My First

I am sure most of you have heard about this .
When I first heard it on the news it brought back memories. When I was a teenager we happened to live in Japan for 4 years. I remember the first time I experienced their particular proof of Mother Nature. I was about 13 years old, laying in my bed at night. I had snuck a book that my mother had told me I couldn't read, The Exorcist. I had successfully hid this book for the entire week that I was reading it and was finally down to the last couple of pages. It was then that it happened..... I had just finished the last word on the last page and was in the midst of closing the book when all of a sudden I felt my bed begin to move. Petrified, I could do nothing but lay there with my mouth open attempting a scream that was stuck somewhere in my throat. The bed began to shake violently and I felt as if my entire bedroom was swaying. When I looked over towards the window I noticed the sidewalk. Seeing a sidewalk directly out of your window may not be such a big deal if your on the first floor, my room was on the THIRD floor! You see, in Japan their buildings are made to accommodate the Earth shifting as much as possible. In the event of an earthquake the building sways. Of course, considering the book I had just laid to rest, an earthquake was the furthest thing from my mind. No, it did not occur to me that this was an event of Mother Nature. In my 13 year old mind it was Satan himself come to possess my soul. When I finally had control of my body I stood on the bed and did the long jump landing directly in the hallway. Why is the hallway safer than the bedroom? I don't know, I just wasn't willing to touch the ground anywhere near my room where Satan was erupting from beneath my bed. I ran with all my 13 year old might directly to my parents bedroom, informed them what was happening and demanded to be put on the next flight to the States. My parents, the cruel people that they are did not believe me and attempted to rationalize and tell me it was an earthquake. They refused to believe it was Satan. Then my mother, in her sadistic form of humor, announced that we could rent the movie The Exorcist tomorrow. They are horrible people.
To this day I have never seen the movie, wont watch it. Funny, since don't believe in the devil with the whole pagan thing. But I was traumatized, damn it! To this day I have also never visited California, which I never will if I have any say. They have Earthquakes there too and their buildings don't sway.