The fire: what would you take?

15 seconds:  you take nothing but yourself, your kids, your pets, maybe your phone.  Shoes on your feet, count it out.... 1, 2, 3 ......15. It's not enough time to think about anything except the flames and the heat and the sirens and your kids, your life, what you love.  You run.  You regret nothing.

15 minutes: the same as above but now you can take your laptop, coats for your kids and shoes, maybe some food for the kids and the dog, a blanket, there's no time to look for papers but you grab your wallet, that jar of cash hidden in the sock drawer that you have been saving for a vacation, the painting your Dad made when you were a kid, it's smaller than a book so easy to carry, some underwear, socks, that's it, time to go, there's your kid's favorite stuffed animal, as you run out the door you grab the blanket on the couch, who knows, it will be cold, maybe and then into the car, thank goodness you have the keys, you drive away. Flames are coming into the backyard of your house, you know you will never see it again like this so you stop the car and you are crying, everyone in the car is crying, for every reason: loss, gratitude, wonder and fear.

30 minutes: it seems like a gift, you think, this bit of time to gather up what might be the remainders of your life. Your family has clothes and blankets and coats and the dog and the cat and they are all in the car, waiting for you. What should you take?  You have your passport, your wallet with the small amount of stashed cash you always thought would be your escape hatch, you have that box of your Mom's jewelry which is probably worth nothing but it's easy to carry. This is the home you have lived in for 20 years and yet there is so little to grab.  Flames are across the street, you can hear voices from the car, your family needs you now, you have to run. Shoes? Are you wearing them?  A coat? Oh, yeah, OK. You aren't afraid, you are calm. Part of you wants to stay and see what happens but you know what will happen if you stay and while part of you wants to stay and watch, now it's no longer about you, it's about others.  You run to the car and you speed away, there are flames everywhere and everyone but you is crying.  You think: there will be nothing left, and you are fine with that. You are fine with that. You drive your family away and you are fine with that. You have your family, you have yourself. You are alive. You are fine. 

We Californians know how to pack for an earthquake, to take food, water, flashlight, identification, etc.  What we would take in a fire is completely different.

What would you take?  Given 15 minutes or 30?  Think about it.

xo

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