by Karen Kaye
April, 2003
On February 7, 2003, the American government raised its terror threat level from "yellow" to "high risk" orange. Upon hearing the news, my thoughts immediately went to the emergency food supply that I used to keep for my family in my basement.
In the days following the events of 9/11, I began to rinse my used pop bottles and emptied milk containers to fill them with water. I would carry these bottles to the basement to have on hand for what seemed to me an imminent national emergency. With the events of 9/11, I learned quite well that the American government was not able to protect me. I was, in fact, completely unprepared for any emergency, and extremely vulnerable in every way imaginable.
Years ago my reading brought me to information about people in America who called themselves "survivalists." Survivalists, I learned made it a priority to stockpile extra food and supplies in case of emergency. While survivalist publications pointed out that emergencies could be those of the natural kind, the emergency most strongly alluded to was that of a national attack. Survivalist suggestions included having food on hand to last from six months to a year, consisting mostly of canned and dried foods and bulk staples. While I had thought most of the survivalist recommendations to be extreme, these same suggestions were validated when I came across the web page for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (www.FEMA.org). Lo and behold, our very own United States government has an agency to instruct, inform, and advise the American people how to prepare for national emergencies. Like many of the survivalist publications, the FEMA website contains detailed lists and clear instructions about what kinds of foods to have on hand and in what quantities, along with methods of finding, storing, and purifying water. Still thinking such suggestions for emergency preparedness dramatic, I was never inspired to take such precautions for my own family.
And then, of course, came 9/11.
After watching the World Trade Center fall and the smoke and flames billow from the Pentagon; after watching news reports of anthrax being distributed randomly and pointedly through our postal service; after watching our lives change forever as all Americans have, I began rinsing my used pop bottles and emptied milk containers. Along with bottles of collected water, I began gathering items that would come in handy should an extended stay in my basement deem necessary: several candles, a can opener, some matches, disposable plates and dinnerware, a roll of duct tape, sheets of plastic, a few cans of Sterno, some flashlights, and a portable radio. I began purchasing expensive, tasteless canned food that would store well. These went into the basement along with dried fruits, dried meats, bulk staples, and powdered milk. As Americans grieved and many pledged revenge, my efforts to stockpile food became second nature. I automatically rinsed the bottles and regularly visited the basement to carry more items. Very pointedly, I named the newly acquired food supply in honor of Osama bin Laden, for clearly, without him, an emergency food supply would not be needed.
Over the days and months, news of Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan became less urgent, and slowly and painfully, I resumed my life. In a dangerous and unfortunate way, the threat of imminent danger receded back again to that far away place on the other side of the world, and my diligent routine of stocking the emergency food supply began to taper off. The rinsing, filling and carrying of the used pop bottles and emptied milk containers at some point became too much trouble. I began to complain about the expense of purchasing canned food when I could barely afford the fresh, perishable food my family needed. I went from rinsing and filling every bottle, to rinsing and filling every other one. It wasn't long at all before the plastic bottles were again going into the recycling bin. The stocking of my emergency supplies began to be suspended as my false sense of security was restored.
On February 7, when the American government raised its terror threat level from "yellow" to "high risk" orange, my thoughts went back to the emergency food supply that I, only months before, had been building in my basement. The new threat level has prompted me, once again, to rinse my used pop bottles and emptied milk containers and carry water and other supplies down into the basement. I am again purchasing those cans of vegetables, fruit, and meat that I would ordinarily avoid. I've again rounded up the flashlights, the plastic sheeting, the duct tape, the blankets, extra pet food, and the portable radio. I'm trying to remember how many drops of bleach I need to purify a gallon of water and how many hundreds of pounds of wheat, corn, and soybeans I'll need to feed my family for six months to a year.
However, there is one significant and unfortunate change in the tradition of preparing my life for the intrusion of terror: I no longer refer pointedly to the emergency rations in honor of Osama bin Laden. Today, my emergency food supply is named in honor of George W. Bush.
