Preparedness is much more than a scout motto

I was very involved as a Boy Scout from ages 11-17. So it’s easy for me to remember the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared”. Most of my life, I have taken that motto to heart.

In recent years, I modified that motto in my own way. I coined the term “planned spontaneity”, to remind myself to be prepared, but also be flexible to change. Even the sessions of the Geezer Forum have skewed toward topics that encourage participants to plan ahead in many ways.

But one area when my own preparedness has come up short is in when considering emergency planning at home. So as I briefly looked at this topic online, I was impressed as to how many different groups promote a variety of emergency planning in our homes, and in our community.

It might begin with very basic, how-to kinds of emergency planning, such as the list found in “The Family Handyman Magazine.” See its list of 13 emergencies: wild animal invasion, burst pipe, flooded basement, kitchen fire, bat in the house, power outage, electrical storm, tornado or high winds, carbon monoxide alert, leaking roof, after a hurricane, dead furnace, and sewage backup.

Full disclosure: the other day, I overloaded our garbage disposal and it stopped working. Long story made short? I got simple advice to try a toilet plunger in the sink. After multiple plunges, I cleared the blockage! All is well! Emergency diverted.

A much more detailed emergency plan can involve stockpiling many kinds of supplies in case some disaster strikes in our community. Without access to normal sources of food, water, electricity for many days, most of us could be in serious trouble; or at the very least, greatly inconvenienced!

The Center for Disease Control has prepared a pretty thorough list of emergency supplies we mostly likely need to be aware of for our own home. Obvious things that we may overlook: a three-day supply of food and water, a three-day supply of medications and other medical basics, personal care items, safety supplies, electronics (for communication), documents (legal and medical. etc.), and things too numerous to mention.

I bring these matters up because being prepared is common sense, at least to many of us. This is also the basic topic for our next Geezer Forum, next Tuesday, April 25, 2:30-4 p.m., at Columbia Bank’s Community Room.

“Preparing for Home Emergencies” will be led by two ladies whose daily work focuses on this very topic. Janine Wilson is a healthcare liaison for the Panhandle Health District. She specializes in Public Health Preparedness. Sara Nixon is an EMT with Bonner County Emergencies Medical Services.

Each of them will share from their specialties just how we can prepare ourselves for a wide variety of emergencies, from potential community disasters to in-home medical emergencies (or vice versa). I anticipate some good, practical information to bolster our own personal and community awareness.

Please join us next Tuesday, April 25, 2:30-4:00 at Columbia Bank.

Paul Graves, M.Div., is lead geezer-in-training for Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact Paul at 208-610-4971 or elderadvocates@nctv.com.