With the 25th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake just a - TopicsExpress

With the 25th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake just a week away, Im reminded of how vivid my lingering memories are--its hard to believe that 25 years have passed. In 1989, I was a member of the Good Morning America team, and GMA sent me to the Bay Area on World Series assignment. I was staying on the 19th floor of the St. Francis Hotel at Union Square. Having experienced the madness of pre-game traffic congestion during the first two games over in Oakland, I cleverly decided to wait until about the 2nd or 3rd inning to head down to Candlestick for my post-game 3 interviews. So, at 5:04 PM, when the big quake occurred, I was in my room on the 19th floor--and I thought I was going to die! I had spent enough time in CA to know what minor quakes felt like, but I had never before experienced anything like THIS. After freezing in my tracks for about 3 seconds, I decided to RUN down the 19 flights of exit stairs to seek safety at ground level. The moment the quake ended and I regained my composure, I dashed over to ABC-owned KGO-TV, hooked up with a camera crew, and began my coverage for the network. In fact, I was the first network correspondent to interview then-Mayor Art Agnos. During the next several days, as I filed my reports on damage, loss, and recovery, I was continually amazed at the character and resilience of people in the Bay Area. Even in the face of power outages and traffic lights that were not working, Bay Area motorists calmly fell into an alternating pattern at intersections, which allowed traffic to flow as smoothly as possible. I did not witness any incidents of road rage! As life began to return to normal, my reporting assignment turned to the resumption of the World Series, and my earthquake anxiety began to subside--although not completely. I recall one rather memorable live chat with my co-hosts Charlie Gibson and Joan Lunden, who were in GMAs New York studio. They asked me how terrified I felt during the quake. My response was, At the end of that day, I didnt wash my underwear, I burned them. I think that just about says it all.