FilmOnDeepWater

Philadelphia, PA                                                          12 September 2005

                                                           The trouble with being poor is that
                                                                      it takes up all of your time.
                                                                                 - Willem de Kooning

Hi all,

So, you want to be prepared for the “Big One”.  Depending on where you live that one would be perhaps a flood.  Now, how did that come into your mind first?  Or maybe the next big one is an earthquake. Everybody says it is coming – the Mother of all Rockers.  And you just can’t be too careful.  The three largest earthquakes in American history occurred not on the Pacific Coast, but right smack dab in the heartland on the New Madrid Fault.
Then of course there is al-Qaeda.  And the “Biologicals”, and the “Dirty Bombs”, and there is always the “Chemicals”.  So, we have to be prepared.
Another thing to remember – is it me, or is there a lot of stuff to remember when disaster strikes?  Another thing to remember is that the federal government, well FEMA anyway, is three days away from helping you.  Or is it five days?  Can't remember.  Probably not three days away if you are in Washington, DC.  Maybe only two.  But for sure three days away if the big one shakes Arkansas on up through Missouri, like it did back in 1811.  Oh, and did I tell you? that quake lasted two years.

All right enough already.  Whatever it is, it just happened.  Power?  Knocked out.  Water? Maybe for a while. Heat?  Maybe, but the gas pipes might have burst.  First responders?  There out there somewhere, just not where you are.  OK, you’re lucky this time.  You are home.  You are prepared.  Not only are you prepared, but you are very prepared.  You read all the alerts: for at least three days you will be on your own.  There will be no cavalry coming over the hill.  At least not when you need it.

Not a problem.  Why just the other day, tech-savvy savant that you are, you went on-line and ordered four days worth of freeze dried emergency food that will keep for months, maybe years.  It arrived nicely packaged.  You stocked up on plenty of water – five, no make that six, five-gallon bottles.  You went to the hardware store to stock up on some emergency equipment as well.  You are sitting pretty.  You, your spouse, and your two kids – high and dry, fat and happy

So let’s do some math** (hopefully no one will check it):
Here’s what you ordered from the emergency food store on-line (oh, and by the way, dear reader, don’t try this at home, the site is out of stock of almost everything right now.)

                Food entries:         16 freeze dried meals  @ $5.29 each        $84.64
                                                 2 larger meal sets @ 26.46 each          $52.92
                                               (just in case you have unexpected company)       
                Water:                  6 5-gallon bottles $7.99 each                  $47.94
Subtotal                                                                                                $185.50
Then there are the emergency supplies from the hardware store:
                                            Flashlight                                               $21.99
                                            Batteries                                                 $16.49
                                            Portable radio                                        $25.00
                                            Candles                                                   $12.75
                                            Oil lamp (see you are prepared!)        $12.79
                                            Oil for lamp (details…)                        $4.99
Blankets, clothes, sleeping bags/bedding:
You already have plenty to spare in your closets.                          no charge

Total (rounded off)                                                                            $280.00

Now then.  Imagine that you are a single mother with three kids at home.  You have read the alerts from FEMA and you want to do the right thing, the safe thing, for you and your children.  You read on the FEMA site all the food items you will need, so off you go to the supermarket to do some price checking. 
Here is your list:
                Canned meats:            4 spam@ $2.99 each                        $11.96
                                                      4 tuna @ 1.29 each                       $5.16
                Fruit bars                    (you skip that one)
                Cereal                         2 boxes @ 4.79 each                         $9.58
                Peanut butter              1 jar @ 3.50                                     $3.50
                Nuts                            2 cans @ 3.69 each                           $7.38
                Crackers                      2 boxes @ 3.99 each                         $7.98
                Juice                           you have some of that already
                Canned milk                4 cans @ 3.19 each                         $12.76
                Hi-energy foods           skip that
                Vitamins                     1 jar                                                   $4.99
                Water                         2 bottles                                            $15.98
Subtotal (not rounded- every penny counts)                                       $79.29

If you have infants:
                Food                           six pack of baby food                       $9.99
                Wipes                         1 package                                        $10.99
                Diapers                       1 large package                              $29.99   

Sub sub Total ( just like in the supermarket)                                    $130.26   
So now lets add in the trip to the hardware store:
                Flash light (a cheaper one)                                                $12.00
                Batteries (a smaller pack)                                                   $6.00
                Candles (won’t use them long at night)                               $4.00
Blankets, clothes, sleeping bags/bedding:
    You don't have any to spare.
    Hopefully nothing is too damaged.                                               no charge

Total:                                                                                                 $152.26

Finally, let’s do some more math:
You, Mr. Fat and your spouse, Ms. Happy, have pretty good jobs.  Your combined income is just about $80,000.  You have a mortgage, car payments, insurance, student loans, yada yada.  You are doing all right, though.  You have a little extra money that you save every month.  And you have enough for a vacation (a week being Disneyed and another week to see the grandparents at Christmas).  Before taxes, you earn about $900 a week each.  On a good week you will take home $1300 combined.  At that rate, the emergency kit tucked away in the garage cost you and your spouse a little more than one day’s wages each (17.25 hours). 

280 bucks is not easy street, for sure.  It's a car payment.  It's clothes for the kids.  It's a new garage door.  It's not nothing, but not that much of a pinch either.

Now back to being that single mother.  You, Single Mom, make $8 an hour.  Before taxes you bring in $320 a week.  Let’s be generous and say that you get to keep about $280 of that.  You have the rent to pay.  And childcare.  You don't have insurance.  Water’s included in the rent (thank God!), but not the electric bill (no AC this summer).  At this rate you will need to invest more than two days of your pay (21.75 hours) to stock that emergency kit.  Of course it won’t be as well stocked, and it won’t last as long as Mr F& Ms H's, so you will need to restock it from time to time.  And you will have to resist the temptation to go into the basement and take out the package of disposable diapers and some of the groceries stored there.   But you’re pretty disciplined.  You have to be – you have three little ones depending on you.

Then again, $152.26 is just about what you owe to the electric company (the bill is overdue by the way), and it is what the dentist wanted to fix your tooth.  It's a big chunk of what your monthly bus pass costs, too.  It's a lot of groceries.  And it is not going to happen.

So there you have it.  See how easy it is to be prepared.  Who needs government when you have yourself to take care of...  well, to take care of yourself?    It just takes a little planning, a little forethought.  What’s the big deal?

Then again, you may not be home when disaster strikes.   You, Mr. Fat or Ms. Happy, tech-savvy savant that you are, may be on a service call when the "Big One" hits.  You may find yourself stranded in a strange neighborhood in a basement with a single mother and her three kids for a few days.

Be careful out there, and of course, be prepared.

Edd

*  Semper Paratis (Aways Ready) is the US Coast Guard motto.
** Sorry about the columns not lining up.  Microsoft Word does not play well with other programs.