So how did this California boy end up in Tucson? Well it's not a terribly long story but with a little help from some tectonic plates and about a 15 second ride through hell during the Northridge earthquake I was ready to pack my bags and head to the desert.
I can't remember if it was in 1992 or 1993 we were told at my job that the plant site was closing down and moving to Tucson Az. I can remember it was like a punch in the gut. I had been there for just over 10 years and now I was going to have to find a new job. I had no plans of leaving California I just figured I'd find something around the San Fernando Valley. I was taking the classes for the post office, I had been trying to learn the air conditioning trade but the electrical side of it was very confusing for me. I was a bit worried but I knew something would come up.
On Sunday January 16th a friend and I went to the L.A. Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles to check out the big auto show going on there. We spent the day checking out the new vehicles and taking lots of pictures. It was a pretty fun day but nothing out of the ordinary and when I got home I ate dinner watched t.v. for a bit and went to bed. As I recall I was having a pretty good nights sleep, and then at 4.30 am(about an hour before my clock would go off) I was tossed right out of bed by a 6.7 earthquake.Northridge Earthquake It was the worst earthquake I had ever been in. When I hit the ground I wanted to stand up but I couldn't so I crawled to the door jam and rode out the quake. Now for those that have never experienced an earthquake it's hard to explain the feeling of going through one but the sound of your house being shaken on it's foundation is one of the loudest and most frightening part of the quake. Everything in your house is on the move and getting tossed around like it weighs nothing. It felt like eternity before the shaking stopped but it did only last about 15 seconds but when it stopped I got to my feet and man was it dark. The power had been knocked out. As I was making my way to the front door I could hear water running from the bathroom but at this point I just wanted out of the house. I found the door and had opened it and was leaving when I heard my roommate calling my name. I had forgot she was there but i was not going back into the house so I held the door knob and stretched out my arm and called her name so she could find me in the dark. We went out to the parking lot to gather with the other people in the parking lot. Everyone was pretty shaken but no one was hurt. About 3 minutes after being outside we could hear a large explosion and saw a giant fireball from a gas line that had exploded a few blocks away. it took a while for me to gather my wits enough to think that I had to go back into the house and check out what the running water sound was. I borrowed a flashlight and went back into my home and found that the toilet tank had broken and the water was running. I quickly turned it off and got the hell out. it was then that I decided that a move to Tucson might not be a bad idea after all.
I made the move to Tucson in July of 1994 and have to say I have grown to love this town very much. I met my wife have a great family and who knows when I retire I might just move back to California. I guess we shall see.
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