Speech 5: Being Prepared! Not!


And Ordinary Day

After a long day at work I am closing in on my garage and hit the automatic garage door opener – a wonderful invention! Nothing happens. I keep pushing hoping for one stray flick of power – nothing.

I moan – I hate having to put batteries in these things. I can never get them open and then you have to find the right battery. I let those thoughts trail off for the moment grumbling as I get out of the car and head for the front door.
It isn’t until I open the front door and I am greeted by barely cool air that it hits me -

The reason there were so many people out walking around, so many gathered around golf carts and sitting on porches this late in the day!

The POWER IS OUT! Mannnnn! I hate when the power is out.

But for the moment I shrug it off – greet my darling Westie Bailey and push on. I decide I need to find out just how long this inconvenience is going to last.
Bailey and I get in the car and do a slow drive around the park – checking in with folks here and there.

The news is not good. Probably won’t be fixed until 10-11 PM!
Ok I can handle this. I sigh heavily but decide it could be worse – at least the rain has stopped.

And it is still light out.

I forage through the kitchen looking for something I can eat that doesn’t require HEAT! I find a stray can of tuna fish and check the mayo – it hasn’t spoiled yet. I begin to wonder in the back of my mind – what if this were to go on for more than an hour?

I open my laptop in search of entertainment and discover the battery is dead. I find the old radio and discover the battery is dead. I decide to read and I look over to the oil lamp only to discover that it is out of oil.
I eat my sandwich in the dimming light and make a list of all the things I don’t have.

My laptop battery is dead.
My radio batteries are dead.
My oil lamp has no oil.

Oh and I have nothing else to eat that doesn’t require HEAT!

As the fading light of dusk sinks me into near darkness I realize I will need some sort of light and head for the drawer in the kitchen. You know the drawer – the place where all things come to rest that have no other place to rest. It is a deep black hole in front of me. I stick my hand in and have visions of the high school haunted house where the older kids forced your hand into a bowl of peeled grapes and told you they were eyeballs.

I did feel something squishy but quickly moved on and my hand landed on something hard and slick! Ah Ha – a flashlight. Now I say a silent prayer that the batteries are not dead.

I push the button and glorious light washes over the countertop. Thank you, Thank you.

With trusty flashlight firmly in hand I’m off to find the candles and matches.
But where are the candles and matches?

It is dark now.

Pam honey this is not preparedness!

I find my way to the sofa and drop dejectedly. I am not prepared for this! My inner voice mocks me.

My mind wanders to all the things I am not prepared for:

I am not the least bit prepared for a rainy day – not even a drizzle.
I am not prepared for a long illness – I have no living will – no will of any kind.
Stop – too much to dwell on right now. I make a mental list of what I should have ready to deal with even short power outages – and have ready for situations much worse than this.

Bailey's bark brings me out of my reverie with a jolt. He is not used to the silence. All the background noise is gone from the refrigerator and air conditioner and fan and now he hears everything and barks at everything and scares the crap out of me!

Why is it that the dark is scarier when the lights are out due to a power outage than when you go to bed and turn the lights out on purpose?

I vow to take those preparedness guides more seriously.
I’m going to buy batteries and charge everything after every use.
I’m going to save those gallon milk jugs and fill them with water.

I smile at myself. At the very least I’m going to make sure I have a cash stash so I can buy gas, dinner and a movie and if need be a night at a motel.