On the evening news was a report about a horrific fire east of Seattle that claimed the lives of two children. It got me to thinking about what kind of disaster would be the worst for people with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). While each person with AS is unique, I still bet most of us would not handle well a disaster that destroyed our homes -- fire, tornado, earthquake, tsunami, flood or hurricane.
For me, I think the worst of the lot would be fire. With all the others, I'd stand a much better chance of recovering some objects and, as I've reported in this space before, objects are of great importance to me. But a devastating fire could possibly incinerate every single object I hold dear!
As a pack rat, I have lots and lots of cherished objects. I've kept quite a few objects from my maternal grandparents -- furniture, books, clothing and many kitchen utensils. I have my collection of maps and oodles of books.
Actually, I don't even want to think about this possibility! Such an occurrence would mess me up for months or years. I'd be lost.
For me, I think the worst of the lot would be fire. With all the others, I'd stand a much better chance of recovering some objects and, as I've reported in this space before, objects are of great importance to me. But a devastating fire could possibly incinerate every single object I hold dear!
As a pack rat, I have lots and lots of cherished objects. I've kept quite a few objects from my maternal grandparents -- furniture, books, clothing and many kitchen utensils. I have my collection of maps and oodles of books.
Actually, I don't even want to think about this possibility! Such an occurrence would mess me up for months or years. I'd be lost.
I agree, a fire would have a horrible impact! I am not sure if I personally agree that it would be the worst though, at least not for me. For me, the worst would be having to huddle in large building with a large group of people for an extended amount of time. Especially if they are strangers.
ReplyDeleteI read stories in the paper about floods and tornado's that leave people living together in the open for days to weeks, (like the New Orleans flood)in a stadium.
Something like that would terrify me, people, who are in survival mode, (i.e; survival of the fittest, where only the strong survive), mix it with a couple of "freaks and weirdos" that no one understands, and it starts looking like a horror movie for people with Asperger's.
The stress of a large crowd is not a pleasant thing, all the noise and whatnot, but now make everyone upset and on edge, their patience stretched to the breaking point, and now you come along, requiring more patience than most other people.........no thanks....I'd rather have the fire.
That's my opinion anyways.
You make a most excellent point!! I hadn't thought of it in such terms, but I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteDuring last year's storm -- we had winds here in excess of 120 mph -- power was knocked out for several days. Since the storm wasn't predicted, most people in this area weren't stocked up with supplies, me included!
The roads leading in and out of the county were blocked by thousands of downed trees and so no one could go anywhere and no one could reach us. Fortunately, the owners of our solitary grocery store opened it for a few hours each day utilizing generator power.
I needed some basic staples -- milk, bread, veggies, soup, pet food, etc. So, I went down the hill to the store.
The lines were immense and it was hard to move about the store because of the hordes of people. I wanted to run out of there screaming, but I knew if I left, it would be worse later AND they might run out of what we needed. I had to suck it up because my wife was stranded in Aberdeen (35 miles north) and my animals needed to eat.
So, I kept my head down, staring at my feet as I inched toward one of the 3 checkout stands. At one point, I DID get out of line and retreated to the back of the store where few people were congregated to regain my composure.
Once I finally had my purchases in hand, I retreated to my deserted hill -- all my neighbors had fled to other places. Though the power was still out and it was cold, I really enjoyed about 24 hours of complete solitude!!!