Shake, Rattle and Roll

Have you ever experienced an earthquake? When the ground shakes and the buildings rattle, and the world suddenly feels like a small toy being shaken by a little toddler?

An earthquake struck just south of Portsmouth yesterday. Luckily it was small and the rescue services didn’t have to do anything, but it really makes you think about mortality and how the world can destroy our lives within seconds.

A friend of mine lives in Christchurch and we exchanged messages when the earthquake happened there earlier this year. He told me of the horror of people being pulled out of the rubble and families crying, bereft and wondering where their loved ones were. And then the tsunami struck Japan and we all watched in horror as the events unfolded, with quake after quake, not to mention the snow that fell.

But my experiences of earthquakes have been much more amusing and harm free. Both occurred when I was in California on 2010. The first was when we were all sitting on the sofa in the playroom watching TV, and the ground literally shook. It was quite exciting, and my cousins didn’t seem too worried, so we rang friends with a “guess what? There’s an earthquake!!!!” message. It passed through quickly and we carried on our evening. The second was far more amusing. My sister and I had taken the boys on a trip to Palm Springs, and I had turned in for the night. The four of us were sharing a room, as in America they seem to have two double beds in a room, so we all fit in quite nicely. I was sleeping and my sister and the boys were watching TV when the quake hit and the room began to shake. Being the oldest, they obviously sought comfort in my kind words, so my sister tried to wake me.

“Leave me ALONE!!!” I said, in my sleep “AND STOP SHAKING THE BED!!!”

The next morning the boys regaled me with the story of what a grumpy madam I was, But I’m glad that my quake stories only make me look a little grumpy, and aren’t tales of tragedy.

Have you ever been caught up in a quake?