Blame it on La Cuarentena

The continuing quarantine, partial as it is, is mostly about not doing things: not traveling, not getting to see family and friends, not being able to congregate in groups, not attending Mass, not having sports to watch. As I pondered the continuing effects of the coronavirus, I had to ask myself: what if anything could I say I have done that I could blame, specifically, on the quarantine? And a few things came to mind, namely:

We bought a freezer. One of those seven cubic feet, chest-style machines from Coppal, a local vendor. Now we had pondered getting one earlier, but since we eat out so frequently, and eat fresh meat and produce when we cook in, we simply didn’t see the need for a freezer. The quarantine challenged both of those givens: no restaurants, and avoiding going to the tienda every other day. We reconsidered: it’s nice to have some storage for larger portions of meat, etc. and I’ll admit having some frozen convenience foods (pizza, wings, ice cream) close at hand beats trying to go out and buy them every time a craving hits. Judy remains concerned we don’t need it; I’m up to the challenge of filling it!

My fountain came out as a planter. Or more specifically, it completed that transition. We had the option to put a fountain somewhere on our property when we were having the house built, so we put it in the middle of our interior courtyard. The idea of a fountain was superior to its incarnation. It’s an energy hog, the fountain was never loud enough to hear over other ambient sounds, and it can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The pump failed. It was difficult to keep clean. The quarantine left me pondering it almost daily, and something had to give. So, first I drained it and put an herb garden on top of it. Then I drilled drainage holes in the bottom, filled it with dirt, and started to add plants. The soil will always be wet during the rainy season, so I am experimenting with different plants to see what takes. First up is Alocacia.

Finally, I reviewed and updated my bug-out bag. What’s that you ask? It’s a long story, going all the way back to when we were first married and living in what was then West Germany. While the US Army there awaited a Soviet invasion that never came, our spouses and families were instructed to have a bag packed for a speedy evacuation in the event of war. Ours did, with a twist. The families were supposed to be bussed to Rhein-Main airbase and evacuated from the same hub where the rest of the US Army (from the States) was arriving. Except that was also where the Russians were going to drop chemical weapons to delay the reinforcements, and where was all the protective gear for spouses and children? So my family’s bug-out bag was designed with what they needed for a quick drive south to and across the Swiss border. Never needed it, but the concept always stuck with me.

The contents of the bug-out bag vary based on from what you’re running: a bag for the zombie apocalypse is different from one for the Red Army. When we moved to the DC area, the bag was primarily for me to grab as part of a family evacuation plan, designed to be executed from wherever one was when notified. That one was mainly in the event of some kind of weapon of mass destruction threat/event, and the ensuing mass panic. Nowadays, our bag is primarily for some kind of natural disaster and subsequent need to “live off the land.”

It’s not elaborate or expensive: some basic first aid gear, some multi-tools, fire-starter, space blankets and ponchos, a US Armed Forces Survival Manual, blades and tools, among other things. Upon review, what lacked in mine was water capacity. Face it, in any survival situation, water is the critical resource, but you can’t carry enough. So I added some large plastic water bottles and a Steri-straw, a basic filtration device which allows you to drink from most any natural source.

The idea well predates the recent “prepper” craze, although there are similarities. Bug-out bags are just a little extra preparedness; prepping is more of a lifestyle choice, in my opinion. Anyway, the long hours of quarantine proved a good opportunity to review and inspect everything, replace some items, do the basic math and add a few things. Never would have gotten around to it otherwise.

Nothing remarkable here, but a few things to note. Oh, and the title of the post? well, it’s an homage that goes all the way back to 1963! Do you remember?