Why Toilet Paper?

As shelves empty and there are reports of TP theft in various places, I see people asking, why toilet paper?

Well, the short answer is: no one has those thick Sears or Montgomery Ward catalogs anymore.

While I myself have never resorted to catalog page bum wiping, my dad used to talk about having the catalog propped to one side in the outhouse. It served a double purpose. He had something to look at while he went and a page to use when he was done. He grew up during the depression and had an adaptable outlook right up until the end.

Let’s face it, we’re a generation unprepared for anything but the fluffy, white stuff for our tender posteriors. I know as I look at, um, alternate paper sources, my bum is wincing. And I’m wondering how well our sewer system can handle the non-fluffy stuff, too. Just in case life wasn’t fun enough if we happened to get quarantined. 

Core punching means entering the heart of a storm.

This also got me thinking about the last time we had to prepare for something that might be incoming: Hurricane Ike.

Now, there are a lot of differences between Mother Nature sweeping through and taking out your power, and Mother Nature sweeping through and giving you a virus. For one thing, you get to keep your WiFi and your heating or air conditioning with a virus. That’s a biggie to me, even though I hate to get the flu. Seriously hate it.  

I know back before Hurricane Ike, I considered myself pretty prepared. I mean, we’d been “in training” for a hurricane since we moved to the Gulf Coast in 1980. I was feeling, not sassy, but definitely prepared. We had our 72-hour kits, we had gas in the cars, and cash on hand. We even had an old-style phone that didn’t need electrical power to work. (Yes, that is a real thing.)

We lost our power pretty fast, but our at-college son kept us posted about what was going on outside. It was unnerving to sit in the dark and listen, but I did pretty well getting through the storm.

It was the aftermath that was the most challenging for me. 

I underestimated the impact of stress, of this jolt out of normal. 

When you spend time in a disaster zone, the things that are normal matter a lot. Even silly things like toilet paper. 

Panic is pointless, but being prepared for not-normal is never a bad idea. If not-normal doesn’t happen, then you don’t have to go shopping for a couple of weeks. It’s not like toilet paper goes bad, well, it doesn’t until you use it. Lol

Vi never liked math and aftermath isn’t floating her boat either….

And this is just a suggestion, but you’ll probably want a few more things. I know for me it is about the carbs. I can’t tell you how much I missed donuts during our adventure in not-normal. 

What would be in your “nest of normal” if you had to go into quarantine?

Perilously yours,

Pauline

P.S. I actually have a book with a hurricane and a lot of dealing with not-normal if you need a distraction!

If you like mystery mixed with sci-fi, humor, intelligence, and action, then grab this new series by Pauline Baird Jones. But batten down the hatches for a crazy ride!