I’ve always had an active— some would say overactive— imagination. I’m one of those people who creates little dramas in my head when someone I care about is overdue. If a friend or family member isn’t where he or she is supposed to be at a certain time, I don’t think that they are stuck in traffic or that they are sitting in a boring meeting that ran longer than expected.
No, my mind goes right to the worst case scenario. A horrid vision of doom and despair plays out in my head. They walked in on a bank robbery and are being held hostage. They swerved for a deer and are now trapped in a vehicle dangling off a steep cliff. They fell down a set of stairs and broke both legs and are lying there calling “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Their car broke down and as they went for help they were picked up by a psychopath and they are tied up in a basement somewhere, calling for help.
It is always an immense relief when he or she calls or walks in the door. Disaster averted!
Because I’m a worrywart, I’m always playing the “what if?” game. On a quiet walk along County Road 7 by my house I think about what I would do if I met a wolf or bear. Would I yell and try to chase it off? Would I ignore it? I consider what I have in my pocket that I could use as a weapon. If I start down this thought path as it gets dark, I end up running home as fast as my legs will take me.
My husband Chuck and I play the “what if ” game sometimes when we’re driving somewhere or on a hike. We consider Armageddon scenarios. What if the entire Midwest lost power? How would we heat our house? Keep our food cold, if disaster struck in the summer? What would we do for fuel? How would we contact friends and relatives to see if they were surviving?
As we walk through the woods in late fall, talk frequently turns to what to do if we encounter a moose. The old adage, “You don’t have to be faster than the moose, just faster than the person you’re with” sometimes comes up. That doesn’t reassure me and I start seeing moose in every tipped over tree root or boulder.
An overactive imagination can be a difficult thing to live with. I think that is why I enjoy the National Geographic program Doomsday Preppers. The people on the program make my imagined crises seem like a day at the park. The post-apocalyptic escape routes, shelters and weapons that the doomsday preppers create are amazing. The elaborate scenarios these folks come up with make my vivid imaginings seem like happy fairy tales. Their “what if ” games involve training that rivals that offered by the U.S. Marine Corps.
I especially liked the episode that featured a woman whose doomsday prepping included storage of food items that would not only allow her to survive a cataclysmic incident, but thrive in it gourmand style. She had a huge, well-stocked pantry—as well as several levels of hidden pantries throughout her house. She hoarded specialty cheeses, spices, coffee and what would be worth more than gold to me in a world gone mad—chocolate!
Of course to protect her amazing food supply from the inevitable foragers who didn’t prepare for doomsday, she and her husband spent a great deal of time practicing their response to home invasion. They had a variety of weapons cached around the house. Showing she had a sense of humor about all of this doomsday stuff, she showed National Geographic a pistol stored amongst her vegetables in the pantry, in a canister of dried peas. “It’s my pea shooter,” she declared.
Although the woman and the other preppers may have the last laugh in the event of a massive earthquake, economic collapse, biohazard attack, major power outage or other disaster, their imagined incidents are a bit too intense for me.
They do, however, offer some down-to-earth tips now and then, similar to those offered by our local emergency management folks. September is National Preparedness Month, and although I’ve written about my disdain for a day or week or month for every cause imaginable, I do think this is a good one.
It’s good to take a few minutes to think about what your family would do in the event of an emergency—a long-term power outage, a house fire or wildfire, flooding, a windstorm, or even something unthinkable like another 9/11-style attack.
It’s not a bad idea to have the necessary survival essentials stockpiled—water, canned goods, flashlights and batteries, a weather radio, a first aid kit, and so on. There are great ideas at websites like ready.gov or redcross.org to help you figure out what you need to have on hand.
It’s not a bad idea to play “what if ” now and then.
There’s no harm in hoping
for the best as long as you’re
prepared for the worst.
Stephen King
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