I remember my first earthquake experience, shortly after moving to San Diego.

My wife Kerry and I were sitting in a restaurant by the huge windows overlooking the downtown streets below. Then suddenly, the window started waving, like fluid with nowhere to go. Our table started dancing around with a mind of its own. Nervously, I dived under our table expecting to see Kerry already there; I was alone.

Looking around I was amazed to see everyone continuing on with their meal, as if nothing had happened. Welcome to Southern California.

Years later, we relocated to the Ole Pueblo, Tucson, Arizona. We found it intriguing that folks walked around wearing guns in holsters, cowboy hats, and yes, some preferred horses over automobiles. Snakes, bobcats, javelina and tarantulas were commonly seen hanging around your house trying to survive in this harsh desert environment.

One day, while driving through town, a sudden darkness covered the sky. We were about to experience our first monsoon. As the downpour began, we could hardly see past the front of the car. We quickly parked and waited for the chaos to stop. The road instantly morphed into a torrent river.

Over the next 14 years it wasn’t uncommon for us to see flooded washes flowing beyond their banks, sweeping away trees, cars and yes, the occasional person who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Welcome to Arizona’s great Sonoran Desert.

Eventually, the retirement phase of life arrived. Kerry’s folks were now gone and so we contemplated moving once again. Kerry, after living in Tucson for 14 years never did develop the love for living in the desert. It was now time to relocate and this time Kerry would get to pick our new home. We moved to Jacksonville in 2014 and immediately got plugged into the local lifestyle.

California has its earthquakes and Arizona has monsoons. We quickly learned about the forest fires that regularly occur nearby, some started by lightning strikes and others by the carelessness of man.

While camping at Lake of the Woods, only 45 minutes from our home, a nearby giant fir tree was hit by a bolt of lightning, sending a sonic wave of energy and debris radiating in all directions. That was a close one. The seasonal fire season often pollutes our air quality to the point where staying indoors is not only recommended, but preferred.

During the year 2020, the forest fires came a little close to home for us, literally! There seemed to be fires popping up all over the place and yes, some were only a few miles from where we slept. The nearby towns of Phoenix and Talent were almost completely destroyed.

Evacuation instructions were broken down into three categories; Ready, Set and Go. Ready meant that the fire could potentially reach us, so it was suggested that you take this time to get what you need and load up your vehicle, plan escape routes and wait for instructions. Set meant the call could come at any moment and when it does, you have 15 minutes before needing to leave. And finally Go, which is the point when you have to leave immediately.

Jacksonville reached the Set stage. Luckily, we never did hear the officials declare a Go status.

We connected our camper to the van and loaded up the van and car with all we thought we needed to take with us. As soon as we were loaded up, I did a final walk-around, videotaping each room and its contents, for insurance purposes. Also, during my walk-around I made peace with the idea that everything I was looking at could very well be destroyed.

There would be no more looking back. We had what we needed and said goodbye to the rest. We slept with one eye and one ear open, waiting for the word; it never did come. Welcome to Southern Oregon.

Send us your copy So you say you want to write? Go for it. Send us 500 or so words of scintillating copy. Make it funny. Make it poignant. Make it count. Make it any way you want. Just don’t cuss. Don’t be boring. And have a point. If we like it, we’ll run it. Email submissions to community@rv-times.com. Put “Readers Who Write” in the subject line, and tell us the city where you live.

So you say you want to write?

Go for it.

Send us 500 or so words of scintillating copy. Make it funny. Make it poignant. Make it count. Make it any way you want.

Just don’t cuss. Don’t be boring. And have a point.

If we like it, we’ll run it.

Email submissions to community@rv-times.com. Put “Readers Who Write” in the subject line, and tell us the city where you live.