evacuations

[cellio]

Katrina is certainly a tragedy, and I feel really bad for the people who've lost lives and property. My heart goes out to those people. But two things: (1) this is not anything like the tsunami in magnitude, Mr. Mayor, and (2) there are other things going on in the world too and I'd like the news to cover them. (I mean, really, if I were a nefarious government agent itching for some shenanigans, this would be the perfect time.)

anastasiav posed a thought experiment today. Given 12-24 hours' notice that you have to clear out and you have only your current vehicle with which to do it, what would you take? I have sometimes played through the "the house is on fire" scenario, where you maybe grab something on your way out the door, but this is a different scenario.

This isn't the order in which I thought of things, nor is this in full priority order, but I'm trying to group things for easier reading. For purposes of the exercise I'm assuming that my VW Golf is not currently in lemon mode. :-)

The universal "this goes without saying, right?" list: passport, cash, checkbook, cell phone, non-perishable compact food, drinking water, medicine, blankets, a few changes of clothes, toiletries, contents of the "important papers" drawer.

Every bit as essential to me: the cats (duh), some food for them, computer CPU and external hard drive. Yes, if a shelter turned my cats away I'd keep driving, as long as I possibly could. (And by the way, the cats and the external hard drive -- in that order -- are what I'd grab in the event of a fire.)

Thinking practically: contents of the "original work" drawers (research notes, sheet music, etc that aren't on the computer), one good knife, photos of items being left behind (including contents of bookshelves) for the insurance claim and to help with rebuilding,

Sentimental stuff: photo albums (I don't have a lot), the afghan my grandmother (of blessed memory) made for me (doubles as a blanket, too), a few (specific) pieces of jewelry, copies of my band's CDs (one each, I mean, not stockpiles), kiddush cup from our wedding, Shabbat candlesticks from a good friend.

Special and possibly surprising to some: about a dozen specific religious texts, or that entire section of the bookcase if I had room. Books are replacable, but that's not the point. I would do my best to specifically rescue the books containing the (real, not translated) name of God. I would also check with my synagogue and offer to take one torah scroll with me if needed. Yes, I would give my religious community a chunk of my evac space for something that important; it's kind of like tithing, when you think about it.

(Oh, in case you're wondering, Dani has his own car. We'd certainly try to use both. So I haven't factored him into this. This is my list, not our list.)

Unless there's room (which I kind of doubt), my hammer dulcimer didn't make the cut (though I'd grab the bag of hammers; good hammers are really important, and they're small). It's expensive and it would be a shame, but I do know where to get another. Losing the case would be annoying (not commercially available), but in this scenario I'd be doing enough rebuilding of the core parts of my life that this would be noise. (Err. So to speak.)

Sure, I've got lots of other stuff -- but most of it is stuff that could be replaced. It's just stuff. The things I listed go beyond "just stuff".

What are the things that you consider to be beyond "just stuff"?

Comments

[siderea]

(That said, I understand the body of water which is flooding the city is salt water, which definitely helps.)

[zachkessin.livejournal.com]

I would guess for the people of the Gulf coast this sucks in ways that I hope to never understand.

I am thinking that the long term effects both to public health and to the economy (from the loss of the port of New Orleans) we can't even guess at yet. But it will be really bad.

[cellio]

This definitely sucks; the damage and disease potential are very high. Because they had warning, the loss of life will be much lower than it would have been otherwise. I think I was reading the mayor's comment too narrowly, perhaps because we (well, I -- I won't speak for others) have become used to talking about catastrophes in terms of body counts. And we shouldn't; that's a component but far from the whole picture.