What Would You Save? (Meme: Family Heirlooms)

With all the hurricanes and evacuations going around, I think it is vital that everyone start thinking about an evacuation plan; both for yourself and for your family history.

Let's say, that tommorrow you were told that you had to leave your house immediately. Maybe you only have 30 minutes to grab what you can and get out. What would you save?

When making this decision, you have to find a way to choose what to save - and things that would certainly go under this category would be family heirlooms and pictures. These items can't be replaced like a census or death record can - besides, I already have most of my genealogy scanned and online so I can access it from anywhere if need be.

So what would I save? Well here are a few things I would certainly save:

I recieved this kaliedoscope on my birthday. After my uncle died, he left me a lot of precious jewlery, but the only thing I wanted was a kaliedoscope that used to sit in his guest bedroom. As a child I spent hours gazing into it. It is something that is very precious to me.

Another object or objects I would save would be the metal statues that my grandpa created throughout his life. While my mother and I only own a few of the many he made, these are very precious to me. Since I never knew my grandfather (except for the first few months of my life before his death), these items are very precious to me and bring his personality to life for me.

I would also save my filing cabinet, which houses a lot of photos in protective boxes and albums and a few other small items from my family. I would carry that filing cabinet and walk if need be because it houses so many prized possessions - I couldn't handle the loss of them.

I hope that all of you in Texas and surrounding areas are safe tonight as Hurricane Ike pulls in. I will keep you guys in my thoughts.

And I hope the rest of us learn that with a little preparation, we can hopefully save our wonderful family heirlooms.

(By the way, this article was inspired by Julie Cahill Tarr. You can find her great GenBlog at: http://juliemc77.livejournal.com/4474.html)