Folinazzo

It was the weirdest thing. I was half-awake, just lying in bed, and I felt the bed moving - not really shaking, but moving. Mark had already left for work so I continued to lie there with my eyes shut, thinking it was the dog, who normally sleeps in the bed with us (I know, he’s spoiled), just scratching himself. I sat up to tell him to stop and I noticed he wasn’t in the bed with me. I looked over and there he was, fast asleep on the floor. I thought, “Ok, what the hell….??” To prove I wasn’t losing my mind, I lay down again but the bed was still moving! It wasn’t as strong this time and I felt a weird sensation, almost like a tingling feeling, in my lower legs. Then I started thinking that maybe I did something weird and screwed up my calves at yoga class last night. But would that cause my whole bed to move?? I finally got up and started about my morning routine when my mother called to me from downstairs. She said, “Francesca, the whole house was shaking!” I won’t tell you where she was or what she was doing at the time (hee hee…) but she said it felt as if the foundation were going to cave in. That’s when I said, “We had an earthquake!”

I immediately turned on WGN radio, AM 720, and people were already calling in reporting the same experience as I had. The station hadn’t received any official word yet at that point but it wasn’t long before we learned that we had experienced an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was about seven miles outside of West Salem, Illinois (about 45 miles NW of Evansville, Indiana). Knowing now that there have been no reports of injuries or major damage, I can say that it was pretty damn cool. I’m a geek so I’m amazed by science and the natural world; stuff like this is right up my alley. It was the first time I ever felt an earthquake. There was another measurable earthquake in the area in 1987. I remember when it happened but I didn’t actually feel anything. At the time, Mom and I were shopping at the mall in North Riverside. But I definitely felt the one today!

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