As the weeks go by ~ and still no 'Really Big One' Hallelujah!!! ~ the light of thankfulness shines in my heart. We all need 'wake up' calls from time to time, yes? I truly appreciated The New Yorker article's author, Kathryn Schulz, following up 8 days later with: 'How to Stay Safe When the Big One Comes'. Ms. Schulz mentions navigating "between the twin obstacles of panic (which makes you do all the wrong things) and fatalism (which makes you do nothing)."
It is interesting to me that, following a tenant's newsletter piece about emergency preparedness, there was -- at last report -- very little initial response from the residents of this retirement apartment complex (2 out of 250). Huh. Perhaps aging lends itself well to fatalism?? A very unscientific sampling of opinions netted responses from, "I'm not interested in apocalyptic thinking", to "We'll lock the doors to our hallway to keep everyone else out". Again, huh.
A trolling of the web for preparedness information nets many 'hoarding' recommendations. I suppose that is worldly-wise in many instances, given the massive scale of destruction possible on this planet coupled with the need to protect and provide for oneself and one's family. The spirit of hoarding doesn't set well with me, however.
A 'share and share alike' model is far more practical and practicable in this place of very close neighbors. If organized by floor, the sheer number of people and things is far more manageable to consider. We can assess who we are, what skills we can contribute, what supplies we are willing to share, and what challenges we may face without being overwhelmed by the enormity of what we are undertaking.
In theory, at least! Onward and upward!!
It is interesting to me that, following a tenant's newsletter piece about emergency preparedness, there was -- at last report -- very little initial response from the residents of this retirement apartment complex (2 out of 250). Huh. Perhaps aging lends itself well to fatalism?? A very unscientific sampling of opinions netted responses from, "I'm not interested in apocalyptic thinking", to "We'll lock the doors to our hallway to keep everyone else out". Again, huh.
A trolling of the web for preparedness information nets many 'hoarding' recommendations. I suppose that is worldly-wise in many instances, given the massive scale of destruction possible on this planet coupled with the need to protect and provide for oneself and one's family. The spirit of hoarding doesn't set well with me, however.
A 'share and share alike' model is far more practical and practicable in this place of very close neighbors. If organized by floor, the sheer number of people and things is far more manageable to consider. We can assess who we are, what skills we can contribute, what supplies we are willing to share, and what challenges we may face without being overwhelmed by the enormity of what we are undertaking.
In theory, at least! Onward and upward!!
