At 11:00 a.m. the sirens went off and Shusha and I ran down to the shelter like obedient citizens. ( This despite the fact that I came home from all night filming at 9 in the morning. ) There were two other families out of the 18 in our building. Some of them were at work, but there were others who wouldn’t have made it in time – wheelchairs, walkers, etc. It’s always scary when you’re not totally in shape for running.
But it was really useful. We discovered the need for written instructions on the wall, for making sure that cellphones and batteries and flashlight and water get brought down with us. And we have to figure out what to do with all those neighbors who can’t manage the steps…
Of course many people ignored the drill – stayed in the cafes and shops and kept on with their lives. But I remember my friends from the first gulf war who laughed at me. One friend, a doctor, didn’t even have a gas mask, and jeered at the idea. But the night the bombing began she got so hysterical that she didn’t have a sealed room and a mask, she kept dowsing her face with baking soda and water and burned the skin.
So politics and the manipulation of society aside, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Jun 022009
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