| August 2020 | ||
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This year’s updating of the earthquake kit brought a new perspective on being prepared to shelter in place for a (previously) recommended 72 hours. My first reaction? “Ha! I’ve been sheltering in place for months. Piece of cake!” Then I thought it over: While this pandemic threatens to fry my capacity for boredom, it could be worse.
My latest gratitudes: Neighbors and friends. I might have to stay six feet away from them and wear a mask, but I have them for support and socially distanced meet-ups. They’re not dead, buried under rubble or searching for a lost loved one. They’re home, safe and healthy. Water, gas, and electricity. I have plenty of all three. I can boil water, fire up the oven, take showers and get adequate hydration. In an earthquake (or fire danger), we might not have either for a long time. California used to recommend having enough supplies for three days, but I notice now that they’ve raised it more than double, to seven. That can’t be a good sign. I added a couple more N95 masks. Entertainment. Electricity means I also have entertainment: television, Netflix, a light to do jigsaw puzzles and read by. The only thing in my earthquake kit for amusement, besides a solar phone charger, is a deck of cards. Of course it travels well, but one can only play cards for so long. Delicious food. While the supply chain is still a bit of a mess, I can get what I need at the grocery store and restock. Just about everything in my earthquake kit is last-resort food that one only eats when one is desperate. Spaghetti-O’s are somehow not as tasty as they used to be. Sadly, yeast will likely be useless to me without an oven. I typically enjoy geeking out on my earthquake kit updates and this year was particularly satisfying. I had a project to pass the time with and a renewed appreciation for the not-so-little things. If you need coaching on stocking your earthquake kit, please reach out. |
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