December 8, 2022 Emergency Zone

Shocking Evacuation Stories That Will Inspire Great Gift Giving!

By Jeanette Vale

It's Christmas! You may wonder what to gift your loved ones. A good evacuation story will give you a plethora of ideas!

My sister has a friend named Jane. Since a major hurricane, Jane gifts toilet seats for Christmas.

Let’s dive in.

Jane (not her real name) lived in New Orleans. News of an incoming hurricane came. She and her family were told to evacuate. They obeyed. They grabbed their Bug-out-bags and went to the designated location, their church building. Once at the church they waited.

Soon, they were told it was okay to go home. And so they went home.

Sometime later, they were told to evacuate again. To the church building they went. Towing all of their bags.

Soon, they were told it was okay to go home. And so they went home.

A third time, they were told to evacuate their home. This time they would be wise. They left all their bug-out-bags safely in the house, for surely, they would be right back.

Well, the third time was the charm.

Hurricane Katrina hit in all her fury. Jane and her children had to spend not just weeks, but almost two months living at the church with none of their personal items.

There were many people living together at this church and soon enough the sewage backed up. There were no more toilets.

But someone had a bucket. Yay! A bucket with no toilet seat on it. So they had to sit on that sharp edge as they did their bucket biz. What the shiz.

Except for one elderly person. She couldn’t sit on that sharp edge so people had to hold her over the bucket while she conducted, you know.

And that is why Jane gifts toilet seats for Christmas. I'm sure she gets very strange looks from her relatives.

What are some things you have gifted? What are some prepper gifts you have received that thrilled you?

Let’s continue Jane’s story.

After so many days Jane just couldn’t take it. She HAD to shower. Not having any walls forced her to attempt this at two o'clock in the morning. She snuck to the front grass of the church. She disrobed and frantically began cleaning herself from a jug of water.

It was while she had her eyes shut and hair in a lather that she heard it. The voices of two men in conversation. Their voices were closing in.

She tried to open her eyes but soap stung them shut again. She gasped quietly. In her panic to move, she upturned her water, losing all hope of a rinse.

She grappled along the grass for her clothes and balled them up as she ran towards bushes. But the flag pole was straight ahead--not the bushes.

The men had come around the corner and saw her. She heard their gasps seconds before she hit the metal flag pole.

Light exploded across her head. She fell backward sprawling on the grass, as her clothes scattered hither and yon. One of the men ran forward and grabbed her leg and pulled it.

Like I am pulling yours.

Okay, so I’m totally fabricating some of this story.

But it made you want a privacy shelter, didn’t it? Which we sell.

The part of her having to bathe at two a.m. on the front lawn was actually true.

Having a privacy shelter is worth the investment. Ours is a low $24.99. Linked below.

Water Levels

The flood waters at Jane’s home had reached chest level (not fibbing here). When she finally could survey the damage, she found that they had lost everything. Their food storage was in the basement and it was ruined. Food storage takes years to build up and is difficult to replace. What a loss!

Hurricane Rita came afterwards

My sister was living in San Antonio, Texas at the time. 2.5 million people were evacuated out of Houston and they all left at once. Because of this, more people died on that exodus than from the storm itself.

The freeway was a parking lot and people had heat stroke. There was fighting, as people were camping along the freeway.

Communication came that if you were fleeing to San Antonio, you had to bring your own food to the facility (I think a mall) because there was none to be had.

Gifting Toilets

I remember a scene in the movie, Two Weeks Notice. Lucy (Bullock) was stuck on the freeway. Traffic was at a standstill. She had to use the bathroom so bad. There was an old RV some yards off. George (Grant) threw her over his shoulder and ran to the RV to ask if she could use their toilet.

I have literally considered doing this in real life--more than once. The RV up ahead shimmered in the heat on the freeway. My bladder ready to burst. Hmmm....how good are my people skills? It's either that or replace this car seat. Choices, choices.

Here is a better choice and it makes a great gift. Our pop-up and collapse down Potty Box. Add the Eco Gel and it's a dream gift. This would only work in a van, not a sedan or smaller cars. You do need height to sit on the box. However, if gridlock is hours long, I would take this off to the side of the freeway- also buy a privacy shelter and handle it, like a boss.

Ecogel is a powder that smells like lemongrass. It is lovely. Pour it into your potty box toilet and do your business. When urine hits, it becomes a gloopy gel.

When number two sinks away, you are left with the smell of lemons and sunshine. Once you are relieved you can stay in traffic for another four hours with a smile on your face, waving to others that all is well.