14. The Day that Berkeley Burned

September of 1923 was miserably hot. Every day dry winds swept down from the northeast. It was the kind of weather that made me wish we lived in San Francisco instead of on the east side of the Bay. Looking back now, I divide my life with Mim into our world before September 17th and our world afterward.

On the afternoon of 17th, Ephraim was at Double-J, and Mim was with me. I had persuaded her to go shopping for a new dress. Paul was in elementary school—second grade I think—and Rachel was in...