Here's another old manuscript from the Blog Journals, 2008.

Because it's the world majority blood type, we all know plenty of O's. Let's have a look at their physiologically/anthropologically-driven temperament.

There are two major ways to describe blood type personality: One is its natural expression without respect to society. The other is in terms of its relation to society. There is the O temperament, for instance but then this is tempered by the very fact that O prevails in great numbers; so, with O, you've got "This is how I am", but you also have to deal with O's "And everybody should be as I am", an attitude based less on O temperament than on O's EXPERIENCE that most folks are indeed like himself. We'll see that, in this regard, A tests the waters, to see how many share his own orientation, while B and AB begin with the premise that no one is like themselves: These latter individuals expect to be misunderstood, to be self-contained and stand alone. So, understand that O expects others to see things his/her way, as a "given", and then you're ready to understand other aspects of O personality.

Next step: Anthropology. O began as a hunter and gatherer. O pits himself against nature, bringing all of his resources to bear on making a killing, accomplishing his goal. He tracks his quarry, bringing others on board to assist him. His survival is bound up in projects that have beginnings, middles and ends. He feasts on the proceeds and then goes out to stalk the next Meal, bring down the next foe.

So O likes projects and brings great energy to these, taking for granted that everyone is on board, unless they're prey too. O figures "You're either part of the team or we eat you." This assumption of antagonism on the part of those who don't dance to his tune can be quite stunning to others.

O makes a good leader and a problematic follower. How can mixed society cope with a majority that is leadership-geared ? Answer: O's need spheres of leadership, not necessarily in careers, per se.

And then there's the physical: O's are physically energetic. It's good for them to work out, in relatively short bursts. Just as hunters alternate between slow quiet stalking and climactic pouncing, O's workouts should be short but daily. I think that's akin to their natural anthro-driven rhythm.

Hunting is the ultimate focussed activity; if you're focussed and alert, you eat; if your mind wanders, you starve. So you see a pattern with O: He single-mindedly goes after what he wants till he gets it. After the feast, he's onto something else, with equal intensity. This is why O's do so well with project management. They make one thing happen. Then another. They don't necessarily "work well with others", though. Just as hunters use beaters or a pack of hounds, O's might view their teams as subordinates. A whole team of O's each with his own sphere of authority, is therefore a winner. Otherwise O's can come across as opportunist users. This is an aspect of focussedness that is a social problem for O: Others are used when serving O's ego or career goals or projects, and may be made to feel stepped-on otherwise. O's can even interrupt or fall asleep during others' self-expression. They quite simply are uninterested in others' input unless they can use or usurp it to their own ends. The world is their and only their oyster. They have to train themselves to be more genuinely interested. But if they can at least fake it, that, too, might be an advance for some!

All of this is not to say O's are unlikeable. On the contrary, the world contains its share of adorable O's. Blood type doesn't swallow up or override what makes each individual unique, and that's why I'm treating only of the constitutional medical and anthropologic factors.

Medically speaking, O is flammable. O's suffer from inflammatory diseases. Adding fire to the O rhythm, you find someone who tends to anger and outbursts as opposed to, say, withdrawal or worry. O's act quickly and impulsively, too; thus many an O finds himself backpedalling, apologizing, embarrassed by his hyperreactivity to innocent differentness perceived as threat. Someone's contrary point of view is seen as a lit match and the O is thrilled to burst into flame: Igniting is an addictive high for many an O, an impulse impossible to stifle, a momentary opportunity to express his magnificent furnace. O's can love their own anger. When the social/interpersonal/familial messes to be mopped up in its aftermath are permanent, however, O's might actually consider changing their approach. Dr. D'Adamo is to my mind correct in counseling the rechannelling of O-fire into physical sports/training, rather than, say, some sort of psychotherapy. When O's have had a good sweaty workout in the morning, they're less likely to seek prey to intimidate or attack.

Have a look around at the O's in your circle. And if you're O, it can be fascinating and instructive to understand yourself in these terms. I have to say that the O-Anger connection is among the top 5 teachings that I've noticed have impressed listeners when I speak on bloodtype diet/disease/temperament profiles. Many O's can relate to it, admit to having been distressed by it, and are gratified to find, in Dr. D'Adamo, someone who explains it to them.

My fascination with blood group anthropology owes a lot to the maps of A.E.Mourant. These show the distribution of O blood type, the A allele, and the B allele, amongst indigenous populations by region, i.e., before any migrations, visitation or crossbreeding. Therefore the figures are valid for populations a couple of thousand years back, but not since the hordes and invasions of the early Christian era.

The following link displays maps based upon those found in Mourant’s work but can be off by as much as 10%: http://anthro.palomar.edu/vary/vary_3.htm
You might enjoy cross-referring between this column and that map as you read.

Everywhere on the globe (with the tiniest exception, found on the Barents Sea in the Russian Arctic) more than 50% of all populations are type O. There was, originally, no race or people for whom this was not true. This is an important starting point for those who might otherwise tend to succumb to the race-religion-stereotyped misinformation which often rears its head in this field.

The only region of the world that showed the ubiquitous O-majority to be actually exclusive was: The Western Hemisphere, from the Rio Grande south to Tierra del Fuego, where O prevailed at 95 to 100 per cent.

There is no area of the world (with the tiny Arctic exception cited above) where less than 50% of the population was originally Type O, or where more than 45% had the A allele, or more than 30% had the B-allele.

North America, in some areas, shows the same 100% O-incidence as the lower Americas (about ½ the continent shows 65-70% O, the other half 70-75%), but the remainder is usually evenly divided between A and B. In about ¼ of Africa, B-incidence was as high as 20%, i.e., surpassing A-incidence, a finding that explains the much higher incidence (approximately double!) of the B allele amongst blacks that amongst whites worldwide, even today.

The highest A-incidence, in the ancient (indigenous) world would be found in: Australia and New Zealand, Japan, Europe east and west, Ukraine and Western Russia, Asia Minor and the Levant (Lebanon/Palestine). In these areas, A is found in more than 25% of the population, up to as much as 45-50% (in that tiny Barents Sea region, A goes as high as 55%).

Usually the allele of least representation, the highest B-incidence would have been found in Eastern Asia (China, Mongolia, Korea, Siberia), the Southeast Asian peninsula, Central/Himalayan Asia (N. India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan), and eastern Russia, i.e., east of the Caspian Sea.

Mourant also conducted some very specific research with regard to races, including the Jews, the Gypsies, and Polynesian peoples. His research on the Jews was with the aim of revealing Jewish-specific patterns in population. But his groundbreaking results instead showed the similarity of Jewish blood type prevalences to their surrounding cultures! Always O-dominant (like the rest of the world), their proportions of A and B varied only slightly, consonant with those of their surrounding populations (e.g., in areas of Russia where B showed a 16% incidence amongst the general population, B showed the same prevalence amongst the regions’ Jews, plus perhaps 1 or 2 % in a few areas). Amongst the Gypsies, Mourant found the incidence of AB type to be very high (over 10%), and he attributed the rise of the blood type to Gypsy and Gypsy-related migrations westward from North India.

I’m greatly indebted to Mourant’s maps and his overview of this subject. Though I have referred to other sources for modern regional numbers, these are always seen in light of anthropologic origins as described by Mourant. For example, in the early 1980’s, US figures looked something like this: O-44%, A-42%, B-10%, AB-4%. If we start to see B rise here at the expense of A, we can refer to Mourant and infer a strong Asian influx.

For those of you with a hankering after the anthropology, Mourant’s fascinating work is worth examining.

Yay! A "new" blog, not a Reprise from the mistakenly deleted Archives I've been restoring of late. Actually this blog is drawn from the Journals of three years ago. Thought it would help with gift-giving this Christmas, though it was intended for housewarmings.

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What's your blood type? What's your décor taste? Years ago on dadamo forum I asked B's to describe their taste, and there seemed to be a consensus where it came to color. Bs tend to like vivid colors and "interesting" "fascinating" "eclectic" exotic elements that can be quirky, offbeat, and have stories to go with 'em. A's might find the sight/atmosphere intriguing but can't wait to get home to their relatively clutter-free, neutral-toned havens and gardens. I've met a number of O's who are obsessive-compuslive about germs/dust-mites and absolutely flawless window/mirror/refrigerator, oven-door surfaces. Some have air filters going strong, others come home from work and shine their bathtubs as pre-dinner relaxation. Ever notice this, you guys? O's are often collectors of THEMED items, such as Plains Indians moccasins to surfboards to taxidermy to shoes and jewelry and hats.

We B's can tolerate mess as we age, if we need to. It's part of the price we pay for broad-ranging interests and lives. I think there's an element of nomadism in this: We pitched our tents for purposes: Shade, shelter, storage, functional areas: Cooking, hosting/entertaining/coffee, sleep. It wasn't important that everything be hung just-so or to impress anyone. It was where you could discern some souvenirs, perceive where this clan had been, what business/craft they were in (rug? tents?) and how proud they were of their own distinctive handicrafts. You look around the B space and take it all in. It tells a story. And it's ready to be packed up quickly and transported elsewhere!

If you're shopping for blood type-appropriate housewarming gifts, here are some suggestions for O, A and B (sorry AB: Not enough experience yet) - and age is a factor:

O: Find out what s/he COLLECTS or what his/her sport is. You almost shouldn't bother with anything else. O's also like cutting-edge gizmos, especially if they're impressive: O's are often the ones with the "home-theaters". Don't give plants, unless O "collects" them, such as exotic orchids. Give things with weight/gravitas, something that says s/he's "successful". Either they drive very expensive cars or fantasize doing so - that kind of successful. Hook up automated services in their home. Send them a year's techie/geek services. Important classical art and sculpture, if in your budget. Jazz CDs otherwise. Important ceramics and antiques. Paintings. Stuff related to their pets, if it's really, really cool. "Organizing" and Junk Management services. Genealogy stuff: Maybe one of those DNA testing kits.

A: Here's where plants/trees are a great idea. If the A has a yard/garden, some cool gardening tools/technology would be well-received. If your A is plant-serious, even high maintenance plants such as ferns might be a hit. Jazz and oldies (if over 40). Best hits. Maybe Motown. A's don't go for frou-frou: Think traditional Japan. Many A's have workshops, where they do artisinal stuff, crafts. Find out if this one does, too, and cater to that. Elegant crafts items themed to A's hobby would be a hit, but functional is best. A's like books in their field of interest, or magazine subscriptions. A's tend to like the Japanese aesthetic as opposed to the Central Asian. Japanese style kitchenware, including Cha (tea) accoutrements. A Go (game) board or, for those with land, archery set might be appreciated. Some go for the meditation pillow/stool; DVDs/CDs to accompany yoga. Bathing-facilitating objects/aids could be a hit if your recipient is one of the bath nuts. Some A's distinctly are not, but all natural (no synthetics!) aromatherapeutic bath/shower products might be appreciated, as would bath brushes, shower-heads, that sort of stuff. If your A is into vitamins, anything that might help him/her manage their administration is another winner. (Age, life-phase could be a key here.) A gift certificate at North American Pharmacal or its monthly delivery of bloodtype-specific nutritional supplements would be fantastic. If your A has a pet, a pet-oriented gift might be just the (awwww) ticket. Find out if there's a superb spa in the new neighborhood. A gift certificate for a massage or facial is often A-heaven. As A's are often vegetarian, a subscription to an organic farmers' delivery service is a great gift and one I've seen arriving in many an A household. A green-tea-of-the-month subscription is another educational tool/horizon-broadener.

B: Again, find out what they collect, and cater to that. As a B myself I'll tell you that bookcases have been RARELY, if ever, refused. Coffee table books on a B's pet subject, and art themed to it (but art is ALWAYS CHANCY. Keep it small!) can work. Gift certificates to bookstores are never unwelcome. B's are quite sensitive to smell. If there's an aromatherapeutic hobby here, its paraphernalia (including diffusors, burners and fans) are a great idea. If the B has space, you can't go wrong with oriental throw-rugs, Bactrian camel saddles, salvaged architectural elements from the Maghreb or Punjab, and fine paisley textiles, for instance. Items that are colorful/unusual and that come with an exotic tale are the way to go: A beautiful vase is twice as beautiful if it was haggled-over in a Damascus souk or slightly chipped "when it fell off the elephant". B's go for flowering plants or ones with variegated foliage, but: A subscription to a plant doctor/horticultural care service is a good idea for when B's flights of fancy render him/her distracted from that chore. But think "Addams Family", says this B. CDs of harpsichord music, organ music, "World Music" (Turkish oud, Celtic fiddle, Japanese koto). A Tibetan friend once gave me a priestly unction bottle; I actually gave it as a gift to someone else, but we B's give as good as we get. A good reading light is another fine gift. A beautiful lamp often finds a happy B home. Find out your aging B's reading glasses' power, and buy a few pairs of varied styles for every reading station in the house. Library ladders and step-stools are essential in many B homes. Housekeeping service gift certificates: Wow. Find a bonded housekeeper and send him/her to a B after the move: What a big help!

'Tis more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

Two of the distinctives of extreme dietary asceticism that stand out, over my many years of nutritional study, experimentation, and life-witness/association, are:

-- its inevitable nutrient deficiencies, sometimes partially ameliorated with "supplements"
-- its tendency to overstay its welcome versus temporary therapeutic implementation.

A short list of the serious nutritional deficiencies risked among strict vegans, for example, demonstrated in the literature, is as follows:

Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, Biotin, choline, folic acid, inositol, niacin, PABA, pantothenic acid, Vitamins C, D, E, Calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sulfur, vanadium, and zinc, not to mention amino acids and fatty acids.

Partakers of meat, fish, dairy and eggs are getting not only SOME of the above nutrients through their regular, unstudied diets alone, they're getting higher concentrations of them -- in milligrams -- than the amounts of many of the nutrients available in normal dietary (food-sourced) vegan sources.

So: Brewer's Yeast and Blackstrap Molasses for dinner? with rice, beans, veggies and soy? Sitting down to 18 dietary supplement pills with a bowl of sesame quinoa? Constituting the world's first Pill-Nutrition culture? It's obviously not a society that will endure and perpetuate itself en masse: Its diet is only half food!

Soy? Great for As and ABs in particular, but, alone, it doesn't stack up against meat and dairy and eggs and fish when it comes to fats, proteins, and most of the above vitamins and minerals.

Most vegans are normal persons, insofar as they'd choose to pursue lives that center around activities other than the endless measuring-out of the compensatory lecithin, yeast, wheat germ and molasses, etc., that would be required to keep them free of nutritional deficits. Therefore, these mentally normal vegans are USUALLY dietarily deficient in several of the above essential nutrients -- often gravely so.

But vegans aren't the only dietary fundamentalists missing the point of eating-to-live (in favor of living-to-supplement/eat). I adhered very briefly, in the mid 1980s, to a macrobiotic diet, and it was very good for my health, during that circumscribed period). The time came, however, when I'd met my health goals, to broaden my diet; as for its "lifestyle", Macrobiotics had never been my religion, but I did meet hundreds of macros with (similar to hard core vegans') long term dietary narrowness.

People of different blood types and subtypes may have good reason to avoid certain food groups wholesale, during times of addressing serious health crises (Dr. D'Adamo's guidelines stipulate for such crises, even to the point of recategorizing certain "avoid" foods as "beneficial" for short term therapeutic purposes.). Strict vegan parameters have, perhaps, usefulness in such a therapeutic context as well, but MOST people cannot thrive on that diet over the long haul. They become seriously deficient in several crucial nutrients, even if they use myriads of pills and potions, as these are NOT whole foods comprised of infinite intrinsic vital synergies. This is why it's so critical that strict temporary measure, such as detoxifying fasts, not be turned into long-term hair-shirt religions, and not only because of these biochemical consequences, but also because of the mental and spiritual health-risk it poses interpersonally, within the community as a whole.

Attention, Type A vegans and other "Tier Three'ers" (hyper-compliant adherents): Take very, very seriously your water retention, digestive ills, blood pressure hikes, skin eruptions, etc. Don't be tempted to treat each of these separately, so as to pinpoint its respective Band-Aid and participate in its respective chat-group. The same magnesium deficiency, for instance, that causes your insomnia could be related to your depression, kidney stones and dental caries, too! The same iron-deficiency anemia your OB addresses during your pregnancy could have been operative when you'd suffered from irregular periods before, or play its part in blood sugar or intestinal problems later ...

Hopping from one health issue to another, and/or from one supplement-mix to another, may make for a diligent and meticulous practice of measuring teaspoons of powders, soaking and counting and blending exotic ingredients, transforming you into your kitchen altar's High Priest, but that might all be instantly/"miraculously" dispensable - POOF! -- by eating a small piece of fish a couple of times a week, some eggs and/or poultry here and there, and an occasional yogurt. Presto-Change-O: Normal Blood values, shinier hair, bye-bye tremors, pimple-free complexion, etc. More time to enjoy life, less for the Internet?

Let your taste for general good health outstrip your taste for an over-deconstructed diet. If you prefer the 23 different pills for each of your "issues", own up to it as your personal idiosyncracy, not a requisite healthy practice. Beyond that, if you're ready to broaden your view to step back from an ascetic regime originally embarked upon as a temporary therapy, you'll enjoy the following story:

A friend, during my macro days, had raised her two daughters as strict macro's from birth. I'll never forget arriving at her house one day for a macro lecture and group lunch; the front door slowly opened, seemingly of itself, but I looked down to see her little 6-year-old daughter, whose hand held the knob as she grimly said to me, "You're late. And take off your shoes." It was positively macabre.

Only a year or so later, my friend's heart opened when she was bequeathed her grandmother's piano; she and her girls began taking lessons, and some floodgate burst in her soul. Later that year, her children, who'd never tasted turkey or butter or sugar before, fully, gustatorially participated in an extended family Thanksgiving dinner FOR THE FIRST TIME. Then, the girls began actually playing at friends' houses. My friend confided in me later, "When my daughters started eating some butter and sweets, I realized - Wow- they'd needed it all along. And they're, well, SWEETER! We're ALL happier people." And she had a tear in her eye.

What had POSSESSED them to deprive themselves of such pleasures? Well, my friend's husband had had a frightening deathly illness from which he'd "miraculously" recovered, through Macrobiotics, before the children were born. Thus this couple had associated "extreme yin" and "extreme yang"-labels with the foods he'd given up, and those foods with, yes, the Death he'd escaped.
It was, however, Death itself that met me at the door of their organically-perfect farmhouse that day and curtly demanded my shoeless entry.

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I think we associate Death with messiness and fight it with desperate structures. We strive to organize, measure, categorize and label components (vitamins, esoteric amino acids, e.g.) in a frantic attempt to keep the wild, unknowable wholeness of a threatening realm at bay.

But we can't. There's always another symptom. We no sooner soothe our cough than we find a pimple; we are freed from that as we investigate our heartburn and find out our HDL is low and our VLDL high. So we return to our laboratories/kitchens, where we add soaked flaxseeds to our kefir smoothies and subtract the almond butter -- or was it add soaked almonds and subtract the flaxseeds? And we return to our computers and start a New Thread about Fiber. We read this one's Diet and that one's theory. Why are we counting and weighing and pouring and poring?

Are you afraid to die?

I wonder if there's ever been anyone on a deathbed saying, "If only I'd used more Blackstrap Molasses and less Barley Malt", or "It must have been those poppy seeds", rather than, oh, you know, stuff about hugging your kids more or sharing your gifts with the world, stuff that seemed deathly-scarier at the time, when you found refuge, instead, in a "health-focus".

It's one thing to desire to properly establish a new and healthy regime, to take the time and devote the wholehearted energy to recovering from illness or founding a new and uninhibited way of eating/exercising. Just make sure that, if you're fleeing Death and seeking Life, you don't confound the two!

(Friend: If your escape from Death has tricked you, too, into escaping Life, you can still come back. The door is wide open...and you can leave your shoes on!)

On Tuesday (March 21st) a “rosary” of earthquakes occurred here in the San Francisco Bay Area, centered 4 miles outside of the suburb of Moraga, consisting of 14 minor quakes and aftershocks. Here in the city, about 15 miles away, I only felt the first one, a 3.7 on the Richter scale; the rest descended in magnitude.

When most people think of earthquakes, they’re media-spectacularly programmed to picture great devastation, such as was experienced exactly 100 years ago here (“The Big One”: 7.7). But the very vast majority of quakes (about 850.000 per year WORLDWIDE under 4.3 magnitude) go undetected by most of their respective local populations. Earthquakes of such minor intensity are very frequent occurrences in these parts. Indeed, when I lived in the geysers-region of the northern wine country, about 2 hours north of the city, I’d feel them a few times a week.

Other unusual geologic phenomena there are the hot springs, heat fissures and fumaroles – the latter being not-quite-geysers, but areas over which steam is emitted from the earth. My “driveway” was actually a steep dirt road about ¼ mile long, and when I’d walk up at the end of the day or after dark, I’d cross many “hot spots”/fissures. I equate the feeling to that of swimming through areas of warmth in lake water, perhaps due to greater reflection of sunlight from the bottom. It was just a normal fact of life to walk across fissured ground every day and “feel the heat”.

People who live far away from earthquake-prone areas wonder how one could possibly choose to live within them. I can’t speak for residents of other such zones, but, here in the Bay Area, they’re usually no big deal.

When I lived on West 86th Street in Manhattan, there was a bump in the road just before the turn onto Central Park West, over which flatbed trucks would thunder in the middle of the night and rattle the windows; now THAT was a heart-pounder, nothing like the, frankly, very gentle rocking of a minor quake in the Bay Area.

“What does a minor quake feel like?” Working with newborns as I do, I’d equate it with what a secure infant feels in its mother’s arms when she gently and ever-so-slightly changes position, whereas those New York flatbeds and their flopping cargo would equate to Mom’s suddenly standing up and dropping a clock radio.

Earthquakes of greater magnitude here are very rare. The last “big one” was 16 years ago (“Loma Prieta”, 10/89, Richter 7.0) and, even so, it was nowhere near as devastating as the hurricanes that frequently ravage the gulf states, or the fires that annually lay waste the Santa Ana region, or the swelteringly humid heat waves that afflict most of the US every summer, or the tornadoes of the Midwest (now THAT’S scary.)

I was in Sonoma County at the time of that “biggie”, sitting on the floor, when it began to move, rolling in gentle, undulating waves for about 5 seconds, and ending with a somewhat sharper jolt. Light fixtures were gently swinging in the house. I said, “SOMEWHERE this was very big.” We went outside and watched the power lines swing between their poles for about a minute. Then my friend turned on the TV and watched that repetitive footage seen by all a thousand times.

“How can we live here?” Are you kidding? We’re spoiled here! It’s common to hear locals say, “I’m ruined for any other climate.” In San Francisco, the temperature is 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit virtually year-round. We have two “hot” weeks per summer (temps 75-80 or slightly higher, with NO humidity).

Here’s the overview: The “Mediterranean” climate here consists of two major seasons: Dry and Sometimes-Rainy. During the Dry Season (approx. April to November) there is absolutely no rain, and this is normal. We put our umbrellas way up in remote closet corners and bring ‘em down in November to keep handy for the showers that may or may not pass through, a couple of times a week, during Sometimes-Rainy. Granted, this region is, for some reason, not nearly as equipped to deal with rain as New York was to cope with blizzards. But we have no “snow days”; there’s no sidewalk- or driveway-shoveling.

And then there are the three subseasons into which the Dry season is divided: Spring, Fog, and Summer.

Spring (March/April through June) is pretty much blue skies and sunshine nonstop, with mild temperatures of 65 to 70. For me, it can get quite boring, as there’s no “weather” to break up the monotony (unless there’s an earthquake). Spring quakes are often accompanied by what many here call “earthquake weather”: A strange (unsettling) balminess in the air. When I get “that Florida feeling”, it’s usually followed by a mild quake, somewhere in this region.

Then, comes July 1st, in rolls the fabled Fog: For many locals (including myself), July/August is the most special time of year here. Having grown up in a temperate clime, I was accustomed to “seasons”. So, after 3 months of beautiful-day-after-beautiful-day, I’m grateful for July’s bracing fog casting its more melancholy mood. It’s called our “natural air-conditioning” and is due to the coastal interruption known as “the Golden Gate” (for which the Bridge is named), through which the entire desert heat basin of the state of California is refreshed from extreme summer heat by ocean-cooled air. July and August in San Francisco and on the Bay can be a full 50-60 degrees cooler than inland! Delicious! And, at this time of year, it can be cooler in San Francisco than at any other time: As low as 50 degrees! BRRRR.

And then comes “Summer”, around Labor day: Six to eight weeks of what other regions consider “Indian” summer. The Pacific High moves off our latitude, the fog lets up, and it’s warm: Pleasantly so, with the stray HOT (over 75) day. At this time of year, the sun is low and strong; exposed south-facing residential windows in the city are often blacked-out in he afternoons, to keep the non-air-conditioned homes behind them comfortable. Summer (“Autumn” in the rest of the hemisphere) is another time of year for the odd quake; indeed our last “Big One” in ’89 occurred in October. As for “Fall Foliage” forget it in San Francisco.

Back to the “Big Ones”: It does depend how far one is from the epicenter. San Francisco damage from the ’89 Loma Prieta quake was surprisingly light. There were a few pockets of serious damage affecting the city, but, compared to the effects of a similar-intensity quake in other world regions’ cities (in Mexico, South America, central Asia, Philippines, etc.) there was a startlingly low death-toll. The news media had a field day/week portraying the city’s one fallen house aflame, the one fallen Bay Bridge section, and, of course, the collapsed section of freeway in the East Bay – over and over and over and over…

My Quake Protocol: When I feel a quake (it lasts a few seconds), I call KCBS radio (“All News All The Time”) and report it, and then I tune in and listen to the reports: There’s usually a quick response on the part of the US Geological Survey in Berkeley, with the details. Tuesday’s 14 quakes (from 3.7 down to 1.0) occurred on the Hayward Fault, and my SF high-rise (“high on a hill”, as the song says) shivered ever-so-slightly. Mama rocks her babies.

It sure beats shoveling!

Thank you, Lord, and, again than you, Lord.