Survival Hammer Just One Way to "Be Prepared"

Survival gear isn't a term that we heard much when I was a child but, looking back over my early years, I do remember how my sisters and I used to joke about our mother's constant, "you don't want to...," admonitions.  I guess they could have been put into the category of survival advice.

Whether we were hanging around home, leaving for a week, or just making a 5-minute trip to the corner grocery, we were bound to hear at least one of her, "you don't want to...," reminders.

"Take your umbrella.  It looks like rain and you don't want to get soaked."
"Make sure you have change for the parking meter.  You don't want to get a ticket."
"Did you finish your homework?  You don't want to ruin your perfect grade point."
"Have you written your thank-you-letters?  You don't want people to think you are rude."
"Did you remember your sunscreen?  You don't want to end up looking like a broiled lobster."

Just the other day, my husband and I were planning a trip to the Oregon Coast, about 75 miles from where we live.  We talked about what we needed to take and suddenly I realized that I had become my mother.

"We need to take an umbrella.  It looks like rain and we don't want to get soaked."
"Let's make sure we have change for parking meters.  We don't want to get a ticket in a strange town."
"Don't forget to check the spare tire.  We don't want to get stuck 30 miles from town with no spare."
"Did you tell the paper boy to hold the paper delivery?  We don't want thieves to know we are away."
"How much cash shall we take? We don't want to run short in case we find something we really want to buy."

Yep.  I guess I am much more like my mother than I thought, but (now that I do the same thing) I must admit that she was usually right.  It is a good thing to plan ahead---even when the dire consequence we may be preparing for will most likely never happen. 

For example,  I keep a pair of comfortable walking shoes, a warm blanket, and a couple of folding chairs in the trunk of our car....just in case.

We have never unrolled the blanket, but several times when attending sports events for our grandchildren, we have had difficulty in finding seats and a quick trip back to the car for the folding chairs has solved the problem. I also donned the walking shoes for a long trek to a phone booth when my car's brakes suddenly decided to quit working.

 Another thing that gives me great comfort is a bright orange hammer stored under the drivers seat of our car.  Not just any hammer, but one designed to quickly break a window, and to quickly cut through a seat belt,  just in case one of us is ever trapped inside the car after an accident.  (Click on the picture if you would like  to know more about how it works or purchase one for yourself
I still haven't added food to my preparations for things that will probably never happen, but I know I should.  Maybe that is something I need to work on today, because, as my mother would say, "Make sure you have some food stored in the trunk of your car.  You don't want to starve to death, do you?"