Submitted for the May 2020 Issue

Well, I’m not going to say ‘we told you so’, but I thought our CERT team made a strong enough case for people to prepare for an emergency.  Now, I’m well aware that when we’re safe and sound in our snug homes, without a care in the world except which wine to have with dinner, it’s difficult to focus on packing containers for an emergency.  There’s work, sports practice, home and auto upkeep, etc to keep anyone’s attention elsewhere besides preparing for an unlikely event.  I suppose it’s human nature.  A statement we made over and over was ‘an emergency, by definition, can happen at any time, without warning, leaving you little time to react, and even less time to prepare’.

Most, if not all of us on the CERT, have known this, and long ago prepared for just such an event.  Many others I’ve talked to have done the same thing.  We’ve purchased large containers in which to collect food and cooking items, clothing, and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).  While we may not have everything we want, we have almost everything we need to weather the storm, and refrain from going into toilet paper panic mode.

Take the time you’re at home to put together a list of items you need to purchase and set aside in order to be prepared for emergencies.  While it could be exhausting to do this in short order, you never know when the next disaster will strike.  It could be 5 minutes from now.  If you take months to put together your emergency kit, it may be too late.

While supplies at the market may be temporarily low, you have a second chance to become self-reliant, prepared, and comforted in knowing you’ll be ready for the next emergency.