the Summer of twenty-ten (part IV)

September 9 - one month ago

I was home, my day off. I'd been running around all day, buying flowers and supplies for the wedding (more on that later), getting the flowers cooled and in buckets, etc. I was in my apartment when there came an immediately identifiable sound: jet engine, very close. Weird, I thought in that split second, that it keeps coming. While nearby, they don't usually fly right over this area - especially on a sunny day. And then the sound did not get quieter, nor louder, and then a BOOM. Running to the window, I looked northwest in the direction of the sound. Above the roofline of the adjacent building I saw the column of smoke.

I ran out of the apartment and down the stairs, bare feet, no keys. I wanted to get to where I could see better. Well, the view was no better from 3 floors down on the sidewalk than it was in my apartment, but I could tell better where it was. Clearly, it was part of my neighborhood, not in my section, but on the other side of San Bruno Ave.

(click to enlarge)
'A' is where the blast happened; 'B' is my street.
this also encompasses my parents' home (near the oval track
in the SE corner) and my church (just SW of 'B')

The next hour or so are a blur. Neighbors who came outside the same time as me let me back into the building. I turned on the t.v. - and was frustrated initially that there was nothing there, just the evening news. I called Mom and Dad - they were fine, and had an excellent view of the smoke and fire. Dad was sure it was not an airplane - the theory I was going on - but a gas line. (How right he was.) I called T. to tell him that San Bruno was going to be on the news, what I knew, and that I was safe. All this time, and for about 2 hours, the roar of the "jet engine" did not cease.

Finally, the news of the explosion came on - reporting a possible plane crash (per local reports, based on the sound we all heard) or maybe a gas station explosion. They showed some initial photos... just smoke, no perspective or landmarks. And then there was an aerial shot, panning from Lunardi's and the [intact] gas station, across San Bruno Ave, and down Glenview... to Claremont... where my friends the Bullis family were.
No.
No, no, no, oh no.

Will, Sue, Janine and Greg, at Janine's college graduation, June 2009

Will, with his dad Greg looking on, in 2006 at Bethany's 50th anniversary

I posted on facebook that we were safe some time before the power went out. With no lights, I decided I wanted to be with my parents - just in case. From their elevation, I could indeed see the fire. I stood on the hill behind their house and watched - I don't know for how long. I saw the airplanes come in, bombing the fire with retardant, over and over again, for at least an hour. I prayed. And I hoped that Lavonne, Sue, Greg and Will were somewhere, anywhere else at that hour.

Lavonne at one of our 1st Saturday dinners

Mom & Dad's phone kept ringing, and several of the calls were robo-calls from the sheriff's department, announcing a voluntary evacuation for all within ¾ of a mile of the explosion. They decided that they would stay in place - and I'd decided that I was sticking with them for the duration. Calls from my sister, reassuring her that I'd take care of the folks if need be, making sure that her father-in-law had someone with him. Checked on my friend Anne, who lives very near, but above, the blast. Called my kids, who had not yet heard of the explosion. I told A., "just look up; you can see the smoke from anywhere you are right now". I went home to pack a bag, finding 4 voice mails: 2 from the sheriff, one from a dear friend from the Woods, one from a reporter for the Examiner. We had take-out dinner. I did not take any photos. I did not sleep well in my old bedroom.

Next morning we learned that Sue was safe. She was at work in a late meeting. A search was on for the others. I think we all knew that they were no longer on Earth, but still we waited for official word. It did not come for nearly a week. Sunday, we all gathered for church. It was packed. It was surreal. It was comforting. It was agonizing. It was sacred. It was so, so beautiful to all be together, even in our grief.

Will and Janine, with friend Michelle (R), at a chilly beach party for First Saturday

Lavonne (R) with friends K. and B. at that same beach party.
I didn't realize until I went searching for these photos:
Lavonne joined in the fun for MANY of our 1st Saturday events!

(It was not unexpected that there might be unfamiliar faces among us in worship, but it turned out that three of those were members of the press. They were quite persistent - inappropriately so. The invasion of the neighborhood by helicopters and small aircraft would be so relentless that I found myself raging at them over those first several days - a sign of some PTSD on my part.)

my roofline and one of the ever-present choppers

Next: a blessed union, a blessed distraction.