Do You Have a Pair of Shoes Beside Your Bed?

I loved snooping around in my parents’ bedroom when I was a kid. There were ancient treasures from my grandparents and candy in the underwear drawers. One day I found chocolate covered granola bars and bottles of juice under the bed. What a feast.

But I could never figure out why my dad kept a pair of worn-out Sunday shoes beside the nightstand. They were so old, I concluded they must have been worn by my great-great grandfather who fought in the war.

I carefully asked my dad one day at the dinner table why he had the granola bars stuffed under his bed. He told us with a serious face that in case of an emergency we’d be able to survive for a few days while we waited for help. I though that was funny.

“But the shoes,” I wanted to know. “We’re not going to eat those, are we?”

“Oh, the shoes,” he said with some embarrassment, “that’s just in case we get an earthquake or a fire.” I laughed even harder.

Then he explained that if the big earthquake did come, I’d be dancing around with burnt feet or crawling through broken glass, and he’d be running for safety as sure-footed as a mule, with a box of granola bars and a few bottles of water under his arm.

Today the idea of a calamity seems so foreign to our minds we’d be ashamed to admit we had a pair of old shoes under our bed. But a bit of preparedness might not be a bad idea.

Consider for example if food becomes scarce. Okay, the idea sounds preposterous, I agree. But wouldn’t it be at least prudent for us to learn or relearn the art of gardening. You know, saving our own seeds, developing a crop plan, learning how to make compost, and how to grow food for winter storage.

A hundred years ago, almost everyone knew how to grow, preserve, and prepare food on their own properties. Today, these skills are known by less than one percent. I think it’s high time for us to revive this lost art.

And suppose our generation was immune from disaster. We seem to think so. But what about our children and grandchildren?

One thing is certain, they’ll always need to eat, and the future might not be as friendly as we think.

Maybe a pair of old shoes under our bed isn’t a bad idea after all.