Traveling in East Africa in 1970s and 1980s was different than it would be now – not much communication was possible. Occasionally I would see a news story from home in a local paper, but US news was hardly a priority. I might hear of an earthquake in California, but that’s as specific as it would get – no city, no size noted.
So imagine my surprise when I saw this article in The Standard (Kenya) that mentions my little hometown, Lakeside, California. Now it wasn’t very accurate – I doubt if San Diego looked like a ghost town. And El Cajon is not on the river. And I know that the dam did not burst. But it sure got my attention at the time.