Emergency preparedness and antique lists
Like most people, I don't worry overtly about disasters. We live in an area that has few severe disasters, and are so used to long winters that most of the time we can cope. For whatever reason, Irene prompted me to get curious as to what the latest thinking was with regards to disaster preparation. I don't know why - perhaps photos of stores charging $10 per bottle of water or some fool buying 52 frozen pizzas had something to do with it. Anyway, I poked around a little bit. And, you know, it's a bit disappointing. Now, don't get me wrong. The basic "disaster preparedness" lists out there - many of them furnished by various levels of government - are helpful and pretty good. They list all the basic things, along with a few useful guidelines. If you use them, you should be good for most of what life may throw at you. What amazes me, however, is what these lists do not say. It looks to me like these lists are antiques from the 1950s. As...