Rita:
I pour a glass of Coke. The microwave goes beep beep beep, telling me my popcorn is done. Dancing to the beat of MTV, I approach the refrigerator when, to my amazement, the house begins to dance along with me. Wow! I think, it's an earthquake and it's getting bigger.

Erin:
I've been scuba diving. Surfacing, I see the land move in waves three and four feet high, the sandstone cliff falling onto the beach, a mist or fog of some kind rising...

Coral:
...the restaurant begins bobbing up and down. I slither to the floor, watch my salad dressing plop upside down in slow motion, catsup bottles falling off the counter, people yelping, the ceiling high windows flapping like flags in the breeze...

Steve:
The gym starts bouncing around like a trampoline. Iron weights begin flying off their racks. Dumbbells are clinking together like jingle bells, like people smashing wine goblets. Weight machines swaying, mirrors rattling...

Cindy:
It's 90 degrees and my family is sitting around the living room in bathing suits. My little sister has just lost her tooth. She stands and, teetering from side to side, she says, "I lost a tooth. I hope the tooth fairy will remember me." Then, with a worried look, she falls to the floor.

Stuart:
I point my finger at the floor, which is threatening to collapse, and begin shouting, "Quiet. Shut up. Stop right now..." to gain a feeling of control. I have to repeat myself because the noise of the quake drowns me out. Pointing my finger and yelling for order­like I do at school­makes me laugh.

Robert:
When the house begins to rumble and the mirrors shake, I zip up my fly and dive into the cupboard under the bathroom sink. Holding on to the cupboard doors, I shut my eyes and feel I'm on the Big Dipper; or the Grizzly;. "Man," I say, "this is some ride!"

Then, my legs out the cabinet door, I burrow, hanging on to "U" in the plumbing line as a kid in Chicago I once held onto a subway strap. This time it's to avoid being thrown across the room.

Cheryl:
She clings tightly to me and keeps her eyes closed the entire time. Eventually we hear people talking and feel safe enough to venture out. Our 'ride' must remind her of how Dorothy; felt in the Wizard of Oz;, for as we come out from under the table and open the door, she asks: "Where did the house land, Mommy?"