I said, if California south of Minnesota? "

" Not that I know of. Isn't it east? "

" No. It's west.

" Well if you knew the answer, why did you even ask? "

" Because I said you wouldn't have felt the earthquake that far north.

Wouldn't you summarize from that that there was an earthquake down

south, like her in Illinois? "

" Well, I heard something about an earthquake on TV, but I didn't pay

any attention to it. "

" Then why did you ask at the beginning of the conversation who had an

earthquake if you knew SOMEONE had one? "

" I don't know. But this is what you do when you have AS. You talk

totally stupid and act like an idiot. Give me mom. I want to find out

about how her eye surgery was. "

" Well all this was to say that, according to mom, she would have been

having the operation at the exact moment that the most severe

aftershock occurred. "

" How big was this one? "

I described the quake to her in detail, explaining damage that had

been done, and that the quake was thought to have been on the Wabash

fault which was an extension of the New Madrid, and that New Madrid

was due to have a bigger one within 50 years due to the stress

building up down there.

My sister was unimpressed, muttering that California has had worse.

She asked for mom, but admonished me first, saying that 1) That one

of the things I had to realize is that she no longer lived where we

lived, which means that she could care less what happens down her,

and 2) That one of the annoying things about AS is that I have a

habit of taking an interest in things no one cares about. No wonder I

was bullied when I was a kid. I made myself a target just by opening

my mouth, she said.

I gave her to mom, whose face lit up. Mom talked loudly and paced the

house, hung up, and reverted back to immediate hypocritical

irritability.

I determined that everyone I was related to, and everyone they

personally were related to and friends with were just utter idiots.

During the day, I had asked my neighbors if they had felt anything.

Certainly their dig had. It had woken me up. But no, they had slept

through it, and had not heard their own yappy Yorkshire Terrier

yapping around the house at 4:37 in the morning. Their baby woke up

and cried and they did not hear that either.

In short, Christ himself could have come down amid fire, hailstones,

a rain of blood, thunder and lightning, asteroid strikes, volcanic

eruptions, and a magnitude 5.2 earthquake which caused half the

pictures hanging on the walls in my house to go cock-eyed and no one

that I personally know would have remotely detected anything.

Further, I was once again made out to be the idiot for feeling it and

being excited about it.

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