Years of academy training, wasted!
Yesterday I was able to cross something new off of my list of things to do: survive an earthquake. Of course, I thought I might be somewhere more exotic than the Mid-Atlantic to fulfil this one, but I'll take it.
To be fair, it is only amusing and exciting in hindsight. In real time, I felt, and I don't admit this often, but, scared. I hated the feelings the experience gave me. And I've come up with several reasons why. But I guess I should begin with the story.
Several things happened at once. I was in our local mall for the first time in literal years, so I entered it like a foreigner, interested to see what had changed. Secondly, I was surprised, with no offense to her, (because I certainly didn't know where we were going) that my mom immediatly escorted us to the exact place we meant to be without any fuss. Marveling at the mall and our swift arrival with the neice and nephews in tow, the third strange thing happened, in that the floor began to shake.
It is wonderous where the mind goes at such times, as the jingling of the jewelry department and the low grumble all around us increased. My nephew (9) suggested a sumo wrestler had gotten mad. My mind, though, sadly went to far more likely scenarios, and more sadly, earthquake was not among my top three. Until earthquake was suggested, it was all down to bombs and terrorism to me. In the 15-30 seconds it took to stop, a myriad of things crossed my mind; exits, whether we should exit, what exactly was going on, and how to protect my family.
One thing I really didn't like, is how out of control I felt about the whole thing. I hated that I didn't know what to do and that I looked to the other equally useless members of the public to cue me into how to react to our siuation. But everyone around us looked equally dumbfounded and confused. All of my knowledge was buried under a pile of temporary panic, and after a few tentative minutes of consideration, we continued on as usual, as if we lived in LA and this kind of thing happened all the time. This whole 'not knowing what to do' thing really bothers me on a personal level as I am an emergency planner, the paramedic, the problem solver. I bring order to chaos (on a finite scale) all the time, and yesterday, I really wasn't sure where to turn. I wasn't sure what to do when my most beloved people in the world were at risk.
Within the next ten minutes, the information came trickling in, 5.8, northern Virgina, and if people felt it while on the highway (they didn't.) Once it was confirmed as an earthquake, we were like, 'okay', made our purchase and went straight home. We managed not to panic the kiddos either. They thought it was cool right away, and were still hoping to glimpse the sumo wrestler. It wasn't until we left that we realized our phones weren't working properly and that maybe something serious could have happened.
It wasn't until I was on my way to work today, that I thought back to when I read the first few pages of the 9/11 report. It didn't take long for me to feel nauseous and stay up half the night with worry, so I stopped reading it. But. Something I do remember is that the people in the tower that wasn't initially hit (but felt shaking and swaying, etc.) did one of two things (basically.) They either immediatly left, thinking something wasn't right and they should probably get out (survived), or, carried on as usual thinking nothing of it (did not survive.) Now, this is extremely grim, but what did I do when the building I was in shook in a suspicious manner? Nothing. What a great example for an emergency planner to set! Technically, we did the right thing for an earthquake, stay put and wait it out and stay away from big stuff. But I didn't think it was an earthquake initally and I guess that makes me a pessimist, or a realist, or something.
But I guess, despite training and knowledge, I psychologically did what all other lemmings do. Seek comfort in the actions of others. I think we Americans like to say 'no big deal!' to lots of things, hence we carried on as usual. But I think next time, I might think a little more carefully.
I did think about demanding that those around me use their smart phones to figure out what had happened. I did think that if it were my doomsday scenario we were slightly safter inside. And this all has gotten me thinking of how well we are prepared as individuals.
When it comes down to it, perhaps we will not have the government or the media to tell us what to do, but will have to think and plan for ourselves. Especially when we are out and about and all we may have are the contents of our pockets to get us through. When you are in it, it is difficult to see the big picture. Could we have stepped outside and seen the mall fall down, a cloud of smoke in the distance, a plague of locusts? Who knows?
Of course, I'm not going to build an Anderson Shelter in my back yard or stock my basement with spam, but I will give it some thought. I could embody another American sterotype, that of self reliance, a bit more fully.
I think that's all I wanted to rant about, and I am sorry it got on a bit, but I think it makes sense and is worth a ponder. Yes, I've now felt an earthquake, and yes, it did scare me. And, on a side note, it did feel and sound just like that simulator at the Natural History Museum.
My house was fine, and after nearly 100 years of standing, already had cracks in the ceiling, so I'm not sure if any are new. My playmobile ambulance did roll off of it's shelf, but survived the ordeal. The greatest loss so far are the finials at the National Cathedral and the renewed loss of innocence I have when I felt for a moment that I was in the middle of something very real and very serious.
To be fair, it is only amusing and exciting in hindsight. In real time, I felt, and I don't admit this often, but, scared. I hated the feelings the experience gave me. And I've come up with several reasons why. But I guess I should begin with the story.
Several things happened at once. I was in our local mall for the first time in literal years, so I entered it like a foreigner, interested to see what had changed. Secondly, I was surprised, with no offense to her, (because I certainly didn't know where we were going) that my mom immediatly escorted us to the exact place we meant to be without any fuss. Marveling at the mall and our swift arrival with the neice and nephews in tow, the third strange thing happened, in that the floor began to shake.
It is wonderous where the mind goes at such times, as the jingling of the jewelry department and the low grumble all around us increased. My nephew (9) suggested a sumo wrestler had gotten mad. My mind, though, sadly went to far more likely scenarios, and more sadly, earthquake was not among my top three. Until earthquake was suggested, it was all down to bombs and terrorism to me. In the 15-30 seconds it took to stop, a myriad of things crossed my mind; exits, whether we should exit, what exactly was going on, and how to protect my family.
One thing I really didn't like, is how out of control I felt about the whole thing. I hated that I didn't know what to do and that I looked to the other equally useless members of the public to cue me into how to react to our siuation. But everyone around us looked equally dumbfounded and confused. All of my knowledge was buried under a pile of temporary panic, and after a few tentative minutes of consideration, we continued on as usual, as if we lived in LA and this kind of thing happened all the time. This whole 'not knowing what to do' thing really bothers me on a personal level as I am an emergency planner, the paramedic, the problem solver. I bring order to chaos (on a finite scale) all the time, and yesterday, I really wasn't sure where to turn. I wasn't sure what to do when my most beloved people in the world were at risk.
Within the next ten minutes, the information came trickling in, 5.8, northern Virgina, and if people felt it while on the highway (they didn't.) Once it was confirmed as an earthquake, we were like, 'okay', made our purchase and went straight home. We managed not to panic the kiddos either. They thought it was cool right away, and were still hoping to glimpse the sumo wrestler. It wasn't until we left that we realized our phones weren't working properly and that maybe something serious could have happened.
It wasn't until I was on my way to work today, that I thought back to when I read the first few pages of the 9/11 report. It didn't take long for me to feel nauseous and stay up half the night with worry, so I stopped reading it. But. Something I do remember is that the people in the tower that wasn't initially hit (but felt shaking and swaying, etc.) did one of two things (basically.) They either immediatly left, thinking something wasn't right and they should probably get out (survived), or, carried on as usual thinking nothing of it (did not survive.) Now, this is extremely grim, but what did I do when the building I was in shook in a suspicious manner? Nothing. What a great example for an emergency planner to set! Technically, we did the right thing for an earthquake, stay put and wait it out and stay away from big stuff. But I didn't think it was an earthquake initally and I guess that makes me a pessimist, or a realist, or something.
But I guess, despite training and knowledge, I psychologically did what all other lemmings do. Seek comfort in the actions of others. I think we Americans like to say 'no big deal!' to lots of things, hence we carried on as usual. But I think next time, I might think a little more carefully.
I did think about demanding that those around me use their smart phones to figure out what had happened. I did think that if it were my doomsday scenario we were slightly safter inside. And this all has gotten me thinking of how well we are prepared as individuals.
When it comes down to it, perhaps we will not have the government or the media to tell us what to do, but will have to think and plan for ourselves. Especially when we are out and about and all we may have are the contents of our pockets to get us through. When you are in it, it is difficult to see the big picture. Could we have stepped outside and seen the mall fall down, a cloud of smoke in the distance, a plague of locusts? Who knows?
Of course, I'm not going to build an Anderson Shelter in my back yard or stock my basement with spam, but I will give it some thought. I could embody another American sterotype, that of self reliance, a bit more fully.
I think that's all I wanted to rant about, and I am sorry it got on a bit, but I think it makes sense and is worth a ponder. Yes, I've now felt an earthquake, and yes, it did scare me. And, on a side note, it did feel and sound just like that simulator at the Natural History Museum.
My house was fine, and after nearly 100 years of standing, already had cracks in the ceiling, so I'm not sure if any are new. My playmobile ambulance did roll off of it's shelf, but survived the ordeal. The greatest loss so far are the finials at the National Cathedral and the renewed loss of innocence I have when I felt for a moment that I was in the middle of something very real and very serious.
Comments
What example were you going to set - round everyone up so we could all stand together with the vacant looks on our faces? Don't be so hard on yourself! I'm a Mom, someone who has spent a lifetime trying to protect the ones I love. I think we did just fine - we survived and we didn't panic the children, so give us some credit! If things had progressed, you would have jumped into action!
Oh yes - I MAY forgive the "fuss" comment since you included me in the "most beloved people" statement. You were talking about me,too, weren't you. . . .???
And in answer to your second question, of course!