I never feared earthquakes, so naturally I predicted the Sylmar (California) ‘quake of February 9, 1971. Prior to the earthquake, Mom and I were traveling around the area of Interstate 5 (1-5) and Balboa Avenue, just north of Sylmar. Mom and I saw the new freeway overpasses that were being built, way up in the air. I told Mom I was never going over those monsters. The kiss of death …

It couldn’t have been more than a couple weeks later when out of the blue; I thought I felt the house shaking. If a person simply walked across the balcony the house would rock and roll! I became scared to death and burst into tears. A girlfriend was spending the night in mid-January, and I had a terribly realistic dream about an earthquake. My bedroom had a door that led outside onto the galleria that stretched the length of the house. In the dream all was black, and I was struggling to unlock the door and wake Sue. I woke out of the dream paralyzed with fear.

I missed Mom’s birthday (January 27), so I gave her an IOU – wash the van, pick the first daffodils of spring and put in a vase – typical kid-redeemable stuff. The last “coupon” was for a surprise that she would receive on, let’s see now, I know! February 9! I bought her a shower cap.

The morning of February 9 I was trying to catch some more sleep before I had to get up for school. I felt the house shake a bit, and thought, “Hope that was an earthquake, maybe it will take the pressure off the ‘big one’.” The next second I heard Mom screaming “Get out of the house! Earthquake!” When your home is a cantilevered stilt house perched on the side of a hill, doorways are not the answer. Suddenly, all was black; I was struggling at the door, trying to find my cat Delilah to get her out. The noise was what alerted Mom first: several dozen freight trains barreling down on us! As I emerged from the house, jumping up the embankment that led down to the galleria, I screamed, “It’s just like my dream! It’s just like my dream!”

My next earthquake happenstance occurred after we had moved north to the mining town of El Dorado. I came home from High School mad as can be about something and I through myself down on my bed proclaiming to God to just cover me up with an earthquake. That very moment I felt the Oroville EQ, about 70 miles north. I immediately begged God for forgiveness.

The last semi-prediction came one early September morning circa 1993-96 when my cat Binkley “alerted” me to the Markleeville ‘quake which shook our widows, even though the epicenter was through Sierra granite and some 80 miles east.

I know one thing, if I’m in LA or San Francisco and get a weird vibe, I’m outta there!