What Would You Take? By Dennis Friedman
In 2020, the Silverado fire broke out near our city. At the time, I couldn’t imagine that fire would threaten our home because it would have to burn a large part of our town to get to us. Surely, the firefighters would have it under control before there was mass destruction. Then, the Palisades and Eaton fires this year destroyed thousands of structures fueled by low humidity and strong winds. I now realize we might not have been as safe as I thought we were.
Lately, I’ve wondered how I would react if we lost our home and personal belongings in a disaster. Would it break me — financially and emotionally? I don’t think so. However, you never really know until it happens to you.
If a fire destroyed our home, our homeowners association has insurance that would rebuild the exterior structure and the common areas. We would be responsible for the interior and our personal belongings. We have enough insurance that I believe we could rebuild without taking a huge out-of-pocket hit.
My wife and I strive to live a minimalist lifestyle. We don’t have a lot of belongings. We don’t own expensive luxury items. Rachel doesn’t like wearing jewelry, but she does love nice clothes. Most of her clothes come from stores like Talbots and J.Jill, not high-end clothiers. She also loves sales, so she rarely pays full price. Our home is not jam-packed with furniture and electronic gadgets. We drive two economy cars, 2020 Honda Civic and 2007 Honda Fit, so it wouldn’t be a hardship to replace them.
I’m not attached to our stuff, but if there was a fast approaching fire, and we only have a few minutes to evacuate, there are few things that I would grab in a hurry. I would take our medication, cash we stashed for emergencies, and my mother’s old jewelry box that contains my dad’s wedding ring and some of our important documents, such as passports and birth certificates. I would also snatch an old family photo of my parents, sister, and me, with our dog sitting in front of the Christmas tree. It was taken when my dad was trying out the timer on his new camera. It’s the only photo I have of us together with the family dog. At the time, I was just starting college.
As long as Rachel and I can survive a disaster, that’s what matters most to me. Losing Rachel is the one thing that could break me, not the stuff we own.
If you only had a few minutes to evacuate your home in a disaster, what would you take?
Lately, I’ve wondered how I would react if we lost our home and personal belongings in a disaster. Would it break me — financially and emotionally? I don’t think so. However, you never really know until it happens to you.
If a fire destroyed our home, our homeowners association has insurance that would rebuild the exterior structure and the common areas. We would be responsible for the interior and our personal belongings. We have enough insurance that I believe we could rebuild without taking a huge out-of-pocket hit.
My wife and I strive to live a minimalist lifestyle. We don’t have a lot of belongings. We don’t own expensive luxury items. Rachel doesn’t like wearing jewelry, but she does love nice clothes. Most of her clothes come from stores like Talbots and J.Jill, not high-end clothiers. She also loves sales, so she rarely pays full price. Our home is not jam-packed with furniture and electronic gadgets. We drive two economy cars, 2020 Honda Civic and 2007 Honda Fit, so it wouldn’t be a hardship to replace them.
I’m not attached to our stuff, but if there was a fast approaching fire, and we only have a few minutes to evacuate, there are few things that I would grab in a hurry. I would take our medication, cash we stashed for emergencies, and my mother’s old jewelry box that contains my dad’s wedding ring and some of our important documents, such as passports and birth certificates. I would also snatch an old family photo of my parents, sister, and me, with our dog sitting in front of the Christmas tree. It was taken when my dad was trying out the timer on his new camera. It’s the only photo I have of us together with the family dog. At the time, I was just starting college.
As long as Rachel and I can survive a disaster, that’s what matters most to me. Losing Rachel is the one thing that could break me, not the stuff we own.
If you only had a few minutes to evacuate your home in a disaster, what would you take?
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