Tuesday Coffee Chat: Be Prepared!

Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted hosts the Tuesday Coffee Chat, and this week she asks the question, What's in your Emergency Go Bag?  You do have an Emergency bag, right?

While some might call it an emergency bag, i call it my running away from home bag.  Why?  Because the only thing that keeps me sane and prevents my running away from home is the fact that i could do so at a moment's notice if i wished.  Knowing i could makes it unnecessary.

The bag, and the cat (EnigmaSissy) that wouldn't get out of the way.

The last person who asked what was in my bag was told, i could tell you, but then i'd have to kill you. 

No, not really, but i do keep many things in there that would come in handy if i had to start my life over elsewhere.  

My medical file is in there, and if i had to skedaddle quickly there's room for my thyroid medication.  Also i keep a small first aid kit and some clean clothing.

My favorite study Bible and devotional book and prayer lists are in there (and yes, if you are reading this, you are likely to be on the prayer list).  Reading glasses, too, for these over 40 eyes.

Charge cords for electronic devices and a storage battery that can charge said devices are in there, along with keys (to my house and some of the houses i clean), snacks to ward off low blood sugar, my master calendar and my list of clients and how much i've been paid, so when the end of the year comes i can be sure to properly report my earnings.

Yes, there's a bit of emergency cash, and a mini umbrella, and a flashlight and all-in-one tool.

Also a mini sewing kit, miscellaneous office supplies (rubber bands, pens, mechanical pencil and refills, paper clips, twist ties), writing paper, blank cards and thank you cards (so i can write a card if the need arises) and stamps, even blank paper and few children's markers so i could entertain a child and let him/her color if i had to.

The cards have come in handy on several occasions, including once when i heard that a person who worked with the homeless ministry was ill and i decided not to waste any time, but wrote a card then and there and sent it with one of the pastors.  She gave it to him, and he loved it, and he died within the week, so if i hadn't had the card and written it right then, he would never have known how much his warmth and smile had ministered to my heart when we worked together.

Mostly the bag is like a security blanket for me, so laugh if you want, but when it's time for me to run away from home, i'm ready.

Today is:

Baby Boomer Recognition Day 

Father's Day -- Egypt; Jordan; Lebanon; Palestine; Syria; Uganda 

Go Skateboarding Day -- and break something?  leaving this to the young; sponsored by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) 

Martyr's Day -- Togo

National Aboriginal Day / First Nations Day -- NT, Canada

National ASK Day -- prevent gun violence and accidental deaths, ASK if there is an unlocked gun anywhere that your child plays, because Asking Saves Kids! http://askingsaveskids.org

National Peaches & Cream Day

Reaping Machine Day -- Cyrus McCormick was granted a patent for his mechanical reaper this day in 1834

St. Alban's Day (Patron of epileptics, people with hernias; against epilepsy, hernias, kidney stones)

St. Aloysius Gonzanga's Day (Protector of young students, young men; Patron of AIDS care-givers and patients; for relief from pestilence; Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy; Valmonte, Italy; against sore eyes)

Swedish Days Midsommar Festival -- Geneva, IL, US (celebrating Swedish heritage in the granddaddy of all Illinois festivals with fun for the whole family through Sunday)

Tiger-Get-By's Third Birthday -- Fairy Calendar

Ulloortuneq -- Greenland (National Day)

Western Days -- Elgin, TX, US (music, carnival, parade, live music and more; through Saturday)

World Handshake Day -- no one likes them fishy, and it's not a contest; practice a firm grip and a smile! not to be confused with National Handshake Day, today's sponsor is here 

World Music Day -- begun in the UK, now celebrated everywhere 


Anniversaries Today:

New Hampshire becomes the 9th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Kris Allen, 1985
Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis), 1982
Juliette Lewis, 1973
Larry Wachowski, 1965
Sammi Davis-Voss, 1964
Doug Savant, 1964
Berkeley Breathed, 1957
Rick Sutcliffe, 1956
Benazir Bhutto, 1953
Nils Lofgren, 1951
Meredith Baxter, 1947
Michael Gross, 1947
Ray Davies, 1944
Mariette Hartley, 1940
Joe Flaherty, 1940
Bernie Kopell, 1933
Maureen Stapleton, 1925
Jane Russell, 1921
Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905
Al Hirschfeld, 1903
Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892
Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1859
Daniel Carter Beard, 1850
Daniel D. Tompkins, 1774
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, 1731
Increase Mather, 1639


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Evita"(Musical), 1978
"Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg"(Wagner opera), 1868


Today in History:

Jews are expelled from Nurenberg Bavaria by Emperor Maximillian, 1498
The Incident at Honno-ji takes place in Kyoto, Japan, 1582
In Montreal in New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of the arson that destroyed much of the city, 1734
Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded, 1749
The first Victoria Cross is awarded during the bombardment of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands, 1854
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg General Strike, 1919
The first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage begins at Vancouver, British Columbia, 1940
Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, 1948
Ellen Louks Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first woman Cabinet Minister, 1957
In handing down the decision in Miller v. California 413 US 15, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the Miller Test for obscenity in U.S. law, 1973
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane  to achieve spaceflight, 2004
Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix & Hydra, 2006
Greenland assumes self-rule, 2009
The U.S. officially charges Edward Snowden with espionnage, 2013