In the early 1980's there was a deluge of books on the market indicating California was going to break up, burn up, rock like crazy and absolutely none of it came to pass as indicated in any of the numerous volumes I read.

However, there was one book in particular that wasn't so far off as it touched many types of problems the future would hold. It was called Phoenix Rising by Mary Summer Rain, it was the first of many books she wrote. She mentioned problems with amusement park rides, airplaces and many types of public conveyances and all of these would be brought about by the lack of thorough maintenance. She was right about that. Today most businesses run on a minimum of employees, so they work faster, but not carefully and the public suffers.

Most of the earthquakes people expect like those an the San Andreas just don't materialize. They are in odd places and unexpected like Northridge, Landers, Big Bear and Hector Mines. In the Bay Area the forgotten fault, The San Gregario is as likely to take a leap as any, but little is said about it. It has a lot of potential for a devastating earthquake and a tsunami as well. For those unfamiliar with it, it runs from Monterey Bay to the Marin Headlands. The area is zonal and is about 10 miles wide.

However, sometimes smaller earthquakes in the 6 magnitude range can bring a disaster. I think a 6.0 in Berkeley or Oakland would be quite serious. The fault there is shallow and would create a huge traffic nightmare. Can anyone imagine what it would be like to have the connectors to the Bay Bridge shut down in more than one direction? This is something more realistic.

Learning about earthquake safety taught me not to worry about disasters, just to prepare for them and if and when they happen, you just do what you have to do and carry on.

After all, worrying is a fruitless pursuit. It accomplishes nothing and robs you of valuable time when you could have enjoyed doing something else.

Petra