Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Preparedness

Big Daddy has been wanting to talk to me about emergency preparedness. He follows all the political stuff; he's good at it. (I am not good at it or interested in it. I'm good at things like cooking dinner, baking, taking kids to the library--things like that. That's what Division of Labor is all about.)

Since I'm not Good At Politics I did not want to talk about emergency preparedness. I did not want to hear that the government is urging people to be prepared for a pandemic of avian flu. I did not want to fill my basement with canned goods, peanut butter, bottled water and powdered milk. I didn't want to do it for Y2K, or 3 years ago when the whole "duct tape and plastic sheeting" thing hit. And I didn't want to do it now. I had heard nothing about it until Big Daddy brought it up and let's just say I was a bit resistant to the topic. OK, I was very resistant.

Then this morning I was listening to the TV news for the weather report. Usually I turn it off at 7 but my hands were busy, so I left it on, and suddenly Good Morning America is interviewing someone from the Red Cross about preparedness.

And after my school-lunchroom shift I picked up a copy of a magazine I enjoy (All You) and what do I find? A Handy-Dandy Pull-Out-And-Keep Guide entitled: "Be Prepared for Emergencies."

Obviously, Someone is trying to tell me something. Like "Big Daddy is right about this. You should listen to what he has to say."

OK. But do I really have to buy powdered milk? And, more importantly, how many bags of M&Ms per person should be in that disaster kit?

5 comments:

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

Steven, thanks for your input. I'm glad to know that most preparedness kits can really be that small (and I CAN pack! It's amazing what I can make fit into a small space).
And I'm writing from New Jersey, so we're relatively inexperienced at emergency kits.

Julie D. said...

Barb, this is quite timely as I just got a copy of Apocalypse Chow ... the name was so funny that I knew I had to get it. As a bonus it actually is quite a well written little book with many good ideas about food and places to look for other emergency preparedness supplies.

Now, on the M&Ms issue ... at least two 5-lb. bags, right?

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

At LEAST, Julie!
I ordered that book. Can't resist a new cookbook anyway, and that IS intriguing.

Michelle said...

It's funny...my husband just talked to me a few days ago about emergency preparation, too. The bird flu seems to be the disaster du jour. I go to the grocery store regularly and normally have a pantry stocked with granola bars, raisins, breakfast cereal and bottled water. I figure that's good enough and the Good Lord will provide all else.

Apparently, hubby attended a briefing on this topic and the man suggested Spaghetti Os as a good thing to stock up on: they have a pop-top and are "palatable even cold." I told my husband that Spaghetti Os were not palatable under any circumstances and I would not include them in my pantry.

Barb Szyszkiewicz said...

EWWWWWW!
NO, Spaghetti-Os are Never Palatable. What's good about overcooked pasta, salty tomato soup and "cheese-like product?"
Wouldn't a few Reese's Peanut Butter Cups require the recommended daily allowance of protein?