Published the week of 10/9/05

Here are two short, vital, but often neglected questions that come from recent headlines: what's your family's emergency plan? If you have kids, what¿s the emergency plan for the school(s) they attend?

How many more fires, floods, tornadoes, blizzards or hurricanes do we have to encounter before we admit - it can happen to me, and to our family?

I've lived through a tornado that came within 1 block of our family's house. It came up fast, after a calm, humid day. Suddenly the sky darkened, the wind blew and we knew - it was time to head to the basement.

We could hear the wind howling, and then, as some people report, we heard an astonishingly loud sound - like a huge locomotive, very close to the house. That was the tornado.

It passed quickly. Fortunately, we had only minor roof damage.

One block away, a dozen homes were destroyed - leveled, just like on television. One minute, a house. The next minute, kindling, with dishes, doors and dolls, laying on the ground, slammed into overturned cars. Some possessions destroyed, many blown away.

Pictures and words can not not fully convey the feelings people have - frustration, devastation, anger, humility, and - it no one is killed, relief.

Fortunately, my mother insisted that we have emergency preparations. Stocked in the basement, were up to date batteries and flashlights, as well as a few candles. And we had some of the other things that the Red Cross recommends: water, food, first aid supplies, and a few tools.

Years later , our family lived through a windstorm that blew down thousands of trees, including one that landed on our house. Cars were smashed in an instant. A neighborhood with 80-100 year old trees everywhere was transformed to a place where most of them were leveled, or severed, half way up. And of course, downed wires, which meant that there was no electricity for days.

What I hadn't realized was that there is a huge business of people going around immediately after such storms, offering to remove trees, and charging a LOT of money. But you have to get trees off your house before power can be restored.

In both cases, our family was very , very lucky. But I'm convinced.

"Be prepared," we used to say as Boy Scouts.

So why not spend 30 minutes with your family, sometime this week? Doing that. Getting prepared.

Both the federal government and American Red Cross offer plenty of free advice. Call 1-800-Be Ready (800 237-3239) for a free federal brochure. As you can imagine, the internet resources are almost limitless. In 2 minutes, I found good information at ready.gov/index.html, and at the American Red Cross, www.redcross.org.

It's also worth asking the relevant principal(s) about the school's emergency plans. You, and your kids, need to know.

Imagine your family in those fire, flood, fire, blizzard or tornado pictures on tv. Then please, be prepared.