Oral+History+Reflection

It's interesting to see how little I actually knew about the earthquake until now. The entire city of Los Angeles was changed, just two years before I was born, and I didn't even know. As my mom mentioned earlier in the interview, she had to have earthquake preparedness kits, cabinets needed latches, armoires had special straps, and wall art had Velcro tape. None of that was around before 1994 - it was a completely different environment.

It's also interesting to imagine my mother during the earthquakes. What was going through her mind at the time? Was she scared of what could happen to her house, or friends, or family, or self, or was she devoid of emotions from the shock and fear of the situation? What were her neighbors like after the quake? Did they help each other out? I get the impression that even under the circumstances of racial insensitivity (exhibited in the 1992 Los Angeles Riots), Los Angeles still wanted to unite to some degree. It's to imagine without being there, but I imagine that a feeling of togetherness had swept over the city like a warm, protective blanket.

Lastly, the knowledge that my mother could have been killed, therefore resulting in me never being born, really makes me come to terms with mortality. My existence is just by the chance that my mother lived. And it isn't like she was kinda far from the quake and was never in any real danger - she was a mere 15 miles from the epicenter! The house I would later live in was yellow-tagged! I was just 15 miles away from nearly never being born; the knowledge that I could have never been born is rather interesting. Anything I've already done, or am yet to do, will never have occurred. Lastly, I feel this was an important experience because I will be moving back to LA this July. It's important to know a bit about the culture and history of a city before you live in it, correct? The history of LA is rich with dramatic events like the quake in 1994 - and there will be more dramatic events to follow. Someday, I'll live through one of these events, and then I'll be able to tell the story to my children, and it will be passed on through oral history.