If you feel the earth shake:
1. Walk as fast as you can to higher ground.
2. Don't delay.
3. Don't panic.
We will not get too far. The difference is our age. This young man standing at a checkpoint could run a mile in 7-8 minutes. For us, and this old couple in the picture, it will take us 25 minutes to get to the bottom of the hill, our first checkpoint.
Some of us remember how we had to get under a desk in school back in the 50's. Now, we know that getting under that desk would not have saved us. What will save us? Acting and moving in the right direction.
Even if we don't make it, the action of moving will provide adrenalin to push our resolve.
Resolve and movement are better than panic and catatonia when lives are at stake.
resolve and movement..yes yes
ReplyDeleteI hope this is only a drill my friend
I too need more time to get to the bottom of the hill ...but I'm working on that again...again...
not so easy this 60th year
So true. I hope you never have to actually do it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember getting under the desks in grade school. Even back then, I would wonder how that little desk was going to do any good against a nuclear attack. Actually, I don't think it would have done much good to protect you from flying glass--they were so small.
ReplyDeletei was thinking of this in the bush tonight for other reasons. it was late. i was kind of pushing it. it was beginning to be dark and animals were on the move. i had a small raccoon pass in front of me, a baby. his momma must have been nearby and i wondered if a bear came if i would have anything left at all to meet it. i hope there is adrenalin enough to move our bodies when we need it but i do wonder if that is a movie product. hope not. and so best to think it out first. be ready. and be eager to live!
ReplyDeletesure hope you've got no reason to bolt, rosaria. i'd rather hear about your walks, not your runs:)
take care
xo
erin
Absolutely. In fact, I'd say resolve and movement are better than panic in any situation. But, sometimes when the situation feels to dangerous, we tend to lose our minds, even if momentarily, and those who can keep theirs and move in the right direction are worthy of admiration.
ReplyDeleteI used to run a school, full of cheery and moody teens, who, in an emergency, might bolt and take off with nay a nod.
ReplyDeleteI knew this, and I gave them all jobs to do in case of an emergency. Why? Because, I learned that we, each of us, have to be prepared to act, and take charge of ourselves and others.
I had not thought about this until I experienced a terrifying night.
We lived in greater Los Angeles,during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. When my house began to shake violently, I and my husband could not move. I worried about my young teen son at the other end of the house. He was pinned down under his blankets, the way he usually slept. Except, this time, broken glass and debris had trapped him. As I tried to get to him in the dark, with the house shaking, with a couple of shelves of broken dishes and glasses when the credenza vomited its contents everywhere, I heard his voice, "MOm, I'm all right; I'm all right!"
He had moved away from his bed under the window and had tried to open the door to the hallway, and finding it twisted and inoperative, he climbed out of the broken window and met me at the front door.
He had collected himself with resolve. A child, with resolve, is a beautiful sight.
He and the other teens in our neighborhood went door to door, to check on their neighbors,volunteered to turn off gas lines, and did other helpful acts.
I was taking care of an injured husband at that time and was totally useless with a broken foot.
When I returned to work, a week later-freeways had been destroyed too and everything was in shambles- I initiated a preparation program that capitalized on youth's abilities and leadership.
"Resolve and movement are better than panic and catatonia when lives are at stake"
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful advice if you are in the middle of a natural disaster, or sitting at your desk wondering what to write next.
This "drill" feels a bit scary and unsettling. I like the attitude you have gleaned from it!
You are on my mind and in my thought often. I want you to know you have left me some truly comforting messages in the past few years when I have known tremendous loss. I wish there was a word to comfort, a way to remove a bit of what I can only imagine your mother's hear is carrying. Words fall short, I know. Still, they are all we have to offer one another. I am thinking of you and deeply saddened by the news of Brian for all of you.
ReplyDelete