BreakPoint Blog
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What would you bring? Topics: Disasters & Humanitarian Efforts With the healthcare debate in full force after Thursday’s Supreme Court decision, one city in particular has been on the minds of Americans: Washington, D.C. Yet there is another city that has been in headlines everywhere, a city that reminds us of our mortality and transience: Colorado Springs. Wildfires have been sweeping the area, covering 16,750 acres, destroying 347 homes, and evacuating more than 32,000 people. For this reason, the Christian Post has asked its readers an important question: “If you had only a few minutes to gather up a few select treasures of your life before fleeing a raging inferno, what would you take -- and what would you leave behind?” Perhaps cliched and maybe trite, this dreaded question is something no one wants to ever be asked. Unfortunately, however, it is a question many Colorado residents had to answer when they had only minutes to evacuate their house and gather their most precious and sincere belongings. With that in mind, I ask you, BreakPoint readers: What three items would you take, knowing that your house would soon be in a “raging inferno”? Let us know in the comment section below. |
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I have been thinking about whether there was anything I wish I had brought along, and the only things I regret not bringing were my favorite Bible, our family Bible, some baby heirlooms from the cedar chest, and a decent pair of shoes.
The things that were ruined were not what mattered so much as the memory triggers that they provided. And thanks to a quick-thinking friend, we were able to dry and save almost all of our photographs. Fortunately the more recent images were digital, and our hard disk survived being submerged.
Our goal now is to have a fire- and water-proof safe for important papers, but life has been so busy (restoring the house and 2 new grandsons since the flood!) that we haven't done it yet.
Having a disaster plan is a great idea, but I think we did pretty well on short notice. Perhaps someday we'll make the plan a priority :^)
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dolley-madison-saves-portrait-from-british
And on my reading stack is Walter Borneman's account of the war. Come to think of it, one thing I'd be tempted to save would be all my checked-out library books. My own books would be only a personal loss, not a community loss.
And fraydna, I'm very sorry for *your* loss and that you were away for so long (a third of a year!). But I'm glad you were able to at least save some things. My wife and I lost some papers when our basement flooded during a torrential rain here almost two decades ago, so I can relate to a tiny extent. Since then I've been trying to divest myself of most material goods. My goal is to be able to put all my treasures - the things that really mean something to me personally, separate from those of my wife, or of us as a couple - to fit all those things into a cigar box. (And no, I don't smoke.) I have a ways to go, but year by year I'm getting closer.
That's a cool story, and definitely something that would take a lot of courage, selflessness, and humility to do!
Haha! Nope Oreo is chocolate brown and white... just like an Oreo cookie (well, the old Oreo cookies... the nonrainbow ones) :)
1) My dog Oreo
2) My dog Puppy
3) My stuffed animal, Baby Bop, which I've had since I was born and still sleep with (I know... I'm weird)
All of these things are irreplacable to me :)
My husband and myself
Our vehicles
Our 2 dogs, their beds, leashes, food, and treats
Our wedding photo album
Our 2 adult kids' baby books
Our netbook
2 duffle bags packed with casual clothes and toiletries for 2 nights
Old shoes
My husband's clothes, shoes, and laptop for work
We thought we'd be gone for a couple of days. We were not back home for 4 months.
The difference between fire and flood is that a fire destroys everything, whereas a flood ruins everything.
2.) My copy of "The Summons" by John Grisham
3.) My cell phone and its charger
A bag containing my kindle and some of my other favorite dead trees.
A third bag containing toothbrush, vaseline or chapstick, and some clothes.
Well, Megan, lessee: On a Christian website, it would probably lose points to answer "the big-screen TV".
Likewise, "my e-reader" (Kindle, Nook, etc.) would lose points unless quickly followed by "'cuz it's full of all the Dickens I'm reading, and I spent good money on them."
In some circles, that is.
Conversely, "1. My spouse; 2. Our kids; 3. Our pets." would win major points. Of course, that would set off a long discussion of how living things are not possessions, and how choosing those three violates the spirit of the question of the value of material goods.
Big points for "the family Bible", "our marriage certificate" and so on. Except that our "family Bible" is really apps on each of our phones, most records can be retrieved from the state by filling out a form, and so on.
Playing by the rules, though, I'd say:
1. My laptop, since it has our finances and other important records.
2. As many of my wife's keepsakes as I could grab. (Her hope chest is pretty heavy, though, since it's made of cedar.)
3. The combination to the fireproof safe. :-) (Waterproof too, Jason . . .)
Gotta go; I'm scanning all my boxes of important paperwork, so I have electronic copies - just in case.
2. My laptop.
3. My steno machine.