When I was 39, Loma Prieta quaked and stopped the World Series. There were far more tragic consequences, and at the time we heard rumors about roads collapsing, but it was that bit, about the World Series, that made me understand how serious it was. I’m sure I was in some kind of shock.

I felt it, of course. And I have my own little tale of how I got home that night. It’s not as good as Nick’s though; he actually climbed past the Bay Bridge break to get to our kids. See: that was always our biggest fear – that a big quake would occur when we were on one side of the bay and the kids were on the other.

As it happened, our kids were fine (neighbors checked immediately) and our houses were undamaged. We grownups were way more shook than the children.

But here’s the lesson part. What we learned out there on the streets of San Francisco, immediately after that earthquake, was the roads didn’t work. Bridges broke and concrete gave, nothing could be trusted and the byways were clogged with cars. We walked off the broken bridge and came up against closed BART stations (the system couldn’t be trusted until it was checked). We soon understood that cell phones couldn’t get service, and the lines for the few payphones were intimidating. We kept walking, toward the only thing that could work: water.

And we got no news. It was astounding how impossible it became to acquire any reliable information. That was the shortcoming that surprised me.

It seems to me that an event or some are going to happen. Into every life will come emergency or urgency, at times. It’s good to have kits and contingency plans. But I think you’re best prepared if you assume you’ll be donning a backpack and taking a walk.