Toto - I Don't Think We Are In Kansas Anymore

 Originally Published Dec. 2012

The date?  Thursday, March 10, 2011

The time?  11:00 in the evening

Where?  San Diego, California

 

Norm and I are in our rented condo for the month of March.  We had a busy day so Norm went to bed just a few minutes before the 11:00 news started.  I wanted to stay up and listen to the news and especially the weather forecast for Friday since I needed to know how to plan my day – you know – will it be a good day to stay by the pool?... or maybe we’ll have to go to a movie if it’s raining.

Anyway, the news started out with this announcement:  “We bring you breaking news from Japan.  An earthquake measuring 8.9 hit northeastern Japan about 20 minutes ago.  And 15 minutes ago, a tsunami wave poured devastation across the land.”  Then, they showed the pictures of the huge wave and I was mesmerized – not only by the speed of the wave, but, the enormity of the size of the tsunami and all the destruction it left in its trail.  

I watched the news for quite a while and then with a prayer for the safety of the Japanese residents, I went to bed.  

I woke up at 7:45AM and turned on the local news to see what had happened to Japan overnight.  I did not expect to hear that a tsunami advisory had been declared for the San Diego area and that the wave was expected to “hit” us at 8:40 AM.  But, that’s what I heard.  People living next to the ocean had about 40 minutes to “get into the hills.”

Poor Norm.  I ran into the bedroom and woke him up by yelling, “Norm – a tsunami is going to hit us in a half an hour.  We have to get out of here right away!”  Now, remember, Norm was asleep when I had first learned of the earthquake and tsunami last night and I hadn’t bothered to wake him up to tell him about it.  What could we do about it, after all?  

But – to wake up to your wife screaming that we are going to be swept out to sea if we didn’t leave immediately is a little alarming, I’d say.  We didn’t really know what to pack (if anything) or even where to go.  I did remember seeing a series of signs the day before that said, “Tsunami Evacuation Route.”  So, we took the route and drove about six miles high up in the hills and had breakfast at a Denny’s restaurant!  As far as what to bring – I grabbed my jewelry bag that held our money and that was all.  We supposedly didn’t have much time.  After breakfast, we thought we’d better stay away from the ocean and therefore, we spent the rest of the day at Wild Kingdom, the place where you can drive among the animals.

We found it very strange that with a tsunami threatening to attack our shore, no siren or alarm was sounded – no police blocked off entrance to the beach – and no one from the resort complex knocked on our doors to warn us. At least in Minnesota, all the TV stations are interrupting their programs when a tornado or blizzard is coming. Is a tsunami such commonplace that no one gets excited in California?  Don’t know.  No one seemed to care.  No one talked about it.

So, how does one “top” a tsunami?  How about the radioactive fallout from Japan?  Yes, a few days after the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear meltdown, we were again given news that we, the good folks in the San Diego area, could get some radioactive fallout.  Now, how does one get out of the way of a fallout?  Don’t know.  No one seemed to care and no one talked about it.  It was just accepted – just like they react when they learn that an earthquake had just hit California. 

Yes, we were involved in an earthquake – about 30 miles from our condo.  And how did we know it?  Only by hearing the news on the TV:  “A 3.1 earthquake hit Escondido this morning…..”  I didn’t feel a thing!  Evidently, California gets earthquakes all the time and I guess one only feels it when it scores over a 5 or a 6 on the earthquake scale.  

How about snow in Los Angeles?  Yep!  Got that, too.  Actually, our son, David, experienced the snow.  He lives in Reno, Nevada, and we had invited him to stay with us for a few days so he could surf.  He drove through a huge storm in the Sierras on his way to our place.  In fact, one hour after he had gone through Donner Pass, it was closed due to 11 feet of snow.  Then, he drove through three hours of rain with his windshield wipers on high.  He said that he wanted to pull over so many times that he had lost count.  After the rain, came the snow – in Los Angeles.  Granted, not much – but enough to make the TV news and the papers.

Okay – we’ve got a tsunami, radioactive fallout, an earthquake, and snow.  How about a rockslide?  I have to admit that I’m stretching this one a little.  We MISSED a rockslide by one day.  We had decided to go to a casino one afternoon and our GPS took us on the scenic route – winding around the hills that were filled with boulders! – not the little rocks we see around Taylors Falls – these are gigantic boulders the size of your living rooms!  We even wondered at the time what we would do if the rocks would start falling.  We heard on the news the next day that the road we were on would be closed for several days because of a rockslide.

As you can see, California is not Kansas – or Minnesota, for that matter.  We were gone a month and while we had a great time (in spite of a tsunami, radioactive fallout, an earthquake, snow, and a rockslide), after a month, we were ready to go home.  Just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, I wanted to click my heels and say, “Home….. Home……  Toto, let’s go home.”

I missed Home.  I missed Minnesota.  I didn’t miss the ice and the cold.  But, I did miss my family, neighbors, friends, and the FAMILIAR, if that makes any sense.  I missed Belinda Jensen giving me the accurate forecast.  I missed Frank and Amelia 

telling me about what was happening in my town.  I missed the professional, but fun camaraderie between the morning TV anchors on Channel 5.  But, last, but not least, I wanted to pay $3.51 for a gallon of gasoline instead of $4.29!  I’m home and I’m glad to be here.  Until next February -- when I’ll be tired of winter again and will leave for a warmer and sunnier place.  And then I’ll come home again.