Loma Prieta 20th Anniversary

On October 17th, 1989 the streets of San Francisco trembled and shook as if shivering in fear. The bridge tore itself apart. There were no cell phones, there was only the heavy weight of silence. The floor slid like ice. The glass in the windows bent and slithered as if it were dancing to the reverberations of a heavy bass. The leaves fell. The dogs barked. The air was thick.

There were gas leaks and electricity burn outs. There was darkness. There was fear.

But there were beautiful things too. People held each other close. They pressed their lips to the cheeks and lips of those around them. They cried like babbling brooks, laughing as they went. They came together and showed the depths of the human spirit, helping one another up, turning of the gas at a neighbor's house, listening to the radio together in silence. They kept each other close as if fearing that they would never see their neighbors or friends again; as if anyone could disappear at any moment. One can only hope that if such a thing were to happen again tomorrow, we would act the same. We would open our arms and come together. We would cry into the shirts of strangers and laugh at the fragility of everything that we thought was solid. We would be grateful for everything we have. We would smell the gas free air, we would tread around the broken glass, we would pull our rations together and feed each other like we were family, all over again.

Location: San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.