Earthquake on the houseboat

Part 5

One of the things I loved about working at TV Guide was the newswire.  Not only did we receive our weekly information about TV shows on the wire from the headquarters in Radner, but we also got news feeds from whatever wire service it was.   A newswire in those days was a machine that printed out news headlines and stories transmitted over telephone lines.  It was sort of like a loong distance typewriter.  I decided that when I was older and richer I would have a newswire in my home.  Well, I do–as do millions upon millions of people around the planet.  It is called the internet.  For a news-junkie like me it is heaven!

Early 1964 was a continuation of late 1963.  I continued to work at TV Guide, even received a raise.  Durrell and I were beginning to discuss leaving the houseboat.   Moving onto a Seattle houseboat in early winter is not advised.  It was cold.  It rained.  Worse yet, in addition to water falling from the sky and all around us, there was cold water below us which kept the house perpetually damp and chilly. 

One chilly, damp Sunday evening–it was March 29th–I was home alone when the houseboat began to rock and twist.  It bumped against the dock.   It did not feel like the gentle up and down effect of a wake of a freighter passing by on Lake Union, which I had become accustomed to.  I ran out the door to the dock to find that other houseboaters had experienced the same thing.  Some houseboats on the next dock over had been ripped from their moorings.  A couple of houseboats floated out onto Lake Union.  Within hours we learned that what we felt was the result of a massive earthquake that almost completely destroyed Anchorage.   The effect was significantly greater on the water than on the land in Seattle.

Spring began to arrive.  Sunshine at last. 

In May of 1964 I moved out of the houseboat, left TV Guide and married Keith.   Our marriage was not good from the beginning.  Keith, so  I am not going to write about my marriage, except to tell you that two wonderful people came from it:  my sons Miles and Clive.  Clive now lives in San Francisco.  Miles lives in Glendale with his wife, Geri and their daughter, Ava. 

One other thing important thing happened during our marriage: we left Seattle rain behind and moved to San Francisco.   Writing about San Francisco in the 1960s and early 1970s is difficult.  It was an amazing life experience, but I am not sure how to write about it.  Maybe later.

(This post is part of an experimental memoir.  I teach memoir writing and will edit your memoir to make it better.  Learn more at www.onedaymemoir.com)