Blogger: Rachel Kent
As many of you know, we were faced with some crazy fires during October in Sonoma County, California. My family didn’t face any significant losses, but many of my friends did. We are all doing what we can to support those who faced great loss. I know many of you have supported Northern California through prayer and even donations, too. Thank you so much!
A month after the start of the fires, we still talk about the fires all the time. There’s no forgetting something so traumatic. I evacuated from my home three times–I was able to go back and then a new fire danger would come. By the end of it all, my house was in the middle of three fire areas.
The first night, as I warily watched the fire approach over the mountains, I was gathering items in preparation for our evacuation. It was around 2 a.m. and I hadn’t slept at all because of the wild winds.
My husband is a firefighter and was on duty that night. It was just me and the kids–and our overly-needy, anxious dog. I tried to think of what was important to each member of my family and I gathered up important files, clothes, special blankets, a few items of jewelry, and our computers.
After thinking about it, I grabbed only two books. I love all of my books, but I decided most could be replaced. The one book I grabbed for myself was my Bible.
The other book I grabbed is my son’s current favorite book, I Love You, Little Pumpkin by Sandra Magsamen. We read this book ALL the time. He loves it. I thought that even if our house was gone, having this book to read would distract him from the tension of a new kind of nomadic life. It would be a touch of the normal routine in a life of chaos. I’m so thankful I had so much time to consider what I was packing–I know many people only had minutes or seconds to leave their homes. I’m also thankful that I didn’t lose my home and feel so awful for those who did. I can only begin to imagine the heartache that goes along with that kind of loss.
Michelle Ule, friend and co-worker of mine, grabbed only two books as well. One was a copy of the book she wrote. Mrs. Oswald Chambers‘s scheduled release was October 17, I believe, and these fires started on the 8th. The other book was her current library book, Eric Mataxas’s biography of Martin Luther. She needed a copy of Mrs. Oswald Chambers to take with her on an upcoming business trip and she wanted to finish reading the biography of Martin Luther. She also didn’t want a library book to burn.
Janet Grant grabbed her iPad and she uses that to read books on the Kindle app. She didn’t grab any printed books in her rush to get out.
If you were faced with an evacuation, which books, if any, do you think you would you take? Why would you pick those ones? Or if you wouldn’t grab any, why wouldn’t you?
Writing this post has made me sad all over again. My heart aches for those who lost so much. Please join me in prayer for them!
I am glad that your evacuations were only temporary, Rachel, and that all of you are safely home. You were wise to take your son’s favorite book–moving is hard for kids in the best of circumstances.
* I would grab my old photos (dubbed “the box,” even though it is now two boxes), and the two family histories (one written by my aunt, the other by my father). I might add the well-worn “The Cow in the Silo” from my childhood. It’s not the books, it’s the memories.
There are so many books that have touched my life, but I could probably replace most of them since I don’t mark them up. Like Janet, I’d pick up my Kindle and tech gear, then the tubs of family photos, including tintypes, that could never be replaced.
Prayed for you, Rachel, and so thankful y’all were okay. And so thankful for the work your hubby does. Mine was a volunteer chief and the waiting is so scary. So sorry you had to go through all that!
Rachel, it’s fascinating that you thought of books, especially for your son. When we had fires where we live a few years ago, I thought about what I would evacuate with us, if the need ever arose. I would definitely take my Bible. I can’t replace the notes in it. I would have taken a few books for my boys (whichever ones they were interested in at the time), and I would have taken my tech. My Kindle, though not the primary thing I read, holds a lot of books. Of course family photos, and maybe even yearbooks, since those can’t be replaced (though who would want to look at my 80’s hair, I don’t know). Both of my sons are voracious readers, so we would have grabbed whatever they were reading at the time.
*Your post has me thinking. 🙂 I prayed for you guys, and I’m so glad you are okay!
After the ancient tabby cat, important papers, and the family jewels, these are the books I’d save. And actually, growing up in tornado alley, these personal treasures spent a few evenings in an interior closet with the children, my husband, and me.
1. My great-grandparents’ bible, with genealogy
2. My collection of first-edition, signed Daniel Silva books
3. A small collection of first-edition Henry James, Beatrix Potter, and other books of this ilk
4. Three Cook’s Travel guidebooks of the Middle East, from roughly Gertrude Bell/Winston Churchill’s time
5. Margaret Thatcher’s two-book biography, which my husband stood in line for seven hours to have signed for me by the lady herself one Christmas long ago
Everything else, including my library from seminary, can be replaced. I would definitely grab my iPad (with Kindle) on the way out the door.
As I read through your post, my mind was wondering “What would I grab?” For sure I’d grab two of my Bibles. One has 30 years of notes in it, and the other has been my study Bible since the 80s and is out of print. Other than that, I’d grab my notebook computer and my back-up hard drives … and the kitty. I’d have to get the kitty. It sickens me to think of those who had only minutes to scramble and grab what they could. What if you miss something irreplaceable?
If I had the time, I’d grab my three Bibles–my first Bible from my parents, my first Bible from my church (that I used the most as a young person), and my present Bible that I’ve had for 30 years. I’d grab the girls’ baby books by the front door, along with a stack of 14 small photo albums that I’ve made over the years through Shutterfly. I’d hope to grab 2 of the girls’ childhood books–You and Me Little Bear by Martin Waddell and God Loves Me (this was personalized for my oldest daughter, has her name all throughout it, and my youngest wrote her name in). 🙂 **I’m so glad your home remained safe and your family did, too, Rachel. Thank you for this exercise … I hadn’t thought about it in a very long time. When my grandparents’ home burned to the ground years ago, they got out with nothing … only the nightclothes they were wearing. They really panicked, I think, and waking up to fire … you just probably don’t think straight. But the old ceiling tiles were very flammable, and when my grandfather opened the door, the wind caught the fire and swept it over their home. But I’ll always be thankful to that little outside dog, Pancho, who pawed on their door until my grandfather woke. And I guess they never stopped mourning the loss–the handmade quilts, the old house. They couldn’t talk about it over their remaining years without tearing up.
Interesting question, Rachel, and I am so glad you guys got through the fire OK.
* We’d have our hands full evacuating a LOT of dogs (and two cats), but in terms of books I would probably take Barb’s Jerusalem Bible, a Qu’ran, and some aviation books by P.G. Taylor that are long out of print, but present the most moving and lyrical descriptions of flying I have ever read.
You may well as, why a Qu’ran?
* it’s a reminder that peace can only come through understanding, and compassion grows from individual hearts to form a great banyan tree of sheltering love.
* There are significant difference of belief that divide us, yes, but if we want to offer a path to salvation, we have to recognize that while Christ is the road, our care and empathy are the paving.
When my kids were in grade school, they wrote short stories that were bound as books. Those 4 are the only irreplaceable ones in my library of at least 3000 books. I use several different Bibles and I don’t write in them, so they are all replaceable. I’d probably take one of the ones with excellent study notes. I would take my backup hard drives, the box of flash drives on my desk, and my laptop and charger so I could keep working. If I had time, I’d take the most useful of my Roman history books, again so I could get work done while evacuated. I’d also grab the file box containing my publishing business records.
Praying, Rachel. Glad to hear you are safe. My bible is one. I’ve had this particular one for a long time because I tend to get attached to things. I would also grab the last proof copy of the novel I self-published. I personalized it and gave it to my wife, as she provided a majority of the inspiration for it.
I faced evacuation three times when my family lived near the Sacramento River. The flood waters rose behind my house on farm acreage my father owned. We placed sandbags in key places near our cinder block farm house. The kids and I put the piano up on cement blocks, it was my most valuable item. Like you, my husband was away. Every hour throughout the night I checked the water level behind the barn using a flashlight and walking into the dark night through the winter weeds. We never had to evacuate, but it was close. Photos were what I gathered.
We live in Washington’s Cascade Mts in the forest and so wildfires are a danger every single summer. Fires have come within one mile of our house on 3 different occasions in the 31 years I have lived here and we have been evacuated once, although we had our bags packed and ready to go the other times. As a teen, I took clothes and books but do not remember which ones. As a mother, I packed a book for every family memeber and a stuffed toy. I have several underlined Bibles from years past that I have marked up to give my sons, I believe I would take these as well as our photo albums and my laptop. It makes me remember the scene in the Movie “Leap Year” where she pulls the fire alarm to see what she would take, what is important to her.
I keep a copy of each of my own published books in the car in case I ever need to evacuate. And I’d grab my old fashioned, clips file full of articles I’ve written if I had to evacuate. I have several thousand hard copy books in my house, including lots by authors I’ve met at conferences or who belonged to critique groups with me, but it would be impossible to save all of those or choose just a few. Of course I’d grab a Bible, probably the small King James one that fits in my purse so I take it to Bible studies.
I lived with a history buff who had an antique,rare reference book worth roughly $15,000. She saved for years to get it, and when I moved in she made it clear that before anything else in the house, THAT book needed to be grabbed. Never had a problem, thankfully!
I had to answer this question several years ago a wildfire threatened our (at the time) rural mountain home. We were put in Stage 2 evacuation (older people, pets, and valuables needed to get out). We could move to the next stage at any moment, so we frantically packed valuables while also planning/ packing for immediate evacuation.
*With a library of about 1500 books, choosing just a few was hard. For evacuation of valuables I packed up the nicer hardbacks, many of them earlier editions or sets of classic works. If need be we could sell them to provide essentials should the house be lost.
*For potential immediate evacuation, we packed our Bibles, the kids each picked a book, and I packed my binders of manuscripts (I handwrite initial drafts) and my 30+ journals.
*A number of people mentioned pictures, and fortunately all of ours were already in a tote, which made it easy to toss on the valuables trailer.
*The backfire stopped the wildfire less than a mile from our house, and we never had to fully evacuate, but I still remember the fear and stress, the wondering if it was all going to still be there in the morning…
*My prayers continue for Sonoma County. I can’t imagine the level of devestation and heartache!
Sad to say, it’s unlikely I’d have any time to save any books as too many other things are on the list such as a cat, a horse, musical instruments (my husband’s livelihood), computers, etc. We have well over 3,000 books, but if I had to choose, I would take my Bible and my journals (about 4 decades worth).
I have never had to evacuate but we were forced to relocate I’m the summer of 2014 from a lovely home to a much smaller townhome. I still grieve the loss of hundreds of books, perhaps even more than one thousand books. If I had to evacuate I would take my beloved Bibles, the two small green Gideon Bibles passed out at our highschool that I rescued from a boy who was going to toss them in the trash, the Living New Testament that Pastor Brown gave me with a note in on the day I prayed to receive Christ into my heart, when the pastor told me God loved me and I was surprised because I knew people liked me, but I didn’t think anyone loved me until Him, my beloved Jesus, and my Amplified Bible that is all marked up with notes, highlighting, underlining, dates, and full of notes and special book marks. I would also take two of my favorite devotional books: “On This Day In Christian History, 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs, and Heroes,” by Robert J. Morgan, and, “Jesus Calling, Enjoying Peace in His Presence,” by Sarah Young. I have lots of totes, so I’d toss them in, my Kindle, small HP 365 laptop. I’d pit my ShihTzu Peanut in the back pack he rides in when I hike, and grab the firsafe with our important papers. If my husband was home, he’d grab Peanut and the important papers and I’d grab a few pictures of our son a d us off the wall, and a few old out of print books I have.
Fun to read what everyone brings ?.
I am so glad you did not personally suffer losses. I have just prayed for your friends who have. In an evacuation situation, I would definitely grab my Bible. Just holding it can bring me comfort. I would definitely bring a few books for my kids, and a couple of my research books that are no longer in print from the late 1800s early 1900s. Replacing them would be nearly impossible. Then I would grab the standard legal stuff (birth certificates, etc), our computers, a couple sentimental stuffed animals for my kids, and extra clothes. Looking around my room as I type this, I have realized really very few things would matter in an emergency. Guess it is time to do a purge.
I hope that no more evacuations are in your future and that the fires will settle down for the season.
When my parents were young, they lost all their belongings that were temporarily stored at my grandparents’ house that burned down. That included all my baby pictures. I’ve only seen a few that my aunt had. It has left a little hole in my history, but I know it doesn’t compare to what others have lost from devastating wildfires. I don’t have any irreplaceable books. I would take the jewelry my husband has given me, some photos, computer, and guitar.
So hard to say what decisions would be made in that situation. Given the time and space to pack, I’d probably grab two antique poetry books that the president of my college gave me, a few of my favorites from childhood (the first few Elsie Dinsmore books and The King’s Stilts by Dr. Seuss), two Bibles (one I’ve had since I was three, and my current copy), and any signed novels from authors I personally know.
Okay, now it’s your turn. What books did the other Books and Such people besides Rachel who had to evacuate take with them?
Only three of us live in Sonoma County: Michelle, Janet and I.
So, what books did you take?
Just reading your posts now because of the holiday on Friday.
I am so grateful for your prayers and well-wishes!
I’m also so surprised by the amazing books some of you own! Autographed first-editions. Wow! Please do make the effort to save them if it ever comes to it, but we must all remember our lives are the most important.
My Bible and No Easy Road. I have so many prayer requests and answers written and dated in my everyday Bible. Many are reminders to me of God’s love and faithfulness. That Bible goes with me whenever I am. I know it would be close should I have to flee quickly.
The other book, No Easy Road, is a slim old paperback that sits next to my Bible at my writing desk which is currently in my bedroom instead of my office, in the next room. My youngest son is temporarily living in my office.
The Dick Eastman book is my constant reference other than my Bible, for prayer.
My home is bursting with books and bookshelves and I dearly love these treasures and the stories they tell.
But as you did, Rachel, I would grab what would mean most to my family. That would be our three dogs ~ Jake, Max and Thor.
The two books would ground me in the midst of the unknown. The dogs are family, they would be carried in our arms in need be, to flee together. Two sleep with my daughter, the other, our granddaughter’s pit bull that we have fostered for a year now, and will be with us for the two years she is living in France, sleeps in my husband’s and my room.
Hopefully, we could all evacuate in one car, our 4-Runner.
You and you family and friends remain in my prayers sweet Rachel.