Are you prepared for a disaster that could take away your story?

I don’t know how you feel, but this has been a sad year for me.  Mostly brought about by media disaster reporting. I have felt overwhelmed by the steady influx of shootings, fires, wars, political insults and mudslinging, protests, and anti-protests. This year we’ve seen gas leak explosions and chemical plant accidents in and near residential communities.  Recent months have seen historic droughts contributing to wild fires in California. There have been tornadoes in the mid-west. Hurricanes, floods, thunderstorms, lightning strikes, volcano eruptions, and earthquakes have captured our attention.

The one thing that touches my heart most is seeing the TV interviews of people who survived these various disasters.  I watch as folks point to what used to be.  Their house, car, furniture, – their stuff – is gone.  And yes, there is joy that lives have been saved.  There is also an incredible sadness because, all the photos, letters, cards, mementos of their past that are now gone.  I believe it was Amy Winehouse who said, “Every bad situation, is a blues song waiting to happen.”

A blues song waiting to happen

I love music, and one of my favorite artists has always been Boz Scaggs.  A recent NPR broadcast reported that:

In the fire, Scaggs lost every handwritten lyric he’d ever written — lyrics on books, legal pads and cocktail napkins from across his 50-year music career. “Some songs take a couple of pages to write, and some songs take 15 or 20 pages to write. And they’re all there, all the ideas, and you can feel everything that went into that song,” he says. “I regret having lost those papers, specifically.”

 

The California fire stripped Scaggs of everything.  Now I know what you’re thinking.  Come on Alonzo, we are talking about a very talented celebrity here.  He’ll be OK.  Right?  And yes, you’re probably right.  But still, I hurt for him; and for the scores of folks whose lives were turned upside down  by natural (and unnatural) disasters.  Listening to the blues is entertaining.  Having the blues never is.

Liberty Mutual Insurance has commercial where they say “’There’s A Story Behind the Things You Own’..”  I believe that not only is there a story behind your stuff, but your life is enhanced by those stories.  And when the stuff is gone, a special effort has to be made to not lose the stories too.  You see, most of us can look at our stuff and we remember, who gave it to us, or the day we got it, or where we were and so on.  Our stuff is more than just the item but a memory point.

Preparing for a disaster means locating your prized possessions 

When a disaster hits, you want to be able to quickly gather your prized possessions.  Do you have a plan for what items you want to keep if a disaster were to hit your home?  Where are all of your prized possessions located?  Are they easy to get to?  Download our checklist to help organize your valuables.

National Preparedness Month

In earlier posts I’ve pointed to resources for disaster recovery after the disaster at this time I’d like to focus on preparedness for disasters before they hit.  Since 2004 the month of September in the USA is designated as National Preparedness Month.  September was chosen as National Preparedness Month, as the tragedies of September 11, 2001 highlighted to the nation the importance of being prepared. Also September has been chosen partly because of the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is in mid-September.

Throughout the month I will post helpful reminders and tips for being prepared to save your family treasures.  Look for these on our Facebook and Twitter platforms.