It Could Happen to You

The gas main explosion and fire that destroyed a neighborhood in San Bruno, California, has caused a lot of “what if” thinking among my friends and fellow inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula.

The recent disaster and tragic loss of life was too close to home to just shrug off. I mean, it is LITERALLY close to home, a mere 15 minutes up 101. But also, it is something that could happen anywhere, not just in areas prone to earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes. It could happen anywhere there is aging infrastructure, and isn’t that everywhere?

The event was so close to home that my first thought was to reassure my family in the Midwest that we were OK. After all, they call me when CNN reports an earthquake anywhere in California. Usually I haven’t felt a thing, but it’s nice to check in anyway.

So, I called my Mom the morning after the explosion to tell her we were fine. She hadn’t heard anything about it and I felt foolish explaining how this thing she didn’t even know about didn’t affect the family.

Except it did. I was riveted by the coverage and actually watched the local TV news, commercials and all, for the first time in many years. Keeper was more sanguine about it, insisting that the term “inferno” was hyperbole. I maintain that if it had been OUR house, he would have found words even more disastrous-sounding.

I first heard about the event from an e-mail from a friend, assuring us that a mutual friend who lives in San Bruno was safe. This friend (the notifier) is a go-to gal and was ready to jump in the car and serve meals, donate blood, or rescue animals. The Red Cross had plenty of volunteers, so Go-to Gal channeled her energy into a scheduled disaster planning exercise in her hometown of Palo Alto. She and her husband are volunteer “first responders” who will help their neighborhood recover from whatever disaster befalls them, be it earthquake, flood, or terrorist act.

She urged us all to be prepared by having emergency supplies packed someplace outside the house in case we are forced to evacuate in a hurry.

Now, I’ve lived in earthquake country long enough to have heard this lecture a million times. I carry a blanket, a first aid kit, and some water (not enough) in my car, but if something happens quickly I’m S.O.L. just like most of you.

The event in San Bruno did prompt a low-key emergency preparedness discussion over the morning paper on Sunday morning, however.

“If we were ordered to evacuate and had only one minute to grab things, what would you take?” I asked Keeper.

Wisely, he answered, “You.”

“Besides that,” I said.

“Corky” was his answer.

“Well, of course, our children are the most important thing,” I said, carefully including Mr. Bobo the Wonder Cat, who apparently would have been left behind to perish by Keeper.

“But what is the second most important thing?”

“My work.”

“All of your writing? It’s on your computer, right?”

“Yes, I’d grab the computer,” said my husband.

“Yes, let’s grab the external hard drives. They have everything backed up on Time Machine,” I said.

“Huh?” was the answer. “Don’t we need the whole thing?”

I had a vision of Keeper risking life and limb to save his monitor screen, thinking it contained his 40 years of literary endeavors.

“Tell you what, “ I said. “You grab the pets and I’ll grab our computer files.”

“It’s a deal,” said Keeper and he went back to reading about pre-season football.

Truth be told, I’m also grabbing my iPhone. I’ll need to call my family.

© 2010 Mary Hanna