Like a lot of other Bay Areans, I've been following the efforts to find the Kim family. After learning about their ordeal (they got lost owing to remote roads and bad weather), I made a note to check our road safety kit.
I've had a road safety kit in the back of the car for years, because I am convinced that I am destined to be stranded in my car at some point, so by God, I'm going to be prepared for it. Back in New York, my safety kit included extra gloves, a box of cat litter and a snow shovel.
Out here, it's more run-of-the-mill: road flares, jumper cables, a first-aid kit, a flashlight, tire inflator, wet wipes, Shout wipes, water, sunscreen, paper and pen, emergency snacks, Thomas Bros. California atlas, towing rope, fire extinguisher and blankets. (I keep it all in one of these -- and I still have room to chuck my gym bag, the canvas bags I use for grocery shopping, plus Phil's work backpack.)
If you drive a lot, I urge you to please, please get yourself a road safety kit. Those of you who are super-girly (or really, really secure in your masculinity) might like the Safety Girl Roadside Emergency Kit for Women. And those of you who don't consider nail files and breath freshener to be emergency essentials may want to peruse the offerings at AutoBarn. They come at a variety of price points, and contents vary depending on what you consider an emergency, and how comfortable you are doing basic emergency maintenance on your car.
Those of you who prefer to roll your own will find the Edmunds.com instructions for assembling your own kit super-helpful. I know I did; I'll be tossing a roll of duct tape in the car tonight when I get home.
I have no connection to this family, geographical or otherwise, but I've been following this story and really hope that James Kim is found alive soon. It's not that unusual to go off the road in Newfoundland, and we've driven by more than one stranded car in the winter. I can't imagine being stuck for a week. I hope he's okay.
Posted by: drunken monkey | 2006.12.05 at 10:54
I've been following this story as well and am praying that James Kim is found alive and well as soon as possible.
I always keep a few more items in the car:
1- Tennis shoes and socks, especially for women who work in offices, who may often be wearing less sturdy shoes. I went through safety training at my first job in California with a teacher who pointed out that if roadways were damaged by an earthquake, we might end up walking a lot farther than we planned. Now, when I get a new pair of running shoes, I put the old pair in my trunk (and take the pair that was there to the charity bin at Road Runner Sports).
I got laughed at a LOT for this, until September 11, 2001, when so many people had to walk so far to get home. I hope I never need the shoes and socks in the back of my car, but they're there just in case. (I also keep an old Land's End "Squall" jacket back there in case I go to the beach, which is always chilly, but it would be good in an emergency, too.)
2- A candle and an empty can. When I lived in Minnesota, news stations often reminded people that a single candle put into a can (like an empty vegetable can), could keep a car interior warm enough to keep you alive. (And remember to crack the windows to ensure fresh air.)
Posted by: Jecca | 2006.12.05 at 11:15
Jecca, thanks for your additions. Although I have a pair of pedestrian-friendly shoes in my gym bag, keeping an old pair of running shoes in the car would be smart.
(I know a lot of people in San Francisco who keep running shoes in their file cabinets at work; anyone who had to walk around downtown SF in 1989 is not about to get caught out again.)
I saw something recently about an inventor who's created a room heater that runs on a candle. The candle-in-a-can thing sounds like a field version of that.
Posted by: Lisa | 2006.12.05 at 11:57
Oh no -- CNN is reporting that searchers have spotted a man's body lying facedown in the Oregon wildnerness. That's so sad.
Posted by: drunken monkey | 2006.12.06 at 12:28
They're actually not sure about the condition - face up or face down.
If you want an eyebrow-raising sideshow: check out the comments on the SFGate blog NWZCHK. This makes me glad as hell none of my family has ever been in a newsworthy situation, as the judgmental jackballs who are squawking about their right to say whatever they please in public, feelings of family members be damned, would be the last straw.
Posted by: Lisa | 2006.12.06 at 12:48
They've just confirmed that it's his body.
Posted by: drunken monkey | 2006.12.06 at 12:51
And yeah, people are nasty jackasses. The family has been, by all appearances, dealing with a very difficult time by staying out of the way and doing their worrying/grieving in private. The (clearly distraught) officials who just made the announcement about Kim made a point of saying how great they'd been in a horribly stressful situation.
Posted by: drunken monkey | 2006.12.06 at 12:56
That poor family. That poor, poor family.
What is interesting -- and what I expect to see getting more play in future stories -- is the role that online maps and the information they have played in the Kims' travels. The information is not necessarily as complete as one might hope, and there's an opportunity for mash-ups with Google map data and local knowledge about road conditions.
Posted by: Lisa | 2006.12.06 at 12:58
Oh no. Oh no oh no.
That poor sheriff who couldn't keep talking --
And I saw many nasty comments on the official site's guestbook, as I was continually refreshing (it's where I first saw the good news on Monday). They were deleted pretty quickly by administrators, so I hope that Mr. Kim's close family and friends didn't see them.
Posted by: Jecca | 2006.12.06 at 13:06
So sad about James Kim, I'm glad the rest of them are okay as I'd really feared for the worst when this story first broke. But still. So very sad.
When someone mentioned Minnesota and keeping a can in the car, I thought of the many emergency kits made around here (MN) that are put in coffee cans. Those cans both hold the kits and are meant to be used in emergencies literally as a different kind of "can".
I've been putting together an emergency kit for my van and for in the house for a while. Plus small pocket kits. I became a bit obsessed.
Ever since I thought there was a gas leak in the house and I had to rush around to get my cats out into the van with me, I've made a point of keeping stuff for the cats in my van too (fortunately, having a minivan in a two person / two cat household, there's a lot of extra space that I can fill with emergency stuff if I want to). I now keep at least one bag of litter and one bag of food in there, plus a spare litterbox and bowls and cat harnesses. I rotate the food and litter out as new is acquired, it also serves as a nice backup should we run out of either in the house. And cat litter also has other uses in the winter, of course. I also now make a point of knowing where the cat carriers are so I won't have to throw a cat in a bit of wheeled luggage next time I need to bug out with them in a hurry (I'm sure Inky will be glad of that). (Turned out there wasn't a gas leak that one time, but it was educational).
Posted by: Laurel Krahn | 2006.12.06 at 15:38