The Laugh that Shook the Earth, Part 2

After things were finally settled with the Department of Justice, we were able to purchase a new handicapped equipped van, and we decided to take a long trip to unwind and celebrate. So Renée, Jessica and I packed up and headed out, leaving our kids, Jamie and Jon in charge of everything at home. We went East.

The Big Birthday Surprise.

At that time, I was the Director of the All American Soap Box Derby in Boise, and I needed to haul the winning cars from our local race to Akron, Ohio for the World Championships. Then it was on to Watkins Glen, New York, to find Renée’s long lost relatives. After that, to the Florida panhandle to visit my sister Yvonne who was in poor health, and also to rendezvous with my Mom, Jamie and Jon, for a surprise ‘Birthday Party’ for Renée and Jessica (Renée had no idea!) on August 25th.

On the drive home, another precious moment came our way.

‘A Whole Lotta Shaking…’

We had been traveling around the Grand Canyon as we headed for home, taking the scenic route through Utah’s rugged and unique Zion National Park.

As we drove along in the gathering sunset, we hesitated at the entrance to the lodge grounds and camping area. Should we pull in and spend the night or push on?

As Renée steered the van around the winding road perched on a hill side, I looked at Jessica. She looked happy and content, looking quietly out at the scenery.

“Let’s keep going,” I said. “There’s a ‘rest stop’ when we get to the freeway and we can spend the night there.”

When we reached the rest stop, we made our bed in the van, and placed Jessica between us. As we lay there I just impulsively reached out and stroked her chin. As she turned to look at me, she began to giggle and then laugh out loud! A beautiful, musical, gurgling laugh, like the sound of a little brook happily rushing along.

It was infectious and we both laughed with her, and the sound of a thousand angels couldn’t have been any sweeter!

It was the first time we had heard her laugh like that and we didn’t want it to stop.

Later as I dozed off, I could still hear it in my head. I remembered the first time I had ever heard her tiny heartbeat and I realized how very, very much I loved this precious little girl, now sleeping next to me, who had turned our world upside down!

I woke up suddenly with a start… something was wrong!

The van was swaying violently and it seemed to move in every direction at once!

I thought of the trailer we were pulling, full of Soap Box Derby cars, tools and equipment. Someone must be breaking into the trailer, I sleepily concluded. I balanced myself in the rocking van and looked out the back window. I saw nothing… nothing at all. Just the dimly lit rest stop full of loaded semis and other weary travelers. Then slowly, the shaking stopped, and an eery quiet settled in.

I woke Renée.

“Whaaat was that?” I shouted.

“What was what?” she said groggily.

Had I imagined it, I wondered? No! That was real. I didn’t know what had happened, but the van had been shaking hard. At the same time, I was wondering why Renée, usually a light sleeper, hadn’t noticed?

Time to Leave!

Then the roaring started, as the dozen or so 18 wheelers parked around us, began to roar to life and lumber away in the darkness. What was going on? Well, I didn’t know, but if they were leaving… we were leaving! I looked at the clock, as I started the van. It was 3:45 am.

As we drove on to Salt Lake City, I heard the report on the radio. Apparently there had been a big earthquake, and the epi-center was located just a few miles from where we had been sleeping. So that was it!

The next day it was big news! A photo on the front cover of the Salt Lake paper grabbed my attention. There was a large picture of the very road we had been on just a few hours before the earthquake hit. It was buried under 30 feet of rock and dirt!

‘Whoa,’ I thought, ‘…that was close!’

We could have easily been buried in that landslide.

Then I thought of Jessica’s big belly laugh the night before. When I showed the picture to Renée, I said, “Jessica laughs out loud… and the earth shakes!”

As I ran things through my mind that morning, I had to wonder to myself…

‘Just exactly what had she been laughing about?’

Next Week: “An Amazing Dream.. A Taste of the Future!”

I will continue to share the answers to the question “What happened to Jessica?” every Monday in the weeks ahead. When I have received sufficient feedback and questions, I will add a Thursday episode, as needed, to this blog, focused on answering your questions and comments.

Thanks for your interest.

Jim, Renée & Jessica