If you had fifteen minutes to pack your life into a car, what would you take? Thoughts about this are somewhat important in these crazy days. Hard to tell if the 1,000 year flood or the 100 year fire will come knocking. Maybe The Big One in the form of an earthquake. Here in America, we have an abundance of belongings leaving some to define themselves by the toys they keep. But, in an emergency, What Would You Take?
The answer to that has changed over the course of my life. I remember the Loma Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989. Ironing while watching the Oakland A’s play in the World Series, the broadcast was interrupted by a terrible earthquake in the San Francisco Bay area. On a crystal clear seas side day, the television transmission started shaking and went to snow. From that moment forward, the news held horrors as camera angles showed downed bridges and overpasses that had squashed cars and drivers into mangled pancakes. For days, first responders raced at full speed, saving those they could, and making note of those for which there was no hope at all.
My parents owned a vacation condominium in Santa Cruz, California, hard hit by the jolt. Family lived in the little town. Phone calls let us know our people were shaken but fine, but would the condo still be standing? It was too dangerous for anyone there to check.
The next morning, the three of us jumped in the car to cross over the coastal mountain range to assess what damage had occurred. What did I take? Batteries, flashlights, a change of clothes. Oreo Cookies. Two packages. Why? Because everything is a little better with chocolate. Oreo cookies are an extreme comfort food. Would I have done better taking something more sensible to help those in need? Probably. But, the cookies went instead.
As we drove the three hour trip, damage was obvious along the entire route. Huge hay stacks had toppled. Roads had cracked. Buildings were at precarious angles. The closer we got, the more damage we noticed along the highway. The little coastal town we all loved so much was in a state of shock.
At the condo, a second story plate glass window had popped out and fallen straight down in a single sheet to cut through a 2″ x 4″ redwood deck like butter. If someone had been sleeping in the lower bedroom and run out of the sliding door, they’d have been killed. The free standing fireplace had danced across the floor. No doubt, the condo had been jumping up and down during the earthquake, but amazingly, it remained standing and sound.
Houses had slid off foundations. Roofs collapsed. Windows shattered. Power lines were down. Roads buckled. The famous Santa Cruz Book Store was a disaster, with every title laying in heaps like rubble on the flour.
One young family was without a home, as theirs had fallen apart. My parents immediately made the condo available to their use for as long as they needed a place to stay. Without thinking of logistics or risks, they handed the keys to their ocean view hideaway to young parents of two adorable kids. With nothing but the clothes on their backs, they were in shock from the disaster, but also from the kindness of two senior citizens from the Central Valley of California, doing what they could to help.
What would you take? What would you give? How could you help? We all need to consider that questions, because disasters will come. It might be our turn to suffer or our turn to help. Only God knows.
Carefully construct your list. Don’t wait. Have a flexible plan. Stay prepared. If Covid taught me one thing, it’s that the smallest disaster can cause the most profound shortages. Don’t become complacent. We’re all only one sneeze away from more empty shelves.
With that said, enjoy the beginning of Autumn. Here in the desert, the skies are trying to return to the deepest blue. The days are noticeably shorter. The pre-sunrise temps are hovering in the 50’s, making morning yardwork crisp and delicious. If you are lucky enough to awake to an unevacuated day free from disaster and smoke, be grateful. Happy Sunday!