OK, there wasn't a tsunami in SF, but there certainly were a lot of people who truly wished for it. This morning all of the local newscasters were trying to outdo one another with their "up to the minute" coverage of the big 2 foot wave that was going to wipe out parts of the bay area beaches. Sure, a little damage was done to a few boats in Santa Cruz but closing the Great Highway for hours because of a small chance of a 2 foot wave surge? Is news that slow these days that all the media could do was really, really hope for something terribly dramatic, something that would be an epic disaster?
I met my excellent friend Vivienne for lunch today at the Beach Chalet, which is a stone's throw from the water at Ocean Beach. Because of the impending killer waves, the Great Highway was still closed at noon. One had to park on a side street in Golden Gate Park and walk a block to the restaurant, quite a hardship, but one must endure these trials during tsunami season, I suppose. There were no cars in the parking lot, no cars anywhere and very few people dining. We got a table right at the window, a perfect viewing place to see the monstrous waves when they finally arrived. We were primed to be awestruck by their ferociousness. While we waited for the onslaught of the wall of water, we were actually quite delighted that the Great Highway was closed. It was a bit eerie; I can't think of another time that that entire stretch of road has been closed completely for such a length of time. It felt like a movie set, like something was going to happen as soon as the cameras started rolling.
Suffice it to say we had a very nice lunch and since we were pretty sure it was going to be the end of Ocean Beach as we knew it, we even had wine with our lunch. Throw caution to the wind when tsunami's are predicted, that was our motto.
Alas, no waves materialized, no wall of water washed anything away. And lest you think I am making light of tsunami's, I am not. Seeing videos of the waves in Japan was frightening, cars and houses just swept aside like cardboard toys. The power of that force is something I hope never to experience personally. But to hear the local media talk about it, we were in grave danger here in SF. We weren't.
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You should have heard the media talking about how the entire west coast of the US was going to be under water. I was awaken by a phone call from Tim at 7am telling me that I needed to call you guys to forewarn you that you should get to higher ground. I asked him how tall the waves were supposed to be. He said 6'. I laughed and said - "Surf's Up Dude!" People in this country THRIVE off the fear of the impending disasters. It's really starting to piss me off, especially when it awakes me from a kick ass dream at 7am.
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