Here's a potentially troublesome thought. If you had to evacuate your home in the event of a fire and could only take just one plastic storage tub of trains, models or railroad memorabilia, what would you put in it? What would you deem irreplaceable enough to put in the car as you drive away from the house knowing you may return to a smoldering husk? Let's say you had warning and the time given for selecting these items was 24 hours. What would make the cut, and what would be left behind?
I faced this choice last year. Thankfully we didn't have to load the kids and pets and precious few personal belongings into our cars and drive away, not knowing if we'd have a house to return to. But this year's (early) fire season has once again raised the specter of this issue in my mind. A few weeks ago a fire bug made a line across the south end of town, setting small fires as he went, only a couple miles away. Thankfully our local crews were able to extinguish those before they grew.
Then last week the wind shifted and the "August Complex" turned the sky orange. This fire in the Mendocino National Forest north of our town has been burning since, well, early August. The new reality in a world altered by climate change is a hotter, drier, more flammable California (with more intense but fewer rainstorms in the winter). Times like these make a person reevaluate priorities, and a hobby gets moved down the list.
However, I'm not willing to abandon everything, particularly not the models I've customized. I take seriously my role as steward of the rare finds I've acquired, lovingly crafted by modelers long gone. Then there are models that speak to me which I prize more highly than their monetary value. So when I began packing a tub last year I chose the contents based on their rarity, the emotions they conjure when I hold them, or the unbuilt kits and their potential to bring me joy as I build them in the future, possibly in a new home.
I won't itemize here the things in my tub, but merely submit this post as a way to raise the question for you, dear reader. What would you put in just one tub?
I realize that it's easy for me to say because I'm not faced with that serious situation, so take this with a grain-of-salt. I would leave all my hobby materials and equipment behind, and only take my Aug '73 issue of MR and Sept '72 issue of Car Model magazine. I'd shoot a lot of photos to document what I had for insurance purposes, although I realize that there are some items that no amount of insurance money could replace. I mention those 2 magazines as they have a lot of sentimental value dating back to my boyhood. Take care, and I hope that you and your family don't face evacuation.
ReplyDelete