4:30:51 PST, Monday, January 17
  
"...The first rumbling didn't really alarm me, I had become so accustomed
to the 3 and 4 magnitude rattlers we'd been having. CalTech had just
assured us that nothing significant would come of them. Then, my apartment
building jumped about a foot west and I put down my book. The building
switched to an up and down motion, really violent. As I got up off the bed
the lights went out and I lost my balance as a framed picture hit me in
the head. I stubbed my toe on the 4 track tape recorder which had wriggled
off the desk. I felt a hot rush of panic shoot up through my stomach and
all the way to my fingertips. I got the door open and braced myself in the
jamb. Finally, I was living my old dream about being naked in a public
place. No one was in the courtyard and the shaking stopped before I could
decide whether to bolt all the way out the door.
  
"There was total silence and total darkness. I grabbed my pants and people
started slowly coming out of the two buildings which face each other. The
sky flashed blue from several directions from arcing power lines. I walked
to the street and began to hear car alarms, and the burglar alarm from the
Thrifty Drug store across the street. Everyone was O.K. I looked in on
Harry next door, who is blind and wheelchair bound.
  
"I put on the rest of my clothes at the curb, and warmed up the
motorcycle.... Neither the phone nor my two-way radio worked. I was
reminded of "The Day the Earth Stood Still." As I drove down Venice
Boulevard, straining to see the street signs, a huge meteor streaked
across the sky to the north." - Jazz Potato
  
And so it started. 30 seconds that forever altered the lives and destinies
of thousands of Southern Californians. Over 50 deaths and countless
injuries; freeways destroyed; thousands of people left to sleep in parks
and makeshift tent cities; no power, water, or communications; confusion,
terror and heartbreak punctuated by a seemingly endless succession of
aftershocks. In spite of a flood of reporters, camera crews, TV trucks,
photographers, network anchors, writers and announcers, people outside the
area had little or no idea what was happening to loved ones. And with
telephone lines down or overloaded, there was no way to find out.
  
Then the members of the global online community took the initiative, chief
among them the vast GEnie network.
  
The First Day
  
Within hours of the quake, messages were being posted in a special
earthquake Topic in The American West RoundTable Bulletin Board (keyword
WEST) giving vital information on aid, assistance, and shelters. In the
midst of disaster, using battery-powered laptops and gas-powered
generators, members in the quake area posted regular reports and
volunteered to check on people for relatives desperately seeking
information. Messages were soon posted listing names, injuries, and
property damage; while GEnie members all over the world relayed status
reports back and forth between survivors and family members. Tales of
survival, first-hand accounts, and revelations on everything from water
purification and insurance to scams and ripoffs emerged. And through it
all, a sense of community -- of sharing and belonging -- grew stronger.
  
"GEnie people are family," Kathy Harradine, American WEST RoundTable Sysop
affirmed. "Even if we've never met and never corresponded before, it's
like having one huge family to help when we're in trouble."
  
Diane Chaney, manager of the American WEST RoundTable, concurred.
"Communications between loved ones are so important," she said. "Using GE
Mail and messages on the American WEST Bulletin Board, we helped many
establish contact, even when long distance phone lines weren't able to get
through."
  
The Second Day
  
Statistically, in the first two days following the quake, over a thousand
people checked out the new Topics, more than 500 messages were posted, and
hundreds of other private GE Mail messages were exchanged among GEnie
subscribers. "And it's still going strong with updates, offers of help,
and 'war stories'," Kathy pointed out. "This is unusual for us!"
  
Behind the statistics, however, a different drama was playing itself out.
While the rest of the world was relying on strobe-like video snapshots and
conventional print media to paint a picture of the effects of the quake,
GEnie members were able to get first-hand accounts and inside information,
unfiltered, unedited and unabridged.
  
And while some of the posts were serious, others injected a much-needed
dose of humor, as in this excerpt from TheFog:
  
"One guy was cut pretty bad, actually two were. He had a picture over his
bed which ended up on his head. A woman had a shelf with plants over her
bed and she was cut when they came down.
  
"I showed him how to hang pictures with 2 hooks and Velcro(tm) the base to
the wall. I suggested the woman check into synthetic plants with basket
bases if she insists on sleeping under them - otherwise she may spend
eternity under some plants."
  
And this, from Bill:
  
"Oops! Another aftershock! The consensus is a 4.7. We have an office
aftershock pool -- kind of like holding up the score cards at a figure
skating exhibition.  It's sick, but you have to keep laughing."
  
The Aftermath
  
In the aftermath, messages of thanks began pouring in, expressing
gratitude for the selfless actions of so many GEnie members. Messages like
this:
  
"When one sees the level of helpfulness, caring and concern shown on GEnie
by so many who offered to, and did, call friends and family for us, many
of whom had never seen our names on GEnie before -- let alone "know" us,
it really shows what a wonderful online community we have here. No doubt
about it, the GEnie family is the best." -- Barbara
  
Perhaps the best testimony to the true spirit of the GEnie community comes
from Diane, Kathy and the American WEST staff themselves:
  
"GEnie people are truly incredible. From a little girl in Northridge who
was able to find out that her teacher was okay, to people who've heard
their friends and relatives talking about this "place"...and have finally
found out what it's about by being able to locate people in the affected
area thanks to their friends on GEnie, people on GEnie pulled together in
an extraordinary way.
  
"Each and every one of you who's offered to make phone calls (either in or
outside of the areas), every one who's come online shortly after the event
to let folks know that they and others are okay... every one of you who's
been there for others...you're all wonderful!! Thank you so much for being
just who you are. You ARE what makes GEnie great!"
  
Couldn't have said it better myself.