The Earthquake

One of the earliest stories that I was told about Dan had to do with the 1955 earthquake. It's epicenter was somewhere near Bakersfield and it destroyed that town. I would have been around 4 so Dan would have been around seven.

At that time our house was a very modest two bedroom/one bath with a single car garage. With three kids that presented a problem. Dad would not allow anyone to sleep in the living room (I found out later that he had to sleep in the living room when he grew up and the arraignment was unacceptable to him). So, Bill and Dan shared the front bedroom and I slept in the crib in our parents room. I distinctly remember a large cupboard, probably a counter type cupboard from an office, that split their bedroom in two. They use to have sock wars over it. I am still not sure if it was to separate them or to give them privacy!

Anyway, one morning, very early, Dad wakes up hearing the water in the toilet sloshing. And he yells at Dan to quit playing in the toilet and go back to bed! It was the earthquake! It tells you a great deal that our father's first thought was that Dan was doing something bizarre rather than notice that his bed was moving across the bedroom.

Dan loved to explore, to find places where people hadn't been, to see, smell, touch, or hear things that others had not. He was constantly in motion. Like an earthquake.

That's why trucking suited him. He could keep moving. Where ever he is I hope he is still exploring. I hope he tells me what it is like.