Reader's Note By Temperance Blalock: Keep Your Emergency Kit Prepped
Jul 24, 2009 8:00 - 8 Comments
>Last weekend I found myself in somewhat of an “emergency” situation: I couldn’t get access to my home (an apartment) for an afternoon and an evening, because of an 8k run whose trail ran right in front of my home. Several blocks were blocked off by the police, and so when I returned home that afternoon and found out that I couldn’t’ return home until about 1 AM or 2 AM, I had to make a decision. I ended up going to sleep the night at a family member’s home – lucky for me she was willing and available to take me in on short notice. Not lucky for me that I didn’t have an emergency supply of clothes or toiletries stashed away in the trunk of my car. What was really annoying was that I HAD such an emergency supply in the car for many years, but I had recently cleaned it out because it had been sitting there for years and needed to be recycled/replenished.
I have been aware of the importance of having “appropriate” emergency gear ever since 2000, when I got a bit “caught up” in the Y2K hysteria. It wasn’t entirely a waste of time, since I did educate myself about what is an appropriate reaction, and what supplies should a person actually store?
The City of Rockville has a web page on Emergency Preparedness. It’s a good summary of the basic steps that should be taken, the most fundamental one being that one needs separate kits for separate functions. The supplies that one maintains in the home for “shelter in place” are different from the ones that should be maintained to grab and flee the house (aka “Bugout Bag”). There should also be variations kept in the car, and variations kept in one’s desk at work.
As for my recent emergency, I could not get access to my home kits, nor my work kit (since my passcard to get into work was in my apartment, which I couldn’t get to). So, since I had no kit of personal supplies in the car, I was left with no change of clothes and no toiletries. Lucky for me, my host had a spare nightie that she lent me, and I could use her shower facilities and soap and other toiletries. But still, I felt very precarious and disoriented. And it’s time to completely rethink what’s appropriate for each of the kits. It’s amazing how fast time flies, and thus how quickly supplies decay or expire (if they’re consumables), and how frequently one must monitor them. One must also take a jaundiced look and see whether one is focusing incorrectly on inappropriate tools: it’s great to have a fishing rod in the car trunk, in case one is suddenly plunked in the hills of West Virginia and must catch fish to survive, but is that a realistic thing to have, given that one is a suburbanite and such drastic measures are highly unlikely?
This Reader’s Note is by Rockville Central friend Temperance Blalock, a frequent contributor.
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There’s something really wrong here if the police are preventing someone from entering their own home due to an event that’s using public property. It’s either on the part of the contributor: ignoring notices of the event (not sure if everyone gets these, but in King Farm we get letters and there are signs posted everywhere) or the police / event coordinators, but these events should not be preventing someone from entering their own home.
It wasn’t that I was prevented from entering my home, it was more that the entire block was inaccessible for parking, due to the twilight run. If I’d parked several blocks away and then walked, I could have gone home. However, the crowds nearby were so packed that I felt my best option was to go spend the night at my family member’s home, and that’s when I discovered that I had no spare clothes. Just a reminder that plans can conspire to throw our lives out of whack, and what do you do in such a situation?
This race has been going on for over 20 years. Its always the 3rd Saturday in July. The city does an excellent job informing the public. Road signs are out covering the entire course letting the public know that some routes will be inaccessible for short periods of time. N. Washington street may have been off limits from 8-10pm. The whole event was over by 11pm. The reason I know is because I ran the race and stayed at the after party until all the beer was gone and the band stopped playing. Another excellent job by the City of Rockville. The proceeds from the race go towards scholarships for underprivileged kids to attend city camps and play sports in city rec leagues.
And yet somehow I managed to completely forget about it. Nothing wrong with what the city Rockville did, and my attention was directed elsewhere that particular day. The point is, I ended up in a situation where I had to make sudden alternative plans. This is NOT about the particular situation of the race, it’s a reminder that unexpected situations can cause disorientation in one’s plans.
Your post reminded me of when I was growing up and my father kept a tool box and a fishing rod in the trunk of his car at all times
As a parent of several children, I always kept a rubber tote with a first aid kit, one of those plastic tablecloths, gloves, hats, a large sweatshirt, can opener, water and snacks. Also kept a can of formula and a bottle when there were little ones. The kit was used regularly when we would play too late at a park, get unexpectedly wet, or hurt. You’re not always near your house when you need to be…
Please also take this as a reminder to prepare for your pets as well. http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navId=36 has a lot of useful information. One of the best tips is to bring along a picture that includes both you and your pet together in case you get separated. OK, off my soapbox for now.
From the looks of my car I am totally overprepared! But let me point out my essential piece of equiptment - my binoculars that were my high school graduation present from my parents. When 270 comes to a halt, I watch the birds instead of fuming, when I pass a pond or a scenic overlook, I park and enjoy the birds and view, and when I’m lost and stopped at a red light, I read the overhead and street signs way ahead.
Thanks for the reminder!