A Fish Out of Water

In so many ways, Southern California was the antithesis of Loudon. It was bigger; there were more people and a lot more was going on. Even the surroundings were different. Instead of the many shades of green of the Tennessee mountains, everything was the dull green, brown and grey colors of the desert. All in all, it was somewhat intimidating for a country boy, especially one like me who was a little bit on the shy side.

The town butted up against a mountain range that rose to about 5000 feet, but because of the smog, I was there almost 2 weeks before I saw them. I heard people talking about the mountains so I knew they were close, but I never realized how close until one day the smog cleared enough to see them and they dominated the northern horizon. They were no more than 8-10 miles away from the base. In all fairness, there was a forest fire going on at the time that added to the smoggy conditions, but it was an indication of how thick the smog could get.

My very first “Toto-I-don't-believe-we’re-in-Kansas-anymore” moment came just about a month after I got there. It was 6 in the morning and my alarm had just gone off. I had my feet on the floor and was ready to grab my towel and head to the shower when the doors on the metal lockers began to rattle. It started as a light rattle at first but within seconds, the doors were banging violently. The metal frame of the bed I was sitting on began to slide back and forth on the tiled floor. It didn’t slide that much, maybe an inch or two, but it was more than enough to get my attention. It finally occurred to me it was an earthquake, but I had no idea what to do. Should I stay where I was or should I run outside? I finally decided to sit there unless I heard running in the hall. It seemed like a long time, but it wasn’t any more than 30-45 seconds before the rumbling stopped. There was no real damage around the base, but there was significant damage further west near LA. Welcome to California, country boy.

I will admit it took me a couple of months to get in the swing of things and start doing something other than going back and forth between my room and work. Obviously, I had a lot to learn and the guys at the shop made it easier. They introduced me to other people and took me to various places. I saw the ocean for the first time and tried snow skiing for the one and only time in my life. I really enjoyed the mountains. They weren’t the Smokies, but they were nice. The trees were mostly pine so the wind didn’t rustle through them, it whispered. A very peaceful place to be.