Elvis Blog – Post #72 – The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake – Part 2

ELVIS QUOTE:
“I enjoy reading. I don’t usually read the type of books other people read. I read a lot of philosophy and some poetry. I just read a book Leaves of Gold. It’s by different people and their different philosophies on life and death. That type of stuff interest me, getting these different people’s opinions.”

ELVIS TRIVIA:
What singer wrote a #1 hit about being received at “Graceland”?

ELVIS HISTORY:
June 17 The first of many Elvis Fan clubs were organized. One by Marion Keisker (Sun Records) and one by Valerie Harms. June Carter, Anita Carter, and Martha Carson were managed by the colonel and they toured with Elvis at this time. Red West supposedly broke into June’s house to sleep and eat. She didn’t mind.

REMEMBERING Tuesday 17 October 1989:
The Loma Prieta Earthquake Part 2:
Of course, the number one rule in an earthquake—do not take an elevator and stay off the stairs—get under a sturdy table. Really? I had left work to go to Alameda Island, taking the Cypress Freeway, as usual. When the 15 seconds of shaking started, I knew it was the BIG ONE. I am not sure how we all knew that. Maybe because we had been through so many little ones. Those that rolled, those that jerked, those that started with a loud boom. The advice we always got was get into a doorway. Comedians love to jest about the fact that after a quake we don’t see only doorways standing among the rubble. The other long-held belief, in Berkeley, is that when there is a big one, run to the window and you can see ALAMEDA ISLAND sink to the bottom of San Francisco Bay. Anyway, I ran down the stairs like everyone else in my building. The apartment was on Shoreline Drive, and as the name suggests, right on the water. The only “damage” to my building was someone had pressed the elevator button and a soup-like mix of sand and water sucked up the elevator mechanism. It’s called liquefaction. I headed for San Francisco. By the next morning, entrepreneurs had T-shirts already printed and ready for sale with the words SEVEN-POINT ONE. As anyone who has lived in THE BAY AREA for a while knows, earthquakes always get downgraded after the initial Richter scale reading. This one was settled on 6.9. I bought a T-shirt and was so proud of it I took it to Spain with me later, but it was stolen along with everything else in my rental car. We had intended to see the running of the bulls, but were relieved of our suitcases in a well-guarded, crowded parking lot at noon. Go figure.

JOKE OF THE DAY:
A redneck took a special SAT test for admission to a Military Academy.
Question: “Old MacDonald had a what?”
Answer: Farm.
Question: How do you spell that?
Answer: “E-I-E-I-O.”

RECIPE OF THE DAY:
Fat-Free Dip:
You’ll need pink beans & a roasted red pepper
Puree 1 15 oz can pink beans, rinsed & drained well, with ¼ C roasted red pepper, 1 T. lime juice, 2 tsp ground cumin, & 1/8 tsp salt
Top with cilantro
Makes 1 ½ cup

TRIVIA ANSWER:
Paul Simon