prep « Robin Writes

Yeah, I smoke. I’d tell you how long I’ve been doing it, but in this day and age when we’re supposed to be tolerant of EVERYTHING ELSE, I’d probably just precipitate a long comments section of lectures.

Last Thursday, I bought an e-cig starter kit—the idea is that it delivers nicotine but not the rest of the crap in regular cigarettes. Water vapor, no secondhand smoke, etc., etc. I started using it Friday afternoon, after charging, and have so far, by alternating, cut my cigarette consumption in half. Not bad.

Except.

There’s a definite learning curve here—who knew? And I’m likely getting even less nicotine during this trial period, since I’m not very good at this new method. Anyway, the less nicotine, the less I’ll want it. Theoretically. Like I said, I’ve been doing this a while . . .

Someone pointed out a little factoid this morning: what happens when SHTF and we can’t charge those e-cigs? Well, we’re already going to have to find ways to recharge other things, and there are plenty of options, so it shouldn’t be an issue. If you plan ahead, of course.

Now, I’m a little old school—or old, take your pick—and I haven’t lived my entire 50 years with the technology we use daily and often take for granted.

This is why I need to get with the program: charging your cigarette pack is just plain sci-fi space age stuff!

Let me think about this for a moment . . .

I’ve been using computers since 1989, although I didn’t own one until 1992. Can’t imagine NOT having one now. Car phones, too, have been around for a while; that’s what they were initially called, and they were plugged into and stayed in one’s vehicle. It was considered tres cool, believe it or not—I had one in, let’s see, 1995 at least. Pretty much haven’t been without one since.

Twenty years of technology—but an e-cig? Odd. Eventually, of course, all bad habits will disappear when SHTF. We’ll all be too busy surviving, or trying to.

Think about it—if you get any of today’s dread diseases and illnesses, you likely won’t survive them, just like our ancestors also didn’t make it through cancer, measles, even pneumonia. Guess you can look at it two ways, probably just as they did: either you enjoy what you have and don’t obsess over “health,” or worry yourself into an early grave anyway.

That’s kind of how I look at smoking, anyway. Over my lifetime so far, I’ve heard of dozens, if not hundreds, of “things that will kill you.” And some of those, depending on the year and the expert, were contradictory!

So do what you want, as long as it works for you, and of course, as long as you’re prepared to quit or carry on, one way or the other.

We always seem to think we’re ready for just about anything. Those of you who are, like me, “of a certain age,” probably have the emergency prep down to a science, right? Or do you?

I got caught by surprise yesterday.

First, my son got one of his usual nosebleeds, albeit a little heavier than is typical. And then, HIS EYE WAS BLEEDING!

Yikes—this is something I’ve never seen and it was more than a wee bit frightening. See, there’s a tear duct that usually drains downward but, in some people, it can also go in reverse. Apparently, he is “some people.”

I called a friend, who reminded me of this tear duct, and then I called the doctor. Had to leave a message, natch. The ER was SO NOT HELPFUL. Fortunately, the doc’s office called right back, said it was uncommon but not unheard of, and we got an appointment for early afternoon.

And yes, everything’s fine.

But what if there was no one to call?

Well, after the initial shock, and of course in retrospect, I’m sure my practical side would have taken over and everything would still be fine. Unless it was a major issue, and in that case, well, you don’t really want to think too hard about that because really, who among us would be up for eye surgery?

The point is that, well, in a SHTF situation, some things just aren’t going to be doable. And it’s probably a good idea to accept that right now.

The second thing, yesterday, was that my puppy decided to tear up my shoe. With my foot inside it. And yes, I was wearing crocs, it was hot, we were outside on the patio. Crocs have holes. The shoe if fine. My toe is not.

In spite of my supplies, stored mostly in the garage, and, for some reason, two boxes of Bandaids in the house, in two different places; we are stone cold out of antibiotic cream in an accessible place in the house. No, I don’t have loaded first aid kit in the bathroom—do you? Like most people, I think, I have a few odds and ends, rarely used, in the bathroom, a kitchen cabinet, etc.

And yeah, some of those things are leftovers from hospital stays anywhere from one to five years ago . . .

Anyway, after I hobbled inside and mopped up the blood trail, I washed my foot and stuck on a couple Bandaids. Damn thing hurt all night, in spite of ice and propping it up. Much better after removing the Bandaids when the bleeding finally stopped, and even better after Advil.

Today, I think I’m gonna live.

The point here is that, no matter how much you’re prepared for SHTF, don’t forget to ALSO be prepared for the little things that do crop up from time to time. No antibiotic cream is not a huge thing—someday we may all run out—but you can still wash and bandage, and, of course, pick some up the next time you’re at the store.

NOTE: Yes, you can use other things, like honey, or make your own antibiotic cream using herbs and oils. And right now, I have honey on my foot. Not as glamorous as it sounds, believe me!