Ready Steady Gone

It’s been quite a week thus far. Skies posting signs. Saturday evening’s sunset. Sunday’s dusky orange air. Dust in the wind.
https://soundcloud.com/rachelraewilson/cover-dust-in-the-wind-kansas
Chatting with my friend at coffee stop this morning. Shared we were fortunate. Cities and towns north - northeast of the Sand fire spared. Countless structures homes businesses within the red zone were also. Some in direct path of flames. Only one loss of human life. That did not heed evacuation alerts. I’ve lived in tornado alley. Felt the earth clap and rumble beneath as she shifts. Listened to the wrath of Hurricane Sandy wail down Roosevelt Boulevard from a Northeast Philadelphia high rise. Watched as individuals went about their merry way. Lackadaisical toward warnings of impending danger. Man against nature at its full strength loses EVERY time. Unless the Universe intervenes for its own reason and purpose. The Sand fire moved much like a tornado. Unpredictable. On the run at times. Hop skipping and threatening to jump. Seemed to be selective at points with what it consumed. Much like a tornado. There is, in reality, no rhyme or reason to destruction is there?

We are living in times where emergencies are occurring more frequently. Not that we ever want them to. Being prepared diminishes panic. Leading cause for loss (especially life) in most scenarios is panic. May have been the case with that single fatality. Having a personal and family emergency plan in place is necessary. For these days and times it makes for good preparedness practice. My two bags of needful things has been on standby since Sunday night. I recommend a quick getaway grab bag packed with 3-5 days of essentials. Have all important documents: passports, birth certificates, social security cards, insurance policies (homeowners and renters -- know your coverage levels) lease mortgage papers in a protective pouch. Suggest a photocopy set in the event originals go missing in the evac shuffle. Procedure to replace is tremendously less stressful with copies of originals as proof you did exist on paper. In shelter in place emergency having at least a week’s worth of supplies is recommended. None perishable foods, water, medications, batteries, flashlight and an AM frequency transistor radio. They still exist in this digital age. Like landline phones work well as most reliable source of communication in a major large scale emergency.

Make sure family and friends out of state country etc have an up-to-date emergency contact list. They know exactly how and where to reach you. Pass same information onto anyone within your immediate circles with a 'need to know' who in your immediate family friends network to connect with first. Should it become absolutely necessary. Know something about those you live around. Whom you come in contact and interact with daily. Make a point to stop and chat from time to time. It's the littlest scenarios people tend to recall if you're a regular in their day to day consciousness.

Grateful to the firefighters still working to contain the Sand fire. Emergency workers volunteers who are providing supplies shelter and medical attention to those impacted. There has been little to no animal loss that we know of. Unlike us humans they instinctively know when to leave. A tortoise is found having outrun the fire.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/27/487609506/tortoise-wins-again-slow-and-steady-pace-outruns-l-a-fire?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews
Maybe at a much slower more calculated pace. Lesson from a tortoise to humanity. Take only that which fits in your shell. Ready at a moment’s notice. Move steady on the way. When and if that moment comes. It’s your life. Be gone. Don’t wait until danger looms too close to outrun.

Not pictured but definitely makes the getaway grab bundle is my yoga mat. Roll strap on shoulder. Makeshift bed for just about anywhere. In or outdoors.

More about Rachel Rae Wilson https://about.me/rachelraewilson