Author: Rob Says

A man who loves and likes women.

Earthquake SLC 3/18/2020

Rob Says1 Comment
gray concrete building
Salt Lake didn’t get hit as bad as this place.

At around 7:15am on Wednesday, March 18th 2020, a 5.7 earthquake hit Salt Lake City. The epicenter was approximately 3 miles from Magna, which is where I grew up and was approximately 2 miles from my home and another 2 miles from my work.

I was sitting in my work truck getting ready to start my day when I felt the truck moving up and down slightly. It was like someone had jumped on the back bumper and was bouncing the truck, messing with me. I looked in the mirrors and couldn’t see anyone and then the truck started shaking and bouncing violently. It felt like something had hit the truck in the back. For a moment I thought another truck had hit me, and hit me hard.

Then it was over.

I opened the door and saw my co-workers standing around, looking around, looking at anything and everything and I heard one of them say, “earthquake.”

I got out and made sure everyone was okay and checked my surroundings. The powerlines over our parking lot were still swaying a little bit. Otherwise, everything seemed to be okay. Traffic was still moving on California Avenue, and Bangerter Highway had the usual morning backup. Nothing seemed amiss.

I drove over to the gas station where we fuel up and that’s when I felt the first aftershock. It wasn’t anywhere near as violent as that first one, but it was unmistakable. And it was unnerving.

Everyone in the gas station was talking about it, it even topped the coronavirus stuff. Getting ready to leave the gas station I felt another aftershock. Much smaller than that first aftershock, but still noticeable.

I drove up to my first job and called my Dad to see if he was okay as he still lives in Magna. He answered and told me he was fine. He had been brushing his teeth at the time of the original quake. I asked him if he would drive past my house and check on the structure and see if any windows were broken or if the building was still standing. Maybe I was overreacting a little bit, but that’s what was going through my mind. That and my poor cats. I was wondering how they were doing.

About an hour later my work called and told me to come back to base. We were calling it a day. The earthquake had done sufficient damage to some structures that businesses and the government alike were telling people not to go into downtown Salt Lake if they could help it and to stay out of two story buildings or taller. We were being told to shelter in place. That’s what the alerts that went out over my phone said.

I got back to base around 9:15am and the power was out. Apparently quite a bit of the valley had their power knocked out. Some are still without power at the time that I’m writing this.

Driving home was a joke. Traffic was a mess, and not just because of the morning rush hour commute.

I got home around 10:00am to find my house a mess. Most of the contents of my freezer were on the kitchen floor. A bag of ice was melting there. Most of the drawers and cabinets were open, like someone had ransacked my house, looking for stuff to steal.

One cat was hidden under the bed. He came out with some gentle coaxing. My other cat had squeezed under my chest of drawers. Getting her out was something else.

My toilet had been leaking, there was water all over the bathroom floor, but with a little wrenching I got that fixed.

Since I’ve been home, there have been at least 4 more aftershocks. A small one while I had been fixing my toilet and three while I have been writing this. The last one was fairly decent. It knocked some things down that I had just put back in place not more than an hour ago.

The aftershocks haven’t been nearly as bad as the original quake, but I have to be honest, they are really unnerving. Things start to settle down and seem to go back to “normal,” and then boom…An aftershock hits and everything is uncertain again.

I don’t know how long these aftershocks will go on. I don’t know if they will go on for a few hours or if they will go on for days. Sleeping tonight is going to be interesting to say the least. That’s if I sleep at all.

One of the worst parts of this besides the not knowing if and when another aftershock is going to hit, is the fact that there is absolutely nothing you can do about them. You can’t prevent them. You can’t stop them. All you can do is brace yourself and get in a doorway. It’s freaky to say the least.

I’ve grown up with earthquakes. They aren’t uncommon in Utah. I’ve grown up hearing that we are “overdue.” Supposedly there is supposed to be a “big one” that could hit us at any time. One that is big enough that it could do serious damage to the entire valley. I’ve heard that my entire life here, and my parent’s heard it their entire lives.

I can remember several other earthquakes over the years, but this one is definitely one of the biggest in a long time. And those aftershocks… Those are what are bugging me.

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St. Patrick’s Day, Salt Lake City, and COVID-19

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photo of gas masks

Tuesday March 17th is and was St. Patrick’s Day. It was for all accounts just like any other St. Patrick’s Day except:

There was no parade. All the bars and taverns were closed. And there was literally no people around, let alone wearing green.

I went to work like I always do, I work 4-10’s, so I have Saturday’s, Sunday’s and Monday’s off, so Tuesday is my Monday. Going in to work was pretty much like any other day that I have gone in to work. Traffic was pretty much the same as it always was. Same volume of traffic and same speed.

Getting to the job was uneventful, but from there everything started taking on a bit of the surreal.

First off, we had a meeting, which isn’t unusual at all except that this time it was held in the warehouse instead of in the conference room. All so that we could keep that 6 foot “social distance” that has been recommended. Most of our meetings tend to drag on far longer than they need to, but not this one. From start to finish, we were done with it and checking our trucks to begin our day in a half hour. Most of the time the meetings will drag on for an hour or more.

Once I got underway, I noticed that traffic was lighter than usual for a Tuesday. I was at my first job shortly after 8am, and traffic was as light as it would be at 6am. Maybe even earlier.

Tueday’s I’m downtown. The heart of Salt Lake City. Tuesday mornings you’ll usually find the Trax system (our light-rail trains) packed. Same with the city buses. And of course, all of the cars. Tons of them. And let’s not forget all of the people on bicycles and on foot. Downtown Salt Lake City has become much more friendly to foot traffic over the last ten years or so, but Tuesday March 17th, 2020, it was literally deserted.

There were only a small handful of people on Trax and same with the city buses. Car traffic was light to say the least. For the first hour, from approximately 8am to 9am, there were literally no pedestrians other than the homeless population wandering around. They reminded me of pigeons looking for food. There were a couple of people walking to and fro, going to their destinations with their heads down, staring at the pavement. Everything was hushed, everything was subdued.

Doing the jobs on Tuesday was interesting as well. Some of the customers had closed up because of COVID-19. Some had signs on their doors and windows stating this information. Some didn’t. Their offices were just locked up and the lights were all off. The only way that I knew for sure that they were closed and people were working from home was because of passers-by telling me that the people were working from home until further notice. We are in interesting times.

Most of the customers that were still around were friendly enough. Everybody was doing their best to make the best of the situation. Jokes were made, smiles were on several faces, pleasant hello’s were exchanged. But there was a palpable uneasiness underneath it all. The uncertainty of everything. And it’s not just about the virus.

We are definitely living in interesting times.

As the day went on, I figured that traffic would pick up. It didn’t. Many businesses have changed their hours. They are starting later and closing up earlier, if they aren’t closing down entirely. On a positive note, parking was a dream. Usually I have to fight to find somewhere to park in the downtown area in order to do my job, and that’s because parking is limited and is at a premium. There’s usually cars and other vendors taking up all the spots. But not this Tuesday. This Tuesday, everywhere I went, there was plenty of parking to be had.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade that would have gone down through the heart of Salt Lake City, and would have been right in the middle of where I needed to do my job was either postponed or cancelled entirely. No parade, no people to watch the parade.

Everybody is “going to ground.”

On a “regular” Tuesday I usually get done with the route around 3:30pm or 4pm. Not this St. Patrick’s Day. I was done by quarter to two. That’s what happens when several of the customers are closed down and parking is a dream. You can definitely get shit done.

Some of the customers that I talked to on Tuesday told me they were closing down and working from home until this whole thing is over. Many of them will be implementing this as of Wednesday the 18th. Several others are staying open for the immediate future but are seriously considering closing down and working from home as well. I guess time will tell.

I can only imagine what the next days and weeks are going to bring. We definitely are living in interesting times.

It was a little unnerving going past certain landmarks that are usually open for business. The Eccles Center, which does a lot of plays, operas, and other live action events is closed, reopening….sometime in the future. All their banners are gone, all the marquees are put away or blank. Other than the newness of the building, you would think that it hasn’t been inhabited in a couple of decades. And it’s only been closed since Friday the 13th. That’s five days from the time of this writing. That’s it. On another note, the local gun stores had their doors wide open and business was booming. Same with the grocery stores, apparently people haven’t finished with their runs on toilet paper.

A majority of the little independent small businesses in the downtown area are closed. Add some boards to the doors and windows and that image would be complete. Many of them have signs on them saying “Now Hiring!” I imagine that has been put on hold for the time being. What a hell of a way to kick off spring.

Salt Lake City will survive COVID-19, from what I gather the mortality rate of it isn’t as bad as other things that are happening every day. But I do wonder about it’s economic future. You take a small mom and pop business and shut them down for a couple of weeks and I can imagine that that would be hard to come back from, if they do at all.

From closed down bars, eateries that are only doing pick up, delivery, and drive up service; from major arts and entertainment spots being closed, to non-existant pedestrians being on the street, making Salt Lake City a hushed ghost town, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens during the days, weeks, and months ahead.

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What Permissions And Permits Do You Need?

Rob SaysLeave a comment

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I saw this little statement the other day. Drew Baye tweeted about it. I think he actually made some business cards up so that he can hand them out to people. It’s a great gag item as well as a not-so-subtle way of telling people off or giving them the finger.

I believe it stems back to a comedian on some sit-com or series that gets questioned by a police officer, something along the lines of, “Do you have a permit?” And the comedian guy reaches into his wallet, pulls out a folded up piece of paper that says, “I can do what I want.”

There’s your permit guys. You can do what you want.

I’ve realized a lot of my resistance and even a slight degree of my frustration and anger show up when somebody tells me that I can or cannot do something. Or that I should or ought to do this, that, or the other. Or that I shouldn’t.

I’ve had family members in the past tell me all the time the things I should or shouldn’t do. Eventually I responded with “I can do what I want.”

Even now on the job I hear it all the time. “You can’t do this, you can’t do that. You should do this, you shouldn’t do that.” I can do what I want. I’ll park here. I’ll walk in there. Like Frank Sinatra said, “I did it my way.”

I thought as I would get older, that people would lay off the “thou shalt and shall not.” It hasn’t changed. If anything, and I’m sure it’s part of our modern culture, it has gotten worse. More do’s and don’ts. More, do it THIS way, NOT that way. Your way is wrong, my way is right. Do it the right way.

I can do what I want. Mind your own business. As Billy Joel once sang, “Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone.”

Do you need permission? Do you need a permit? You can do what you want. There you go. There’s all the permission and permit that you need.

So now, if it pleases the crown, I can do what I want.

Realize this as well:

You can do what you want and you don’t have to give a reason or explain yourself either. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I wanted to. Because I could.”

You don’t “owe” anyone an explanation. Go do what you want.

Before anyone decides to comment or private message or email me about:

“But Rob! There are consequences for doing what you want! You can’t just do what you want! Blah blah blah….”

I’ve heard it. I’ve heard it all before. I’ve heard it many many times all throughout my life. Guess what?

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