Beautiful Colorado
As I get ready to enjoy another beautiful day in my neck of the woods, I cannot help but think that the same high-pressure area that is causing the devastating Santa Ana winds is what is giving us this beautiful day. Whereas my cousin in San Diego is faced with another day of uncertainty, I am trying to decide where to take Mary for lunch after I pick her up from Kindergarten—do we go to the mall or to that Chinese buffet or come home and have a grilled cheese sandwich? Such mundane things to be thinking about…

One news story was showing this husband and wife in front of their burnt house in California, and they were talking about the contents of the two boxes that they managed to take with them. What would I take?

  • My purse. It’s got my wallet with my drivers license, social security card, permanent resident card, credit cards. 
  • Important Documents.  Birth certificates, marriage certificates, passports, immigration documents, insurance papers.  I have all these in one expanding envelope.
  • Photo albums.  Wedding album which is in a box, with all my other souvenirs from our wedding.  Mary’s baby album, still a work in progress.  With the advent of digital photograpy, I do not have any loose photos from the last five years, I would have to take my computer.
  • Valuables.  I have most of my jewelry in one spot and would be easy to grab.  Family heirlooms?  I know, I do not have any from my side of the family (still in the Philippines) but Jack might have some in those boxes we have in the basement.  Hmmm, I have to ask him about these.

What else is there to take?  Truly, what could be more important than just ensuring that my loved ones are safe? 

One time, when I was living in New York City, I woke up to smoke inside my little studio apartment up in the 11th floor.  After I had called 9-1-1 and got the firemen on their way to my apartment building, I went around grabbing what I could before I left my room.  I got a jacket, my wallet, my passport and the cash I had in my drawer.  That’s it, I could not think of anything else, everything else seemed so unimportant.  I just wanted to get out of there, away from the smoke.

What would you take?