Thursday, April 24, 2008

SHAKING THINGS UP

Until today, I was an earthquake virgin.

I felt my first while climbing the stairs in a medical building.

These particular stairs are adjacent to the elevator, and as I climbed, I felt some rumbling and thought to myself, What a rickety, loud elevator. Shakes the whole place. Take the stairs people!

And when I walked into the office I was to call on and saw the staff braced against walls, I thought—well, actually, I thought nothing of it. I approached the glass sliders guarding the front desk, and immediately a staff member lurched toward me, gliding the door open, Don’t stand too close to the glass! she squealed—It’s been rattling a lot in these quakes.

These quakes?

We had one?

We had more than one?

They were abuzz, checking the internet to see how strong the earthquakes had been. Sitting in the back of the office, waiting to see the doctor, I heard MAs twittering about a 4.1! on the Richter Scale. Right here in Reno! And a 3.8 in Verdi!

The DXA technician had bright eyes, beginning to tear up as she put a hand to her breast, as if that would steady her fearful tachycardia. The phlebotomist came out of her cave to brag about not stopping her draw when she felt “the big one.”

I thought to myself We Reno people (I call myself that when it serves my purposes) are wusses. When Whit and Ethan in SoCal feel quakes larger than this, they don’t rise from the couch, they reach out a toe to steady the lamp and pick their soda’s off the side table to avoid a spill. When the shaking stops, they release the lamp and set the soda down, declining to even comment on the common event.

Not us. We’re titillated over a 4.1er.

3 comments:

Jaime Stephens said...

ooohh wow I am not quite sure what I would do...

Courtney said...

Hey Meg,
I heard about this on the news....considered calling....to make sure markie and meg were alive and well....forgot about about calling....now that you've reminded me....truly glad y'all are alive and well! Who knew Reno could be so exciting?? Love Ya!

Andrea said...

I was just watching the news and it says there is another one coming your way...be careful!