MY PRE-TRIP THIRST
This'll be a short one. I'm getting ready to attend a NASA Knowledge Management conference in Houston, where I'll be presenting on the history of, and our experience with, an Expert/Expertise location system and knowledgebase that's been used by my company for almost three and half years.
I've been packing (something I'm pretty good at, but still tend to put off 'til the last moment) and am now sitting on the potty (with the lid closed), playing lifeguard, while my four-year-old daughter bathes. Soon I'll have to wash her hair for her and put in the detangler before I try to comb out her hair without having her scream in pain. At this stage of my life, I think I'd rather have a digital rectal exam. At least it would be over in a matter of seconds and my back wouldn't have a chance to seize up on me.
Anyway, before I go I was wondering. With all the money I pay out in taxes and, given that those funds pay for things like FEMA (lest we forget, that stands for FEDERAL Emergency Management Agency), why the hell am I worried I need at least a month's supply of water and food to make sure my family can survive a really destructive earthquake?
Do you have any idea how much water a family of four needs to make it a mere 28 days? At the bare minimum of three liters per day, that's a total of 336 liters. In those big, plastic bottles grocery stores sell, that's 36 of them. At no less than $2/bottle (which is an infrequent bargain), that's . . . well, you figure it out. I haven't included food.
Well, I can afford it. What about my neighbors? People who live within 5 miles of me? Can everyone afford it? I doubt it. What will the folks who can't afford it, or who really didn't see or understand the possibilities, be doing to survive if OUR government, to which we pay tribute in the form of taxes, can't be counted on to provide rapid assistance? And you can't be serious if you think I'm being cynical; not after Katrina. Not with this vindictive, bumbling bunch now controlling the country's purse strings.
I just wanted to get that off my chest. I'll have more to say about what I think I have the right to "expect" (i.e. feel "entitled" to) from my government later, but I'm going to leave it alone for now. I hope to post at least once from my hotel in Houston.
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2 comments:
I think you're shorting the actual amount your family uses in H2O. Check last or next months water bill and see how many HCF, that's hundred cubic feet, a family uses a day...
I was basing my argument on the absolute bare minimum water usage for nothing more than survival, not what we normally use. See this letter at Human Rights Watch for some background.
I wasn't including anything other than drinking and minimal cooking usage of water. No hygienic use at all. Not pleasant, but I was trying to be as conservative as possible.
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