The Day That Shook The Bay: Tales From The Loma Prieta Earthquake

In this special bonus episode, The Day That Shook The Bay: Tales From The Loma Prieta Earthquake, we’re taking a trip back to October 17, 1989, when the Bay Area was rocked by one of California’s most memorable and destructive earthquakes. Jimmy shares his own memories from that day, which involved racing against time on his bike, dodging traffic (and the law), and a visit to court. He was just a teenager trying to navigate the chaos, missing football practice, and blundering into a run-in with a cop. Oh what a day!

It was a day when millions of people were glued to their TVs for the World Series, but all eyes quickly turned to the shaking streets of Northern California. Tune in and join us as we recount our unforgettable moments from the day that shook The Bay. Where where you when "the big one" hit? Let us know. We'd love to hear your stories too!

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Transcript

Jimmy: 0:24

Yo, what's happening? It's your boy, Jimmy, along with Megs, like usual. Hello, there you go. We're not doing very good with our signals, I guess Any of it? Um, yeah, yeah. So we're here to talk today about Loma Prieta and where you were at on this anniversary date. So I guess I'll have to carry this one, because Meg's wasn't even thought of yet. No, she was. Glimmers in her parents' eyes, yeah, so I guess it was. I don't want to say what year you were born in, but I'm going to say she was born much later than 1989. Yeah, which makes me feel really old. You're welcome that I can, you know, keep you on track right for sure, for sure. So love and pray.

Jimmy: 1:35

At earthquake, you know, really, you know, I mean, for lack of a better word, excuse the pun shook up the world that day. You know, the whole world was watching the bay area, um, you know, we had the world series and the giants and the A's, um, people were just going home. It was a pretty electric time in the Bay Area, even though I wasn't living in the Bay Area at the time. I was actually in Tahoe, um, in a barbershop of all places. So I was, um, if you know me. You know that. I know that I'm a little bit of a rebel rouser. I like to ask lots of questions, I like to do lots of things and I like to push the boundaries. We'll say yes, um, and I was just riding home. Uh, so I was my freshman year, it was. But I was riding home earlier the year before on my bike in Lake Tahoe, trying to get my dad home so I can get a ride to football practice. And I was like man, I can't be late, because if I'm late my dad's going to really give it to me. I'm going to be in real big trouble.

Jimmy: 2:49

My dad ran a carpet cleaning business and he had to pick up I don't know, maybe six kids on the way to football practice and we'd all pile into his carpet cleaning van and sit on the hoses and all this weird stuff and honestly, it's just not the safest thing in the world. But definitely, looking back, one of my fondest memories growing up, safest thing in the world, but definitely, looking back one of my fondest memories growing up. I often put on Facebook on hard days that I wish I was sitting in a carbon cleaning van going to football practice because it was just great times. But in order to beat my dad there, I had to ride my bike pretty fast and aggressive. So I drove across Highway 50, lake Tahoe Boulevard the main drag in Tahoe and cut a couple cars off and then I started riding my bike down the wrong side of the road to make the left turn to the little side street to get to my house where we were living at the time, when I was in the middle of the lane trying to cross the lane, I saw my dad's carpet van coming up so I knew he was going to beat me. So I was like I got to get really aggressive now. So I go, cut across traffic, do all the things I just talked about.

Jimmy: 4:02

Well, there's a police officer there waiting for me. He said I thought you were going to get hit, stay right there, get off your bike. Thought you were going to get hit, stay right there, get off your bike. And he made me stand there and put my hands on the hood and I was like, oh my God. And then my dad made the turn and stopped and said is he being arrested? And the police officer goes no, I'm just going to write him a ticket because I thought he was going to die and my dad goes he might when he gets hope. And the police officer laughed, laughed just like you did, and goes cool. And then my dad looked at me and just gave me like this disapproving shaking head, nod like, and I was like, oh man, I'm in trouble. I know I'm in trouble. I know I'm in trouble. So you know, the gentleman writes me a ticket. It's for riding my bike on the wrong side of the road. That's literally what my ticket was for, because that's all he could get me for. So he writes me a ticket, I go home, I get in big trouble. You know, I live my life, go through the whole summer.

Jimmy: 5:09

Finally I have to go to court and the day I go to court is the day of Loma Prieta. So my parents picked me up, my mom picks me up from school and goes man, you need a haircut. You can't go to court with your hair the way it is. This is the same lady that I fell and broke my arm playing outside when I was younger before this, and she'd make me take a shower before she took me to the emergency room with my broken arm because I was too filthy, mm-hmm. And you know, I thought she was going to get judged or something like that. But you know I digress.

Jimmy: 5:45

So I'm sitting in the barbershop getting ready to go to court and I'm leaning on this ashtray that TV shakes and the signal goes out and it's the famous broadcast, you know, the sportscaster talking before the game. And then it's like, oh my god, I think we're having an earthquake, you know. And then I feel it shake in Tahoe, up in the mountain right, and I was like this is a big earthquake and like the thing's moving, like I've felt earthquakes before, being spending summers here with my grandparents, and the lady next to me goes oh my god, is that an earthquake? And I was like, nope, a big truck just drove by, like because I'm a sarcastic jerk, you know I'm 15 years old, and so he shakes. And then you know I get my haircut and I go to court and I get.

Jimmy: 6:42

I don't think I got in trouble, I think I just got a hand slap. And the police officer was actually there and he was like I literally just wrote him a ticket because he was almost got hit and wrote the ticket because he was almost got hit and I, in my opinion, almost got hit and he just needed to be approved a lesson. The judge was like, is this lesson good enough? And then he lectured me a little bit, if I remember right, and then I got to go home, but, um, yeah, and then we watched the craziness of Lone Reader on the news yeah, you know. So, um, but then I got in way more trouble the next day cause I hadn't missed football practice. To go to court. And my coach was like you went to court why? And I said told him, cause I rode my bike on the wrong side of the road. He thought I was lying to him and he made me like, do extra conditioning and all this other stuff. So like that was way worse than going to court. Oh, no, um, so that's where I was, at lower prieta, you know.

Jimmy: 7:38

I was a freshman in high school, um, going in a barbershop a barbershop I think jenny was. She was in santa cruz, I think she was swimming, or something like that. I think she was in Santa Cruz, I think she was swimming, or something like that. I think she was on the swim team, dive team, and I think she was swimming. If I remember right, yeah, that'd be pretty wild to be in a pool in Santa Cruz, a couple miles from the epicenter. It's terrifying. Yeah, right, so leave us a comment. Let us know where you were at on Lone Prieta, any memories, things like that and we'll catch you on the next one Later.