DUCK & COVER
“Duck & Cover” – I first heard those words in grade school in the early 1950s when the Cold War with Russia was thought to be a serious threat – as if crawling under our desks was going to save us from the Atom bomb! We were also required to wear these ‘dog tags’ on a chain around our necks. When my daughters were in high school, they wanted to wear them as a kind of funky jewelry and I let them, but told them they’d better not lose them!
Being in California, however,
and close to the dangerous Hayward earthquake fault, “Duck & Cover” would
definitely help a person caught in a bad earthquake. That, or I remember my Mom telling us in an
earthquake to stand in a doorway – the structure of which was a strong point in
a house or building, or get under a desk or a table.
The kind of desks we had when I was in school during the 50s, however, would not have offered a lot of protection.
Living in California all my life, I’ve experienced my share of earthquakes over the years: sharp ones, rolling ones, jiggly ones, swaying ones (they’re the worst kind to feel), at home, in school, at work, at play, inside, outside, but I’ve never been through a really bad one. Living 125 miles away in the foothills from the epicenter when the disastrous 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area, I didn’t feel that one and I’m glad I didn’t! But, as I say, I’ve felt my fair share! You get used to them. They start, you say “Uh-oh”, and then wait to see what happens – hoping they don’t get any worse.
If we huddled underneath
this cover over our patio, however, I’ll bet we would have been safe – from an
earthquake, anyway. My Dad built this
roof and when my Dad built something, we figured it was good for at least 100
years! J (not sure about the ping-pong table
though? I don’t think it was quite that
sturdy)
Dad also built this small
counter/table. It might not offer a lot
of protection size-wise, but I’ll bet it would have withstood anything dumped
on it. With a window right there, however, there might have been a lot of glass
flying around. Close the shade, maybe?
Our dining table was
pretty sturdy. A funny
story about this table and an earthquake. My brother was probably around 5 or 6
when an earthquake struck while we were eating dinner one night. Mom grabbed my little sister, and Dad and I
joined her crammed into the kitchen doorway seen here on the right. Mom looked at us all standing there and said,
half panicked, where’s Stephen? We all
looked at the table and there sat my brother, his back to the window, calmly
eating his soup and looking at us as if to say “What are you doing?” We laughed, the earthquake ended, and we all
sat down to finish our dinner.
The dining table in my
apartment in the early ‘60s would probably have offered some protection. I do remember experiencing a couple of quakes
during the time I lived here, but they were small and over before I could
really do anything about them.
I suppose I could dive
under my Grandma Louise’s old Singer sewing machine if I had to. Just push the knee control out of the way.
My desk at my place of work would probably have given me some pretty good protection, but again, I never needed it although I experienced a few quakes during my working years – both in Oakland, and San Francisco. (Our dept. was moving to a new office spot the day this picture was taken)
Earlier, I mentioned swaying quakes. I was having lunch in the company’s cafeteria on the 7th floor of our building in San Francisco one day when a quake hit. Everyone had been happily chattering away, but when the building began to sway, the place became absolutely silent as everyone absorbed what was happening. Then suddenly chairs were being pushed away from tables and people were jumping up and heading for the stairs. As I remember we were all smart – knowing not to take the elevators, and there was no panic. We just all, quietly murmuring and laughing a little nervously, made our way down 7 flights of stairs. The quake, by then, had ended so some people went outside. But outside in a city with tall buildings all around is not the best place to be in an earthquake or an aftershock! So I went and stood in an inside doorway for a while just to be on the safe side. (Thanks Mom) J
:->
La Nightingail
I am in awe of Californians...living with earthquakes and the thoughts towards the big one coming. Your photos of old places are so nostalgic.
ReplyDeleteI have never experienced an earthquake to notice. There was one in northern Michigan when I lived there but it was so mild.
ReplyDeleteIn my lifetime, living in Sweden, the only drills I've experienced are a few fire drills (at school or at work). No earthquakes of significance occurring here either. In my childhood we had some routines for lengthy power cuts (occurring sometimes with winter storms) - but those did not involve hiding under the table... :)
ReplyDeleteI've been in a few earthquakes -- one in Anaheim, one in Syracuse, N.Y., one in Jersey City, N.J. and two in Queens. And I have to admit, I behaved like your brother for most of them. I might have dived under that '50s desk, though. I remember those from grade school -- complete with inkwell -- and your photo here is a stunner.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 9 or 10 I read a book about the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, and I quickly understood the futility of "duck and cover", though I don't think I ever did that in a school drill after the Cuban missile crisis was over. Earthquakes are quite different from nuclear bombs because there is no warning. On my one visit to southern California for a convention, I got to experience a typical tremor that shook the chandeliers in the hotel ballroom during a meeting. Those of unfamiliar with earthquakes considered evasive action but were reassured by Californians not to worry. Later at dinner I regaled Westerners with stories of Atlantic hurricanes only to be bested by Midwesterners who described great tornado storms they had endured. Tornadoes seemed to trump hurricanes and earthquakes. Maybe wildfires win?
ReplyDeleteI'd rather live in earthquake country than hurricane or tornado country, but perhaps that's because I grew up with earthquakes and not the other? As I mentioned in my post, however, shaking, jiggling, rolling quakes are one thing. Feeling a building swaying is a whole different ballgame. The other kinds of quakes have noise to them. The sway is silent and is rather unnerving and a bit sickening.
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