have you ever been in an earthquake ?   yes , I experienced one when I was in Tokyo once . The tremors only lasted a few seconds though and then it was over .   do you know where it measured on the Richter scale ?   I don't remember , but it wasn't very serious . Have you ever been in an earthquake ?   no , but I was in quite a few tornados when I was younger .   where are you from ?   I'm from the plains of the Midwest . It's a prime location for tornadoes .   did your house ever get damaged from the winds ?   most of the time we were lucky , but once a tree from our front yard was ripped out by its roots and ended up in our living room .   wow , that must have really been scary .   actually , some of my fondest memories of my childhood were of spending time with my family in the basement waiting for the tornados to pass . 