“It wasn’t raining 
when Noah 
built the ark.” 
Howard Ruff

A few days ago, I posted an article on this blog about the uncertainty of what we might experience in terms of weather over the next several months. Three different readers responded with basically the same question: Given the reality and randomness of earthquakes in California, aren’t you accustomed to feeling uncertain about the dangers of “acts of nature”?

This is an excellent question. One would certainly think this would be the case, but most Californians, myself included, while well aware of the potential danger of a sizable, destructive earthquake, are alarmingly unprepared for such an incident. 

In the months following the Loma Prieta quake that rocked northern California on October 17, 1989, scientists predicted that the San Francisco Bay Area will more than likely experience a quake 7.0 or greater on the Richter scale “within thirty years.” Well, it’s now been almost 37 years since those predictions were made. Sadly, I think, most of us still have this misguided hope that it will never happen — at least, not in our lifetime. 

Eckhart Tolle extolls the virtues of living in the present moment. We are told that the past is behind us, so don’t dwell on it, and the future is not yet a reality, so don’t worry about it. All we really have to focus on is the present. While this mindset has value, Howard Ruff’s words quoted above continue to rattle around in my mind.

Growing up in California, I experienced a lifetime of earthquake preparedness drills. School children still practice their response to an earthquake on, in many schools, a monthly basis. In my early years, the mantra was “Drop, Duck, and Cover,” with the emphasis being to cover our heads. In later years, recognizing the reality of new, lightweight student desks which had greater potential to bounce around and away from the student during a real temblor, the go-to phrase used today is “Drop, Cover, and Hold.” Still, there is an emphasis on covering one’s head, but it’s essential that students hold on to their desk to keep it from bouncing away from them.

This laid-back attitude of most Californians to the potential danger we face every day is both intriguing and dangerous. No one wants to be a pessimist. No one wants to live in fear of what might happen from one day to the next. We want to live life to the fullest, to make the most of every day, and, when the time comes, if it does, to deal with it to the best of our ability.

The State of California even has a website specifically designed to help residents prepare for what many refer to as “the big one.”  Perhaps it would be wise for me (us) to visit the site for reminders of things we can do in advance of such an emergency. This certainly seems like a prudent thing to do.