Los Angeles Times Special Quake Report: One Year Later : Still Shaken / Voices : From the Epicenter to D.C.: Reflections on the Devastation : JIMMY MENZI
The fireball that raged down Balboa Boulevard and enveloped Jimmy Menzi’s truck inflicted burns over 30% of his body and killed his two dogs. He managed to recover without skin grafts. There was money left over in a fund contributed to help him pay his medical bills.
* I feel OK. I can’t go out in the sun ever again. There’s a real high chance of cancer because the skin is so badly damaged. I have a few blotches; it just looks like a very tanned area.
. . . There’s still money in that account. I didn’t need it all. I have used that money to help other people. There was a family who lost their house in a fire a few weeks ago. We helped them out. We helped a friend with brain surgery. That money’s not meant for me to go on vacation. There’s not a lot there, but it’s going to help people.
. . . You don’t take tomorrow for granted. I used to be real fast-paced, you know, life in the fast lane.
Menzi says, no matter what, you can’t give up.
You have to. You don’t have any choice in that matter. You can curl up into a ball or you can keep on truckin’.
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