Daily Prompt: Burning Down the House
Your home is on fire. Grab five items (assume all people and animals are safe). What did you grab?
On television recently we have watched a few documentary programmes on “preppers”. These are people who live in fear in my view. That is no way to live at all. They live in fear of various forms of the world as they know it coming to an end, whether by natural or manmade disasters. The manmade varieties range from “economic meltdown” to widespread, massive destruction by a foreign military force. They are busy preparing for the arrival of this mythical day.
The preppers are serious. They mean business. Preparation is key. They really do believe everything they are doing is necessary. They find it necessary to build bunkers stocked with more food than the average hypermarket. They find it necessary to amass enough weaponry to stock a small militia. They have plans and procedures for every eventuality they can imagine. Remarkably, they find like-minded folk, who are also frantically gathering things for Armageddon. They have clearly defined who will be admitted into their shelter, and who will not. The documentary did not say who they would be most likely to kill with all those guns, but I suspect they have clearly defined that too.
They have figured it all out, as if life unfolds according to a series of predetermined movie scripts.
Now I am scared.
What scares me the most is that these beings live and breathe and dwell among us.
Preppers would already have buried or otherwise concealed a “survival crate” at a carefully plotted location some distance from their main dwelling. In the event of fire consuming their house, these people are so attached to their things that they would probably have a nervous breakdown on the spot, as they watched years of careful planning going up in flames. But they would have the consolation of their survival crate containing at least 100 different things, most of which are still generally unavailable in the Third World.
So, assuming that I am at home at the time of the fire; assuming my body, mind, heart and soul are all still in the same place as they are right now; and assuming I can walk out my front door as I usually do (or climb out of one of the windows, which I have never done), I shall take what I can pick up in, say, less than two minutes.
There is no particular order: laptop with power cord attached, handbag, Bible, car keys, and a blanket.
That is the list which assumes I am fully clothed when the fire starts.
If I am in the shower when the two-minute countdown begins, I should imagine my list would not include shoes, but would include a towel, two items of clothing, my car keys, and a blanket as I rushed out the door, clutching all as if my life depended on it.
It seems I have a thing about blankets. That’s nice to know.
Allison.
That elusive pair of jeans 
So… the “naked you” would exchange three of your five items: laptop, handbag and bible for towel and two items of clothing. Blanket and car keys are “no compromise”… \o/
Not a cell phone to call the fire brigade, your lawyer, your insurance company or a taxi?
Maybe “car” and “home” are emotionally similar and thus they must be complemented by the blanket. Interesting…
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You made me laugh, José Carlos. The naked me might regret exchanging my handbag for a towel, but I thought that the laptop, while useful, cannot preserve my dignity, and there are many who would be quite happy to give me a Bible, if my memory fails me.
As to choosing a cellphone, why take something that everyone else has? I have left the house before without it and survived. 😉
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Well… I’ll not deny that making you smile was part of my intention.
Just have a look at some “priorities”… http://goo.gl/l3QEA
And I’ve been able to survive some 50 years with NO cellphones!
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Ha ha….Computer, cell phone, bag (with ID,money,bank cards) emerald ring, some clothes. My cell phone and computer contain HOARDS of info and guess what? A blanket!
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Great minds think alike, Grace. Especially when it comes to blankets. 😉
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Allison
Where else in the world would I stumble into a conversation like this, with blankets connecting like minds and dignity…blanket could preserve that with no need for the towel. .. I need my friends, I’d bring my laptop. See, like now. Laptop good. : )
Life good.
The Blog Defiler
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I suppose if I held it just right, the laptop could preserve my dignity. 😮 I have subsequently wondered whether I would even care, in the face of fire, that I was running out house scantily clad. I have always admired those nutters who streak at football games. (Freedom!)
So agreed, laptop good. Laptop = friend in Texas. Laptop = generation of income. Laptop = mind food.
I thought I had changed my settings to have more than three exchanges per comment, but no, the techno-eejit is still at work.:) So, I shall reply here to your previous message on the other blog.
Wayward, you really do need to realise that you yourself contribute so much by sharing how you perceive things, and how you express those perceptions! I cannot pretend that I am not flattered by your comments; I most certainly am. Don’t be complexed by the odd typing error, please! You too, have a bag of words and thoughts which surprise and delight. I love the tea/frantic sex collocation. 😉
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I see. You have mastered the art of mixing post comments.
*relinquishes crown*
I don’t even know were to fix settings. My blog makes me moderate every first comment. Hate that. Three exchanges is unheard of! What is anyone thinking.
But well, now you are the comment mixing queen, so I guess it pays. ; )
Settings….
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Ha! Settings –> Discussion –> Allow blah blah 10 levels deep! Yay!
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YOu are fun to talk to as well as to read.
The old saying about saying something nice or nothing…seems to be either/or. Something fluffy, “empalagoso” ( way too rich and sweet ) or say nothing.
Saying something is the point (not taken).
Etiquette for internet age.
One more “thanks for visiting” or “thanks for liking my post” and I would shout for everyone to purge their comments. Don’t contaminate mine.
If you like, I will help you verify your blog on networked blogs. If you don’t want to paste the code that verifies that it is your blog. I took the misspelled liberty of registering your blog so it will appear in my reader there and whatever else goes on.
Sorry I’m not practical enough to send you a link or something. I warn you to check for misspellings though. ; )
The owners of registered blogs get to claim them. : )
Seemed fun….
Registered you, Ruleofstupid, and Brandy Desiree Collins, and of course Waywardspirit.
It felt really good. It was nice to see you come onscreen in a totally different medium than WordPress. But then I worried to have misspelled something. Horrific! ; ) So please get me out of my misery by claiming your blog and making sure your information is spelled right.
Not telling my other fav bloggers, though cuz, oh well if I misspelled anything. They won’t care.
Yeah, I get long winded. You might should limit the length of comments….bla bla bla…. ; )
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Well, sideways pic Jessica, that was a magnanimous gesture!
I have claimed by blog and widgeted and fidgeted and am now the verified owner.
Does this mean that the whole world can see my Facebook page now?
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Selfish gesture on my part. Wanted to read you at my convenience on a tablet.
I don’t know if the whole world can see your face book. If you like mine they can. So don’t. : ) Or do, whatever you want.
Why not an Allison Wright Translation or an author page or whatever for everyone to like?
Sideways pic Jessica lol. : D
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My Facebook is for family and friends. I will have to just be a little more careful with the privacy settings on my photos, from what I can tell. I could not cope with another FB page. One is more than enough! Allison Wright Translations can be accessed from a number of other sites, besides which, needs updating.
Those tablet-thingummies look really cool. I am also discovering that the intuitive approach to my new smart, sensible phone works wonders. Incredibly easy to use. I still detest SMS, but at least it has a dash of pleasure in it now. Favourite button while in SMS mode? Backspace. 🙂
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“smart sensible phone” rofl!!!!!
Say no more. That’s why I relish your words.
Smart sensible phone indeed!
Don’t know SMS, but I do know what a dash of pleasure (multiplied) and pain you are talking about.
Backspace as a fav button…..Wright on the Button!
Story wise, I get you cuz I feel it without knowing what you are talking about. My own ignorance for sure. My smart sensible phone is a Samsung Android G4. So maybe different phone ethnicity, same droidmanity. So same feeling story.
Yeah, I make less sense by the second.
Love tablet. Though it belongs to my kid…
If you set up a business fb page connected to your Allison page, which is the only way to do it anyway. You can control privacy and your Translations page from there. Also, you publicize your translation articles there. Just click add page. Very easy. Then you can get likes from your website and from wordpress page. Selfish again. I want to like your translation page. Then it will appear on my Waywardspirit page. How cool is that! So I can just click over and look at yours and see what you are up to from there. Besides its good for your business cuz everyone can endorse you with likes and google finds you better.
Please let me know the second I am able like your Allison Right Translations business page.
Who said anything about everything being perfect?
Think about it….in that case, I wouldn’t write a single word…
I think you will like it. : )
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SMS = short message service = text messaging. In other words, the ridiculous act of typing on a telephone keypad when what you really need is a complete QWERTY keyboard in an effort to communicate in writing.
All the rest gives me much to think about. At the moment, I post translation-related articles in a few (translation-related) LinkedIn groups, and on Google+, where I am in a tiny circle with about 11 Germans. I have a number of tasks to complete before I can make a proper decision as to whether I can cope with increased exposure, and whether it is warranted giving the intimidating stature of a good number of other translators. It is a kind of crossroads, for which I need a magnifying glass, a pair of binoculars, and a crystal ball, in that order.
I do appreciate your perspective, since it would never have occurred to me that this is a possibility. You will be the first to know if there is a business page to like.
Everyone else was right all along: leave the towel – hold on tight to your laptop!
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You are going to love texting. Trust me.
I hated it at first. So pointless. Stupid keypad.
The world tilted on texting. : 0
Love finding you suddenly in my reader when not yet expected. : )
Gl with the new world you are creating.
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