I grew up on the Gulf Coast, and my father worked for the electric company. Every time there was a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, he would pack his bag and cot and keep them in the trunk of his car. He knew that if a hurricane came ashore, he could be sent, at a moment's notice, to one of the facilities to keep the power on and restore electric service to customers as soon as possible.

That meant that my mom and sister and I were alone at home during hurricanes. My mom is a strong, clear thinking woman, who didn't waste time feeling sorry for herself. When a hurricane was in the Gulf, she made sure we had plenty of water, food, candles, matches and batteries readily available.

When we were first married, my husband found it amusing that at the start of hurricane season I would prepare a hurricane box and set it aside. Three years later we moved inland, and preparing for disaster was forgotten until 1999. I didn't believe all of the hype about Y2K, but just to be on the safe side, I did put together a box of emergency supplies for the first time in years.

I was about ready to disperse that box, when the 9/11 terrorist attack came. Since then I have kept at least a 2-week supply of food and water on hand. We have a camp stove, and several bottles of fuel. My plan was that if the power went out, I would cook the perishable food on the camp stove first, then switch to canned food. I made a few changes after I started the Blood Type Diet, but after hurricane Katrina, I realized it was time for an overhaul.

This week I have pulled everything out of storage. Some of the food that was nearing expiration date, I put in the pantry, and replaced it with new. I had a lot of tuna, thinking that my daughter and I would eat that. After the recent articles about mercury, I became aware that after 2 weeks of eating tuna, we might not be thinking too clearly. I still have a few cans of tuna, but most of it has been replaced with salmon, sardines, and chicken. I have not found canned beef without nitrites. Even beef jerky in the health food store has nitrites.

I have peanut butter for the As to eat with rice or rye crackers. I have some sesame butter for me. I have jars of dry roasted peanuts and bags of walnuts and almonds. I have a lot more canned vegetables than I used to. Black-eyed peas, black beans, green beans, peas, spinach, carrots, and pumpkin are beneficial or neutral for us all. I have fruit canned in fruit juice. I'm thinking we can eat the fruit and drink the juice. Dried fruit is also part of the plan.

I don't dwell on the possibility of impending disaster, but I want to be prepared. If calamity comes, I do not want to be like the helpless masses waiting for someone to come rescue me. I would rather be like the man interviewed from the balcony of his 2nd floor French Quarter apartment. He said, "My home is dry, I have plenty of food and water. I've been comfortable and safe."