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Earthquakes?

The ongoing story of a Brit in Hollywood.

By Len DaviesPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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There seems to be a lot of Earthquakes around the world, and ever since I arrived here in 2011 people have been saying that we’re due for the big one. I’ve gone through a few reasonably minor ones and they’re not fun but compared to the hurricanes and tornadoes that the southern states go through I’ll stick with California any day. Here’s another excerpt from my book ‘Hollywood or Bust’.

Earthquakes? 5th September 2011

I had an interesting conversation with a friend a short while ago. On the news it said that Argentina had suffered an earthquake, followed fairly closely by Alaska, and I commented that seeing as we're somewhere in the middle maybe we're due one, and his reply was "we had one too". I was dumbstruck as I never felt anything, and I'm pretty sure an earthquake wouldn't be easy to miss, bearing in mind the one in the north of England a couple of years back actually made my bed move in East London while I was sleeping. Apparently there was a 4.2 earthquake in California yesterday, just fortunately not anywhere near Los Angeles.

My time at Santa Monica Beach yesterday was educational as the no swim flags were up for most of the day, and when you see the waves pounding in, particularly with the fairly steep drop off that the land experiences into the water, you can imagine being pulled under by the tide. When I was 8 years old I nearly drowned in such a way off Barry Island in South Wales as my feet were swept right out from under me and I couldn't swim. As I was going under calling for help I saw a man dive from the top of the cliffs into the water, and the next thing I remember is being carried over the rocks to the first aid hut. I still have the front page local headline of pudgy me at the award presentation ceremony when the Mayor of Barry awarded the man who saved me. Seeing those waves really gave me flashbacks of 49 years ago. Crazy eh?

Another beautiful sight was a pod of 7 or 8 Dolphins that swam along the coast right past us. That's the beauty of the warmer waters, the possibility of seeing such beautiful creatures. I'm very tempted on a quiet day in the coming weeks to go Whale watching off Long Beach, as, according to the Captain of one of the boats, between now and the end of October is a GREAT time to catch several pods of Whales. That's something I just HAVE to do.

Although some of the houses on the hills facing the sea have beautiful views, I would be very nervous living there due to my fear of tidal waves. As California is prone to earthquakes, it would only take one under the sea off the coast to trigger a proper tidal wave, and although the odds are severely against it, why tempt providence? To me it's the same risk as living in a large apartment block. Is that logical where earthquakes abound? Where I'm living now in the San Fernando valley is single level and far enough away from the sea to be safe.

Enough of this silliness though. Book recommendation time! I'm just in the middle of a book called "Lennon in America" 1971 to 1980, based in part on his diaries and other peoples comments and memories. It is a VERY good book, but I have to warn any strong Lennon and Beatle fans that it doesn't paint any pretty pictures. It shows up all of Lennon's weaknesses and paints a very strong image of how controlling and devious Yoko was. It's a true read for any fan but be prepared.

So the US is on holiday today, but the cinemas are working so I'll probably go and see Shark Night 3D later. Lots of good movies out lately so SUPPORT YOUR FILM INDUSTRY!!!!!

Do or do not - There is no try!

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About the Creator

Len Davies

Len Davies was born in Wales and grew up in the 60’s heavily influenced by the music and TV of the time. He is a DJ, Actor, Musician and Producer in the entertainment field. with 52 years in the industry he now lives & works in Los Angeles.

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