How do I know I missed the earthquake? Lise talked to me from Denmark and asked me about it less than half an hour after it happened. Neighbor Shawn had texted Lise, so that was her news source.

I did hear an unusual sound and thought it might be the heating system turning on. I was walking from the kitchen to the laundry room, which is why I didn’t feel the house shaking. Shawn couldn’t believe I missed all the excitement. I asked her if she heard a sound with the quake, She answered, “Yes! I heard at first, what I thought was a huge gust of wind rattling the windows. Then it became louder and stronger and when I looked out the window, no branches were moving so I knew it wasn’t wind. Then it still became stronger and there was no mistake! Izzy [the dog] freaked out!!”

Neighbor Joyce contacted all the women on the street, saying we might already know the quake measured 4.1 South of Knoxville, Tennessee. She first thought it was a really big truck on the street.

Maybe I’d already had enough excitement for the day. I woke with vertigo, my head swimming as I got out of bed. It never lasts very long, so I planned to walk as usual. There was a bobble with one knee, feeling like it wasn’t exactly straight when I got dressed. I took the old cane with me for support. Some of the time I held the cane off the road, and the rest of the time I put it down with every other step. If I looked a bit odd, that was nothing new. People here are used to me.