Special Message from AGI President Gene Kelly
Where: AGI – Napa CA.
Sunday, August 24th, 2014 at 3:23am we were hit with a thunderous earthquake that rumbled through our home and business like a Freight Train! My wife and I instantly grabbed on to each other holding on for life and for about 20 seconds rode this fierce Bucking bronco. The whole time we are listening to glass shatter and who knows what falling over in a total storm. When it happened first there was a “CRACK,” then a shaking that grows stronger and stronger until finally it was like a train that rumbled past and is continuing onward. EARTHQUAKE your mind screams, then as suddenly as it started, it stops.
We quickly get up putting on shoes to protect our feet from all the broken glass, fumbling for the flashlights we keep nearby, as the power outage emergency lights provide a soft glow. We are yelling for our only son, who’s bedroom is upstairs and are deeply relieved to hear him call back that he is O.K.
We check out the house quickly probing the dark with our flashlights. Checking for broken gas lines or water lines, trying to assess the situation as well as we can in just a couple of minutes. Broken glass is everywhere as all the kitchen cabinets have disgorged their entire contents crashing on to the floor or the counters and smashing into bits. It impassable. Curio Cabinets have toppled over shattering collections of figurines and precious treasure collected from around the world over the last thirty years. My wife sobs as she finds family heirlooms broken beyond recognition.
The power is out, the phone systems are down. Using our cellphones we text family members around the area, but we can’t reach my parents. After checking on our neighbors and having my wife stay huddled together with them in the dark with flashlights, my son and I jump in the truck and drive to my parent’s house about 5 miles away. Thank the Lord they are O.K. as they are in their 80’s so I was worried that they could have gotten trapped or have a heart-attack. Until you have experienced it you can’t imagine how an entire house can be tossed about like laundry in a dryer. It is an unrecognizable mess.
After we made sure they were safe, we quickly checked on the elderly neighbors, then traveled a bit further to check on our old friends in the old neighborhood. Thankfully everyone is physically O.K., but they are really emotionally shaken. Finally we go by the offices and the warehouse. What a mess. Shelving units have collapsed, the lathe has fallen over along with tool boxes, computers are askance and everything is a mess. But at least the building isn’t burning as some others are just in the distance.
This is the Earthquake we just experienced. We spent the next 12 hours cleaning and grieving over possessions lost. Our own home suffered damage, we had almost all of our glassware destroyed along with about half of our collectibles. The PVC pipes to our well broke at the seams so our water system is unusable. Thankfully I have prepared and have back up water jugs. As we continued to clean-up, I put over 200 lbs of broken glass in the garbage. We have lots more to do, plus significant repairs to fix the numerous cracks in the walls. What a day! It will be shadowing us for quite some time as they have warned us that there is a 50% chance of an equal size earthquake in the next week or so.
Bam!! We just had another after shock. Kind of keeps you on edge.
I want to thank all of you who have contacted us concerned about our situation. The good news is that even though we suffered damage to our facilities and our personal homes, no-one was severely injured! We find comfort by reminding ourselves that stuff is just stuff and we are all alive and will get over it.
But, we do have a LOT of repairs to do. One of our employees was taking pictures for the “Insurance.” I thanked her, but then had to tell her that we don’t have insurance that covers Earthquakes. Not for the business and not for the home. It is hard to get, expensive and has a huge deducible if you do get it, so no one carries it.
So, to raise some quick cash, I am offering all of you a 33% Discount off of the Retail price of ANY AGI course we offer. That is about 1/3 off! I am doing this to quickly raise cash to make repairs and keep our employees working. This Sale is only for the next seven (7) days. Does NOT apply to any previous sale. This is truly a disaster and supersedes all other offers, final price will be adjusted by our staff upon order review. Please go to www.AmericanGunsmith.com to find a list of our products. Use the code: SHAKE14
Or call us at 1-800-797-0867 to find out what you don’t yet have. Please limit your calls to placing orders as not all of our systems are functioning, our staff is bit shaken, and I don’t want to overwhelm them with social calls, but we are open for business and are here to serve you starting at 8am Pacific Time until 5pm PST. If we don’t answer please leave a message on our voice mail and we will call you back as soon as we can.
Again look over our last sales flier, or go to the www.AmericanGunsmith.com website to select a course then order online or CALL Us with your request and save 33% off of the Retail for the next Seven (7) days. Call 1-800-797-0867 we need to process these orders over the phone to get you your discount.
Thanks for your help. You will be richly rewarded with the content of these courses at a steep discount.
Shaken, Not Stirred!
Gene Kelly, President American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI)
1-800-797-0867