On May 18, 1980 my dog woke me up a little after 8:00 am in my Cherry Crest bedroom. I didn't think anything of it until I turned on the Mariner game a couple of hours later and thus saw it on tv. By mid afternoon it had become a beautifully clear and calm day. When people talk of "earthquake weather" I think of that day. We all walked to the bottom of the hill to where Sky-Guy was as this provided the best view. Sure enough, clear as day, just behind Mt Rainier was a mountain blowing up! I watched a couple of more eruptions from that same spot and even got "ashed," on Anderson Island one morning. This was all pretty exciting for a 14 year old. Even now I'm sort of rooting for her to BLOW big time .

Sorry Toutle fans.