MR. KOJO NNAMDIWelcome back. It's your turn. We'll be heading off to the Republican convention, weather permitting, in Tampa this weekend. The convention starts Monday. If there are aspects of life in Florida and Tampa or issues you'd like to hear discussed at this convention or at the Democratic convention in Charlotte the next week, now is the time to call with your suggestions. It's your turn, 800-433-8850. You can send email to kojo@wamu.org. Or what are your memories from a year ago today?

MR. KOJO NNAMDIYou might want to share those because one year ago, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook our region. While the epicenter was 84 miles away in Mineral, Va., the quake did significant damage here in the nation's capital, including millions in damage to the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument, both still under repair. Scientists studying last year's quake say that the East Coast is vulnerable to rare but potentially devastating seismic shifts.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIWe were on the air when the earthquake hit, talking about living with AIDS, and in studio with me was an HIV outreach tester with the Community Education Group. Our guest's name was J'Mia Edwards, a young woman who herself is HIV-positive. Let's listen to some of the audio from 1:51 p.m., Aug. 23, 2011.

MR. CARLTON ROUNDS...you know, and he said OK. Now, the thing is, a 9-year-old boy in Mexico helps me with my compliance.

NNAMDIWait a second. Something is going on in the studio, and it is shaking here. That's why -- ah, I guess we are experiencing some kind of earthquake or movement here. But, Deborah, you should know that South Africa is of particular importance to Carlton because, Carlton, when you learned that you were positive in 2005, you got on a plane and...

NNAMDIWhat do I remember from that day, Aug. 23, 2011? Two things. The first, feeling the building rocking, the grinding sounds of what the heck is that, a vague memory of having heard the sound before, the sight of people rushing past the studio and an instinctive desire to get up and run. The second thing I remember is looking across the table directly in front of me and seeing J'Mia Edwards looking directly into my eyes. She was unflinching, calm and composed.

NNAMDIAnd I'm thinking to myself, this young woman is looking into my eyes for guidance and direction. She's showing no signs of fear. She is HIV-positive, facing it courageously, and I'm thinking about running out of the room and out of the building, to where? Without a word, she was actually guiding me, a living, breathing reminder that my job here is to stay calm, reassure her and our listeners that, while the building may be shaking, we are still safe and able to continue our conversation, which we did. And before the show was over, we were informed that we had, in fact, talked through an earthquake.

NNAMDIThat's my memory. And I haven't seen J'Mia Edwards since, so this is my belated thank you to her. Thank you, J'Mia, and I hope you are well. Holler back when you get a chance. It's your turn to reflect on what you remember about a year ago or to tell us what you'd like to hear us discuss when we head for the Democratic and Republican national conventions in Tampa, the Republicans and Charlotte, the Democrats. Here is Steven in Takoma Park, Md. Steven, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

STEVENYes. Hi, Kojo. I'm a long, longtime listener. I saw you -- I guess you were on Channel 32 at one point, way back when. Love your show. I was in my barbershop in the middle of Silver Spring, and the barber who was -- you know, I have known for a long time offhandedly said, I think they're doing construction next door. And I said, you mean the painting they're doing next door?

NNAMDIThat's the loudest painting you've ever heard.

STEVENYeah. So I -- the -- my personal experience is, of course, everybody left the building, and I kind of stuck around because they had a large-screen TV. I could see it from the window, and, you know, I had kind of a comfort level that -- but I knew it was an earthquake. Everybody was confirming it. The television confirmed it, and -- but I immediately went right immediately to 9/11.

STEVENMy memories of 9/11, it seemed like the same thing, the same animal that, you know, I didn't know what I was doing, like, what was going on, and it just felt like we were under attack for some reason. I didn't feel like it was the same incident or the same situation in any way, but it felt -- the energy felt the same.

NNAMDIWere you actually in the barber's chair at the time?

STEVENThat's funny. No, no. I was up next, and I was just waiting. And it wasn't my normal barber, but I was waiting for, you know, the barber that I would go to after if she wasn't there.

NNAMDIYeah, 'cause I was just thinking that if the barber was in the act of cutting your hair at the time, I would not have wanted to see what you had looked like right after the hurricane went by.

STEVENHe's a very good barber.

NNAMDISteven, thank you very much for your call. We have time for a brief comment from Mark in Washington D.C., who wanted to talk about the education issue. Mark, you got about 30 seconds.

MARKHey. How are you doing, Kojo?

NNAMDII'm good. Twenty seconds.

MARKNo one ever mentioned parents, which has got to cut across all cultural and economic lines...

NNAMDIWell, you know...

MARKParental involvement, the most important thing in education.

NNAMDIOne of the things that charter schools, it seems, have been able to do, to some extent, more effectively than public schools, is to insist on parental involvement in their children's education. Of course, public schools don't have a choice. They simply have to accept all of the children, whether or not the parents are involved. But I'm afraid that's all the time we have, and thank you very much for bringing that up. And thank you all for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.