A Day in the Life of an Airport Shuttle Driver
The following is my best recollection of the events I experienced while operating an airport livery shuttle during the Northridge Earthquake of January 17, 1994.
 |
| Photo Courtesy of JW Griffin |
It’s funny and strange how taking to the highways and meeting at the very least six new people every single day could become so addicting. The idea of being a driver as a means of employment was not something I put much thought into. Unemployment has a way of directing ones decisions out of necessity but this turned out to be a life changing experience. What I didn't expect was the beauty the Southland has to offer. Considering the people, the landscape, architecture and the food why live anywhere else? Los Angeles has so much going on in all areas of life and lifestyle.
Like any other morning I pulled the daily assigned van out onto San Fernando Road heading to my first stop in Hidden Hills. You'd have to know about it or stumble upon it just off of the 101 freeway; Hidden Hills is a beautiful spot where horse lovers can have their way with Ranch Style houses and horse stables at every view. Taking to the street heading west through the San Fernando Valley, windows down and music playing I would mentally prepare for sales and service. It's important to get your head into the game when your income depends on tips and referrals. In my heart I am neither a friendly nor a generous person so the need to master customer service was always the number one focus. Morning prep continued even as the van steered south down Topanga Canyon Blvd, it felt as if this was going to be a good day so I pledged to myself to make it so.
NO, Not Yet, Not Now
Rolling south on Topanga the air was calm and no other cars were out. It was around 4:30am when my rear tire went flat. "Really, Now?" Glancing down to my side mirror searching for chunks of rubber on the road I noticed the center stripes in the street had turned into snakes slithering side to side increasingly aggressive. Looking farther ahead at a distance it seemed as if God came down to straighten his bed sheet called Topanga Canyon Blvd. For as far as the eye could see it seemed as if the highway was being adjusted like a bed spread. The street, the homes and the professional buildings all rose up and down, swaying back and forth all the while increasing in intensity. The second push threw massive clouds of dirt and debris into the air. Rolling up the windows as fast as I could recognizing my predicament as I've been wide awake during many earthquakes in Los Angeles, I pulled the van into the center divider and cut the engine. At this point vision was less than five feet. The sound was near deafening. The rumble turned into a roar all the while the neighborhood pets went mad in unison. I could see nothing past the hood of the van due to the dust cloud and could barely make out the 2 way radio.
"This is van # 1-4-...on the 118 freeway heading to the 405 s...I’m enroute with passengers...road…separating...earthquake? Please advise"
Suddenly, it was as if every pane of glass all over town shattered at once. My expectation was for there to be glass all over the road and the vehicle but it wasn't so. The rumbling slowly subsided, dust clouds began to thin out and the bed sheet ripples decreased and I could see the outline of the Santa Monica hills once more. By this time there was no power anywhere and even our two way radios were down temporarily. But from the distance multiple flashing blue lights could be seen from over the hill. This too slowly increased in sound and intensity. Then to my horror I heard myself say out loud "Oh My God, they're bombing West LA...No not now, I'm not ready. It can't be now".
Under the circumstances it's understandable why a persons thoughts would wander so. While I'm thinking we're at war, it occurred to me LA had just experienced a major earthquake and the blue flashes I was seeing are all the power transformers blowing up throughout the city. As it turns out, that particular assumption was the right one. THANK GOD!
 |
| Photo Courtesy of DeathToStockPhoto.com |
Wow, it’s Like Disneyland
Communication came back up crystal clear in just a few minutes and we were all given our marching orders. We were to continue on to each assigned passenger pick up and report back. Because power was out everywhere dispatch was in constant communication with police and fire services reporting any issue where assistance may be needed. Onward I rolled to Hidden Hills and the first family. Once on the block finding the spot was no problem as the wife had been waiting for me. Under the circumstances she was correct to assume an early arrival.
"I guess we won't be going anywhere today, they've probably shut down the airport and there's no real reason to try and make any flight with all the chaos going on". I called dispatch with my report of the families decision said my good byes and the van rolled on to family number two.
Rolling up to the correct address in Woodland Hills I had barely stepped out of the vehicle when a little one, not more than four years old came running out the front door of the house with a look on her face as if she were about to take her very first ride at Disneyland "ALL THE WATER FROM THE POOL IS COMING THROUGH THE HOUSE". Biggest grin I'd ever seen on a person. No sooner had she said house when a small trickle at her feet turned into about nine inches of run off. For a brief moment lil blonde had to hold onto the door jam or get pushed out onto the front lawn along with everything else from indoors. The entire street smelled of chlorine. We looked in each other’s eyes then back at the water then at each other once more. All I could think of was gratitude that she had no idea what all this meant. She may as well have been at Disneyland....this mess is crazy! Dad came out, surveyed the damage and said, "We’re not going anywhere today. (pause) Guess I should have drained the pool when my wife told me to" and calmly walked back inside as if it were just another morning.
I hadn't been awake all that long but my neck seemed seriously stiff more like it would at the end of a long shift. It was then that I realized during the initial quake, the top of my head made impact with the van headliner at least three times. This isn't fatigue I could have a neck injury. It really hadn't occurred to me just how much I'd been bounced around. While making contact with dispatch lil blonde and I said our good byes and the van rolled on.
How Can You Not See This?
"All drivers with no further pick-ups head back to base" ordered dispatch, so back to San Fernando it was. No street lights, no working signal lights, everyone and their mother out on the road all driving like crazy people. Rolling casually and carefully down Ventura Blvd, listening to FM radio surveying damaged buildings as well as damaged behavior chaos seemed to rule. People were driving as if there were never any rules of the road to begin with. Drivers ran signal lights that should be four way stops in some cases in excess of eighty miles per hour. Later I read about 57 people died due to the quake itself. I always wondered how many died on the road that morning.
The news chopper over the San Fernando Valley painted a picture of somewhere else. While stuck at an intersection where forward on the right a McDonald's was completely engulfed with flames as high as 70 feet in the air, Mr. News Guy says..."there's not a whole lot going on here, I don't see any fires...." Immediately I and a driver two cars behind in the next lane jumped out of our vehicles and began searching the skies. Our eyes met and he asked me…and I quote "Did he just say that stupid shit?" My response was to hold my arms out and yell at the sky “HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS?” The flames were so intense and close perspiration began to form on my bald head.
At this point LAPD on motor bikes began to direct traffic around the fire by running the vehicles through the neighborhood. It took 15: min to make a right, 2 lefts and another right just to circle the block. Drivers were still running traffic stops willy-nilly. This was far more of a concern than any aftershocks; people were genuinely panicked to the point of reckless abandon.
Now to put things in perspective this was 1994. Cell phones were not yet common enough for every person and the ones that did exist were at that time only recently becoming smaller than an anvil. Power was out everywhere so if you were concerned about a loved one, you need to see them in person. That is why I believe so many more people than usual took to the streets that morning.
Finally the van reached Van Nuys Blvd and took a left heading north. There was some damage that could be seen from the main street like the local 7/11 was missing part of its roof but the traffic was not as dangerous although still crowded. Back to base we go.
Public Service
Once back at HQ it was pleasing to see we had power. Apparently around the corner is a company that provides generators for movie sets and other outside events. It seems someone was smart enough to go talk to the only folks who had lights on and rent one of the larger power providers they had. But there was still the issue of coffee. There was none in the valley due to lack of power so vans were sent east and west down the 210 freeway searching for some hot coffee. Sadly there was none to be found. Power was out all along the foothills and beyond Pasadena. There was no luck in the other direction either. No coffee....damn, no coffee....
The remainder of the day was spent heading out to all the assigned passenger pick-ups and reporting back to HQ. This request was primarily for our regular clientele of senior citizens. I was given a few stops in Century City. The problem here was again no power which means not only did most phones not work in some of the so called luxury senior homes, but entrance buzzers were equally useless. Some of our regulars could not be reached until the following day all of whom we reported to police and fire services.
For months after the quake, all over every freeway the amount of stray animal carcasses increased. There were many family pets lost that day. In the valley I noticed the majority but not all of the back yard fences fell to the south. Over the hill in the greater Los Angeles area most but not the entire downed backyard fences fell to the north. This was a crazy day I will never forget.
It's been thirty years and I regret not putting pen to paper back then. Memory fades over time yet I know there were more stories to share from that morning than I can't remember today.
I hope spending the morning with me in my van was worth the ride.
This piece was republished from a previous blog by Bruce P Collard -
~A Day in the Life: North Hollywood Shoot Out February 28th 2997
#youngcubiclesoldier
You can be You, reach your Dreams serve God & still Enjoy Life
Now It's My Turn | Rise Above the Ordinary:
Although written for young adults or teens who due to circumstances beyond their control were without emotional or financial support ANYONE CAN MAKE USE OF THESE PRINCIPLES.
DOWNLOADS -
Amazon US - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I8PN4ZC
Amazon Canada - http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00I8PN4ZC?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00I8PN4ZC?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Amazon Australia - http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00I8PN4ZC?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Amazon India - http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00I8PN4ZC?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Check out OddCollard:
Comments
Post a Comment