Zombie Cliché Lookout: But I Need my Makeup!
Evacuation can be an extremely traumatic experience, especially during the initial outbreak when you might have to leave your home and most of your earthly possessions behind. You know that there’s only one was to survive, but it’s tough to break away with that little piece of security that is your own home. Now the best thing to do would be to grab what you need, quickly, and leave. But of course not everyone can do that. A lot of people need something, some sort of metaphorical security blanket to help bring a little bit of home with them. Be that a photo album, a family heirloom, or your very favorite assault rifle.
Of course a toolbox would probably be a little more important to your long term survival than, say, your mother’s wedding dress, but going back for anything in a situation like this puts you that much closer to death.
About this Episode:
Several of your suggested that someone needed to call Stew out this week for missing the zombie’s head, especially after he yelled at Cheryl. Awesome suggestion, of course, but the episode was already shot. But don’t worry, I’ll file that one away for later.
Discussion Question: What’s Your Security Blanket
You’ve got to leave you home, and I mean right now. What’s the one thing that you can take to help you over the psychological hurdle of leaving?
Myself? I’d grab my portable hard drive with all my kid’s pictures on it, as well as backups of a number of other important items, like my marriage certificate, deed for my home, etc. It’s pretty bulky (two HDDs in a RAID with shock protection means it’s not tiny), but I think it’s worth it, provided I can access a computer at some point.
Gun (I prefer the Judge Revolver and Circut Judge rifle both shooting a .410 and .45 long colt), bullets, photo albums (you might not get computer access) batteries, clothes, flashlight, and tools.
The guns/ammo, batteries, clothes, flashlight, and tools are all pretty practical. The photo album, on the other hand.
Sorry I didn’t see the one thing you take. I would take a bag full of ammo and pictures.
Quite a mix.
I think he should take the toolbox, if wielded correctly it’d make a pretty good macing weapon. I sure hope he can lift it high enough before the zeds get him though! 😀
I’ve got a toolbox like that. It could put the hurt on someone pretty thoroughly.
The nice thing about toolboxes, especially automotive tooboxes, is that they have lots of lumps of metal some of which would almost certainly be of zombie killing quality! 😀
Oh most definitely.
My stuffed animal in which I’ve had for as long as I remember. I know, I know, don’t judge me.
Nothing wrong with having a Woobie, Sir Cheese.
Hey my older brother has a stuffed animal that my great grandma gave him and a blanket that isn’t even big enough for his legs. It’s big enoughf for a 3 or 5 year old.
Hmmmm… Off hand, just looking around my room… I would obviously try to make sure I get my shoes and would probably snatch two things as I went: My German mace for smashing zombies and a quilt my mother made me. (Let’s hope the zombies only eat humans and the purring fat cat on the chair next to me is safe until I return later when things hopefully cool down.)
Before you scoff at me grabbing a blankie my mummy made me, consider how jealous you’ll be later when we end up sleeping with no beds or bedding to speak of. ;D And if things get really dicey, I can throw the blanket over a zombie or wrap it around my arm as a form of anti-bite armour. Could be quite handy.
A good quilt would be both sentimental and useful. Nice choice.
And I love that you have a mace. I’m kind of jealous.
my older brother(who lives in the same house as I) has a dozen swords a sword spear and a small battleaxe that would all be useful.
Oh, and I might consider grabbing my keys so I can use my car…
Hah
Jelleh Beans!
Never underestimate the importance of comfort foods.
My small wooden polar bear.
Sounds kind of cool. Did someone carve it for you when you were a kid?
Hand made it myself.. I’m planning on getting a more solid and better polished one soon.
Now I shall give you a reason why it’s specifically a polar bear.
Me and my 2 friends Isiah and Jojo are all Creek Indian, but unlike every other Creek Indian in the world.. I’m rather white, a pleasant pale as it has been described before. My friend Jojo’s Indian name converts over to Blue Bear.. So in order to keep up with the bear theme.. Jojo declared me Polar Bear.
As well I really like Polar Bears, because of several things.
They are intelligent
Strong
Tough
And big/fluffy.
They like Coke.
I blame Saint Nicholas.
Yeah, he’s the likely source of that addiction.
did you know that the female polar bear will build a den with multiple rooms and a ventilation system? now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
My point proven over again! Polar bears are something to admire when it comes to a creature of survival.
My leather bomber jacket. My parents gave it to me in high school. They sacrificed a lot to get me that jacket and i always want to remember their selflessness… Also on the practical side I was going through a MacGyver phase back they so the pockets are still loaded with lots of random potentially useful things. Swiss army knife, string, paperclips, etc.
Sounds both sentimental and useful. Nice choice.
I’ve been trying to get my wife to organize her scrapbooks so they’re more portable. She must have at least six of them. I’d like to take a couple of largish Rubbermaid totes, and place them on their sides on the top shelf of a closet. With the books inside, she can still use them; and in an emergency I can throw the lids on them and get them out.
I think she keeps the later digital pictures backed up on CD’s in her office. Anything short of an INCH situation, and we can get the backups at her office later.
Me, I’m not that sentimental. I just want my wife and kids safe, warm, and fed. Anything more than that is gravy. In that case, my M14 is my security blanket.
I like that security blanket, Bo. I like it a lot.
M14? I’m so jealous. Here in the UK, I couldn’t even get an M1A. (No semi-autos allowed)
Let me guess… That guy’s name is “Manny”? (I’m sure you were waiting for someone to say this!)
As in Handy Manny?
did you know handy manny is fez from that 70s show? now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
I was not aware of that. I’ve only seen the show once or twice. My kid if much more into Bob the Builder and Thomas.
l3m0nm4n, i swear that everytime I read that I see the rainbow star swoosh and I hear the dings.
Thanks man, you made me smile.
I know it would eventually not work but I’d have to take my cell phone. Also, my Kindle already goes everywhere with me so that is a given. Sentimentality calls for my mom’s photo albums so those would come along.
Sounds like you need to buy a solar charger.
I could always make my kid run a treadmill to prodce the energy. He has enough of it. lol
It’ll still only run while the network is up. I’d still want mine, of course – since those cell towers are build to resist terrorist attacks, they could take a while to fall. In the long run, though, you’re better off with a decent radio.
Screw the material possessions; I’m outta there.
Make sure I’ve got the wife and the dog. Then I’m out the door, I’m down the driveway, I’m gone.
I like the way you think.
What happens if the wife wants some stuff? Or are you guys pretty well like minded?
My wife wants stuff. I will accommodate. Me, I am indifferent.
The priority is hitting the road about twelve hours before things get really bad.
My wife believes in relationships, firstly between people, secondly with her animals, as being more important than anything material. We’ll grab what’s absolutely necessary, but then we’re silhouettes in the distance. I’m confident she feels the same as I.
Sentimental items…Hmm…I have a lot of random stuff everywhere, but very few things with proper sentimental value. From what I do have though, probably my handpads (karate) which, being items made for hitting things without hurting them, would not be at all useful, but which are still of vaguely sentimental value, and of easy access.
Perhaps they could be a psychological weapon against human bad guys?
Potentially, yes.
I would grab either my trench coat or my overcoat, probably both, my camo hat, and my boots(they are my everyday shoes too!) which are all in the same place, which is 4 feet from my desk. If I had the time I would also grab my older brothers axe, it weighs quite a bit, and would be useful against a skull or two.
Those all seem like useful items. What about sentimental items with little to no practical value?
the only sentimental thing I can really think of would be either my computer, or one of my dad’s external drives( all our pictures are on our PC’s, we have like 8 copies of our pictures all over the pcs in our house) or my camera. the camera would be useful(I can think of several uses in a zombie apocolypse, and a PC or external would be difficult to move unless packaged just right which can quite take a while, and from the sounds of it, it seems like it is a get out now or don’t get out at all, and chances are, I would come back in a week or so to get any other things I might think of later on.
oh crud, I forgot, my bear of course, wish I could edit my first post so I could say:
My teddy bear I have had since I was 2.
The bear certainly counts.
on an unrelated not… Does anyone know how zombie survivors in different locations could stay in touch?
Ham radio.
Seems like a solid idea to me.
I get about 40 miles out of a 2-meter mobile, a folding antenna, and a 12 volt battery; and that’s pretty much a bottom-of-the-barrel rig, in terms of frequency.
Check out www.arrl.org/
thanks, I just wasn’t too sure how exactly other people would attempt to get in contact with others.
The best bet is to start practicing now. Sitting in front of a radio in the middle of a WCS is not the time to learn. As a plus, there are whole clubs of radio operators dedicated to emergency comms. I definitely want them on my side when the Schumer hits the fan.
I know a lot of abbreviations, but WCS is puzzling me.
Worst Case Scenario.
You should make a glossary for your page. I’d be happy to help.
Another one I used previously was INCH, I’m Never Coming Home.
Oh, of course!
A common abbreviation index is a really good idea. Any interested in doing a guest post?
I think there was a good glossary on survival blog. It wouldn’t take a lot to borrow from it (copy from it?).
My LEGO collection, of course!
That could be a hell of a lot to lug around.
I’d settle for just the minifigs.
Um…I’d probably take my camera (and a weapon). Someone has to take pics of the apocalypse!
Great idea!
Dave I just thought about it but the one thing I would grab ( Besides the bag I mentioned before) is a tomahawk I ordered a while back from SOG knives that has BTTE laser engraved into it. If your wondering BTTE stands for Brothers Till The End.
I’ve been wanting a tomahawk. I have no idea what I’d do with it, but they just seem cool.
Where’d that sledgehammer piece come from, Dave?
It’s from some company in Asia. Si-Dan I believe. It’s a really cool piece, and it slide onto a standard LEGO bar, so you can make the handle long or short.
Probably the most important thing i would grab would be my leg braces if I didn’t have them on. Next down the list would be my pocket knife and hat.(the hat is real sentimental for me)
I don’t really have to many sentimental items here at college.
I would also grab a handy bashing weapon.(my roommates bat or my clothes rack’s rod(it is a rather nice piece of steel pipe))
If i have time I’ll head next door and raid my campus’ police department (I timed it from my room at around 1 minute walking).(If its locked then I’m sure they will understand the broken glass)
even though I am living with my parents still, not even through high school, my hat and trench coat are a couple of my most sentimental possessions.
Out of curiosity, why are those items sentimental?
the hat is what set me apart from everyone else(set me aside from the common rabble of the other teens in my town) and has also been with me everywhere I have gone(camping just walking to the store and everywhere).
and the coat, it has also been with me many places, and I got it from my grandparents, it has also made me look like a large muscular person(in reality, while I am fairly strong, I am sort of a fatty) and that has saved me from ridicule and fights before(where I live smart people are thought to be nerds and wimps.
Also the hat was one of the first things I got with my own money that wasn’t a toy or anything, and the coat is practically the only coat I have gotten that wasn’t a hand-down from my older brothers, it also has great character, I am also very attached to them(once I lost my hat for a week and was really depressed).
I know these aren’t the usual things someone would think of as sentimental, but they are the sort of thing I think of as sentimental. like I said up above, all of my families pictures and home videos, and everything like that are on computers, and electricity is likely to be lost, and a 20 pound computer is impossible to move quickly without dropping it and losing everything on it.
Leg braces seem like something you wouldn’t want to forget if you needed them.
I can sorta get along with out them pretty well, if I have a good pair of boots ( as in good ankle support, bit snug, and strong laces) but they wear out pretty quick.( I have a pair of 150 dollar ones that can last maybe a year to a year and a half with sporadic use , so at most I would maybe get 6 months out of them at most) I like to think of it as good motivation to prepare things in advance and be extra clever.
Mmm, tools good.
For god’s sake Murphy, is it really that bad that you need to use ammo? Surely it’ll take the zombies longer to get to the car than you, especially if you whack the front few.
Question:
I can’t really think of anything of purely sentimental value apart from maybe my computers, which would be of limited use early on or without power.
I’d probably pack and take my laptop, it’s portable and we’ll probably be able to restore power at some point, it’d come in useful then.
The only other thing I have much of an attachment to is the house itself, but it’s less than ideal to turn into a fortress – too many windows.