Wednesday, July 18, 2007

My L.L. Bean Analogy for the War on Terror with Music By Doris Day

We live downwind of a nuclear power facility. At The Partner's day job, the employees are given potassium iodide pills in case of catastrophe (as if one anti-radiation pill is going to help). On a main roads near Tiger Lily, there is a sign that says "Evacuation Route." I saw that for the first time and said, "oh." I rationalized our proximity to the beach (not so proximate, when you think about it) and pictured a flood. It wasn't until we held our first little get-together over dinner at our new house with some locals that we disocovered the evacuation route was, in fact, the road from nuclear meltdown to complete chaos.

It does not make sense to live in fear. I know that. Que sera, sera. But the line between emotional baggage and rational thinking is a thick border crossing not easily traversed. I have a bullshit backpack strapped on ( it's Threat Level Orange, with a reflector strip) and sometimes it feels heavier than others, but it's always there. That's just how it is.

The Partner does not wear a metaphorical L.L. Bean lifetime-warranty backpack like I do. He thinks it's unnecessary and not smart. He focuses on the immediate threats of alarm clocks in the morning and bills paid by Quicken at night. He worries about what is, not what may be.

Sometimes we pick our worries, sometimes they pick us. Que sera, sera.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm with you there, Binky. I carry a low level anxiety with me at all times. It is in my nature. I see it to a certain degree in my son. My daughter, however, lives blissfully in the present and doesn't seem to worry about might be.

Whirlwind said...

But, but....

At least your in good hands :P

I gave up my fears for that place along time ago. I had too!

And to tell you the truth, you weren't that much out of the evacuation area up here. You just had a little more time.

Whirlwind said...

Oh and I think they have Potasium Iodide pills somewhere for residents as well. I thought they gave them to all residents a few years ago - but I can't remember now.

S said...

I'm more like your husband. For me, it's because the worries about tomorrow and this week seem more manageable than the long-term worries that I know I could have, but that I avoid like the plague, because they'd make me feel totally helpless and stressed.

Jenifer said...

Well, you just narrowed down for me where you moved to :) I bet I could figure it out if you gave me three guesses!

Chicky Chicky Baby said...

I'm a worrier. I worry about everything. I worry because my husband refuses to worry about anything. Que Sera Sera.

Girlplustwo said...

i used to live near a nuclear plant and the joke was always "drive towards the glow"

Miguelita said...

I live across a (very large) river from a nuclear plant. Its miles and miles away in another state. You cant see it from our house but if you stood on my roof on a very clear day, you could. Our local fire company distributes potassium iodide tablets every year. The year we add to ask for two more, because I had just given birth to twins, the magnitude freaked me out for weeks. Why hadnt we thought of this before we had kids in the shadow of a nuclear plant? But now, two years later, I am more worried about potty training.

"Drive towards the glow." Heh. A friend of mine a mile away says she and her husband have already decided that if the alarm ever sounds, they will wash their potassium iodide tablets down with a very good wine, and wait it out naked in their hot tub.