A Year Later: Where Were You For The Earthquake?

At first I thought someone was moving furniture or doing calisthenics upstairs.

Oh no, it was just an earthquake. Wait, an earthquake? In Bel Air?

Well, not just in Bel Air. The Aug. 23, 2011 earthquake was felt throughout the region. Needless to say, an earthquake is not a typical occurrence in our neck of the woods and the day is one I remember clearly.

I was sitting in on bail review hearings in that afternoon.

As I sat in the back row taking notes—a daliy occurence during my tenure at —I was struck by how noisy the folks on the second floor were being.

It was a split second before I realized it wasn't anyone inside the building that was making ceiling shake. In another second, a fellow regular of the hearings dashed to the door announcing what we were all slowly realizing: "It's an earthquake."

I followed his lead. It seemed wise to mirror the actions of a former California resident.

Once the ground again felt solid, Judge John Dunnigan called the event "spooky" and confirmed with correctional officers at ther that it wasn't just one building that shook.

I admit I broke the rules that day and jumped on Twitter to find the National Weather Service reporting the centered on an area near Richmond, VA. The quake was felt as far north as Canada.

Everyone has a story about where they were when the earthquake hit, and that's mine. I got to see attorneys, members of law enforcement and a judge get flustered all at once.

Now I want to hear your story. Where were you and what do you remember most about the August 23, 2011 earthquake? Tell me in the comments.