While others waited by the phone for news from friends and family following the California earthquake, Richie Smith made an aggressive move one would expect from a corporate president.
Before dawn broke over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge the morning after the quake, the young president of Smith's Food and Drug Centers had landed at San Francisco International Airport to bring his family home.Smith's chartered plane was one of the first to land at the airport after it was opened to limited air traffic following the quake.
Smith sent his wife Julie and their three sons to San Francisco Monday for the third and fourth games of the World Series. Smith stayed behind to attend an annual series of corporate planning meetings.
When he went home from work Tuesday night, he flipped on the TV and settled in to watch the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics - the game his wife and children were attending at Candlestick Park.
Instead, he saw a news bulletin announcing a major earthquake in San Francisco. He promptly went to the phone and chartered a plane.
"I thought it would be very difficult to get into San Francisco on a commercial flight," he said. He was right. San Francisco International was closed immediately following the 5 p.m. quake.
The Smith family had just entered the portals at Candlestick when the earth began to move. "I thought I was getting dizzy, real sick," said Ryan Smith, 12.
Scott Smith, 11, often gets a little lightheaded when he walks into hot, crowded stadiums. He thought the shaking was his lightheadedness, "only a lot worse than it usually is."
Nicholas, 5, took the pragmatic view. He figured the walls were shaking "because everyone was yelling and talking so much."
Then people began yelling "Earthquake!"
But there wasn't any of the drama or pandemonium one might expect when thousands are packed close together in a trembling stadium. "People started to applaud and cheer," said Julie.
It took several minutes for people in the stadium to realize how serious the quake really was. "People were picking up bits of information about the destruction from those who had transistor radios and little TVs," Julie said.
Stunned by the news of a collapsed bridge and toppled buildings, they began picking up their things and leaving. As the Smiths walked out, police began entering all portals to evacuate the stadium.
Richie tried to reach his family at their hotel, but all the circuits going into San Francisco were jammed. He called his pilot.
"I asked him to contact the airports and find out what's open and what's closed, so when Julie got in touch with me and we made arrangements to get them out of there we could get right down there and get it done," Richie said.
The family made slow progress through the darkened city back to their hotel. "It was pitch black," Julie said. "There were absolutely no lights but car lights, police emergency lights and a few people with flashlights."
The four spent a night the boys will cherish: No electricity, no hot water, communication to all guests via a handheld megaphone.
Nicholas still has a tiny flashlight handed out by the hotel valets in the lobby. Julie called Richie at 9:30 p.m. Richie wanted to fly down then, but Julie couldn't find a way to the airport.
"There were cracks in various roads in the city and they were encouraging people not to drive that night," Richie said. He told her to get to the airport by 6 a.m. and he would land to pick her up as soon as the airport opened.
When Richie and his pilot left Salt Lake City, San Francisco International was still closed, so the men filed a flight plan for Reno. The plan was to fly to Reno, land and wait for San Francisco to open.
On their way to Reno, San Francisco International notified them the airport was open.
Richie landed shortly after 7 a.m., collected his family and took off 20 minutes later.
Ryan and Scott were reluctant to go. But Nicholas was anxious for home. "I didn't want to stay any longer because the lights were out so long," he said.
On the way out of the city, Richie's pilot flew the family over the Bay Bridge. "It was still early. The sun was just barely coming up. You could just see the section that had collapsed," Richie said. "It looked strange not to see any cars going across it."
The broken slabs of concrete barely visible in the gray dawn brought the power of the quake home to Richie.
Asked about the cost of chartering the plane, he concedes, "It's expensive. But you can't put a price on the safety and well-being of your family. That was of paramount importance to me."