Friends of my wife gave us 4 tickets to the parade; great seats; they had some wealth; so I was all set to go when my oldest daughter said she wanted to take a friend. So I stayed back at the condo overlooking Calif. Rt. #1 in Malibu--watching east coast bowl games and drinking beer when of a sudden a freight train started through the condo; it took me a second or two to realize that this wasn't a freight train but an earthquake; since the front door overlooked Rt. # 1 and the ocean and I didn't want to fall in, I beat a hasty retreat through the garage to the alley (after stopping at the fridge for another beer); I got out and saw snakes and other small creepy crawlies coming down the hills; my wife and three kids drove up at that moment; people were standing around in the alley; my little one climbed out, looked around and said, "What happened, Daddy." I said, "earthquake." She (aged 8) burst into tears saying, "I missed it." (they didn't feel it in the car.)