And to Top It Off – An Earthquake

Like most people, Steve and I battened down the hatches in preparation for Tropical Storm (or was it Hurricane?) Hilary. We unclogged outside drains, cleaned the front and back yards and collapsed the outside umbrellas and stored them so they couldn’t blow away. I went to Vons on Saturday to buy some things and was it crowded! Holy cow! People were buying like the whole incident was going to last longer than the expected 36 hours or so.

Then we waited.

Yes, there was rain – nearly constant for 24 hours (or more) ­– and some wind. But let’s be honest – in the past we’ve had worse rainstorms and wind. Then on Sunday, an earthquake! Though we didn’t feel it at our house, I checked in on friends living elsewhere and they felt it. One friend told me that she and her housemates had a tree branch fall onto the roof of their house about 10 seconds before the earthquake jarred them. I bet she was looking for locusts and signs of other plagues.

Overall though it seems that Hilary was more of a meh than a horrific and terrifying event. I am grateful that we had the chance to prepare for it – unlike the earthquakes we’re being warned about. (To learn how to prepare for that emergency, watch Paul Dutton’s “The Emergency Preparedness Network” on YouTube or call Paul at (818) 378-5440.)

Then there were the dogs.

We have three – Kona, who is an ancient Jindu, Molly, the year-old German shepherd and Olivia, another shepherd who is about 3 years old. They were unimpressed by the storm though were hesitant to go outside (except for Molly, who loves water). Thankfully we have a covered patio and I was able to take them outside to “do their business” though I had to keep Molly on a leash because she is too much like Scooby Doo (curious) and would take off. Despite the covered patio, Olivia looked at the water coming from the sky as if it was poison and chose to hold “it” in. There was definitely no worry of her running into the street and the rain. She is not a water girl. And the three of them apparently didn’t feel the earthquake either or, if they did, they didn’t react at all.

Overall we did well weathering our first “catastrophe.”

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A quick shout-out to the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars that held their annual bingo fundraiser on Friday night at Healy Hall. There were so many winners (myself excluded) that I think nearly everyone went home with wallets a little fatter.

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