In California, we were issued a notebook filled with What To Do If We're Stranded information. Our town was on a peninsula which might have been cut off from the mainland in an earthquake; we had to be prepared to shelter in place.
Some had generators. I had candles, flashlights and batteries, and a bag of charcoal for the hibachi if we really needed to heat something up. Blankets a plenty, bathtubs always ready to be filled with water for all sorts of necessities, radios powered by a variety of sources (solar, battery, a wind up crank), medications and safety supplies ..... we were always prepared.
Then, we moved to Arizona. No one worries about earthquakes in Arizona. I stopped thinking about emergency preparedness.
Then, my go-to-friend-for-science referred me to this Scientific American article which reminded me that it is my civic duty to be prepared in case there is community disruption.
I went right to the grocery store for shelf stable supplies. I drove to Costco on Saturday afternoon to get two flats of water, braving the crowded parking lot, receiving a cart swiped with an antiseptic cloth, preparing my household for the day the government asks me to avoid public places.
I have trips to San Francisco and Indiana planned in the next few weeks, with the Festival of Books squeezed in between. I really hope there is no community disruption planned.
I think we're quitting our gym membership. Since we're in the over 60 demographic, the thought of congregating with other hot sweaty people and touching the surfaces they just touched and what's in those squirt bottles of cleaner anyway? We went to Costco yesterday for water, toilet paper, 8 pounds of organic pasta from Italy (before the supply chain is cut) and red sauce to put on it. Then I had to laugh at the irony of mingling with the crowds of people in the store in order to stock up for a pandemic.
ReplyDeleteYes, we may all be infected without knowing. Laughing is good!
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