Whittier Narrows...I won't forget that one easily. I was about 15 miles south of the epicenter.

I had just arrived at tech school on my Harley. I had set my helmet on the seat and had gone around to the right side of the bike to undo the bunjees holding down my tackle box full of electronics for class. My helmet fell off to the other side so I leaned over the bike, grabbed it, and set it back on the seat. It only stayed a few seconds. Just as I was leaning over to grab it again, the bike jumped. If I hadn't been leaning against it I dare say it would have fell over to the right. I was puzzled for a split second until I realized we were having an earthquake. I grabbed the handlebars to steady the bike. And looked around me. The light poles were all swaying. The trees were shaking. The huge glass windows on the school building were waving. Until then I'd have never thought glass could buckle and warp so much without breaking. It was like looking at fun-house mirrors. People were yelling at other people to get off the stairs. I was at one end of the parking lot and turn to look to those yelling. That's when I noticed the waves. Yes, the parking lot was waving up and down. Seemed like they were about a foot high and maybe 30-50 yards from crest to crest. I could see them coming right at me. I just stood there awestruck. Then it was over, and after a few minutes when the staff determined the building was safe, it was into class, punctuated by the frequent aftershocks.

I wasn't "into" earthquakes then. Years later I experienced Northridge and Landers. It wasn't until the late 90's when I was finally on the Internet that the spark was finally lit. I think there had been some other moderate quakes that made me start looking for information. Then there was Hector Mine in 1999 and that just poured the fuel on. It's been a fun ride ever since.

Brian