December 12, 2009 9 Comments

The National Weather Service is forecasting below normal temperatures and lots of snow and ice storm in 47 states this week! So much for global warming! It is cold out there. We had snow in the Central Valley of California yesterday, the last measurable snow fall was over 35 years ago. It is going to be a very, very cold and dangerous week and maybe season. This is an El Nino year which means this could continue until February or March.

Many of you and many of your college age children will be traveling during the next few weeks. Some will travel by car and some by air and all should be prepared for winter troubles. A few years ago a friend of our son was traveling home at Christmas and stuck in the Denver airport for four days. I am going to copy an article I wrote about the experience at the time as a heads up to all air traveler to prepare before you head out to the airport.

I’ll be talking more about winter preparedness tomorrow night on blog talk radio with James Talmage Stevens. Please tune in 8:00pm eastern, 5:00 pm pacific! I’m still looking for someone willing to talk to me on air tomorrow night, an brave soul out there? Now, the story.

It was Wednesday afternoon, December 20th. I had just picked up my son at the airport and we were driving home when he got a frantic text message from his friend who left Idaho two days before, telling him she was stranded at the Denver airport and didn’t know if she could get home to St. Louis before Friday. Thus began a really harrowing week.

Let me see if I can help you understand the chaos that ensued. Ann was talking to her dad trying to get some help and comfort when her cell phone went dead. There she was, along with nearly 5000 other passengers, all trying to contact family through overloaded cellular systems, and very long lines for very few working pay phones. Passengers have just been told they will be at the airport for at least two more days.

Everyone makes a mad dash to buy some food and drink, but no one is accepting debit or credit cards because the computers are down. Go to an ATM for cash? NO,  After a very short time there is no longer cash in the ATM machines or they are not working at all. By the time the ATMs are working again, all of the restaurants and food venders are out of food and the Red Cross is still not able to get in with supplies. Everyone is stuck. It has only been one day and already there is no food, no bottled drinks, and no way to get any because the roads are closed and snowbound.

At this point it is time to think about just getting some rest and hoping tomorrow will be better. The airport staff has been out to the planes, and opened those where doors were not frozen shut, gathering all the blankets. Another line in the terminal forms to get one blanket per person, if you are lucky. Ann waits for two hours to get a blanket.

There are a few cots but you must be 75 years old or older to get a cot. Families have their children sleeping on luggage they have stacked together to keep them from having to sleep on the floor. And then there are those stuck in airplanes on the tarmac, where snow is too deep to taxi the planes to the gate where passengers can disembark.

Finally, the airlines unload airplanes with passengers still on board. Inside the terminal, some passengers are invited to go to baggage claim to pick up their luggage. Hundreds are now trying to find luggage that hopefully will contain a few things to make this “adventure” more bearable. But no… now that they have their luggage they are not allowed to return to the comfort and warmth of the terminal boarding areas. This is because they are only allowing those with a boarding pass through — the departure areas of the terminal are a “secure area.”

Naturally those who are stranded do not have boarding passes. This leaves those who went to fetch their luggage now stranded in the baggage claim and passenger check-in areas — sleeping on luggage conveyer belts or on concrete floors where, in addition to the colder temperatures, they are now joined by bugs and mice (who are also cold and looking for a warm place to snuggle). Of course, no one is really sleeping anyway, for fear someone will steal their luggage.

To further sour the situation, passengers are now told they probably can’t get out on a flight until Sunday, Christmas Eve…

Carry-On Essentials

So to learn from this experience, next time you or a family member is traveling, especially during the winter months, there are a few things you should be sure to include in your carry-on baggage.

1. Carry your cell phone charger: There are not many, but there are wall plugs throughout the airport. Being stuck in an airport overnight is bad enough, but when you cannot communicate with loved ones, mere trials become ordeals.

2. Carry a phone card: You don’t need to put much money on the card, just a few dollars. This will enable you to call a loved one and then have them call you back on a land line. Cell phones do not always work during an emergency. And you may not have the needed change to use a pay phone.

3. Emergency ID Card: Always carry an emergency card with your name, home address, allergies, and medical conditions, in your carry-on bag. Also, carry phone numbers for family and friends. When stressed, we can forget these numbers.

4. Carry cash: Small bills are best. Retailers may not accept large bills in an emergency, so be prepared with ones, fives, and tens. Consider what it might cost to eat, buy supplies, or even a magazine, and multiply by two or three days. Don’t be caught short.

5. Carry some food for backup: Ann  was stranded for four days and only had two candy bars and a cookie. Carry a few high-calorie bars like those in a 72-hour kit. Some of these bars taste terrible, but others are really good and taste like shortbread cookies. Buy some and have your family test them first. For your travel day, pack a lunch with a sandwich, a few carrot sticks, an apple… if you don’t need them, well you were prepared, but if you do need them they will be priceless. Avoid salty foods that will make you thirsty, like chips, beef jerky, and such.

6. Drinks: With the new flight regulations it is difficult to carry drinks, but as soon as you get through security, if you think there may be any chance your flight will be delayed or canceled, purchase a bottle of water. You can refill these as often as you need at a water fountain. Hard candy and lifesavers help to keep your mouth moist, too.

7. Vitamins: One of the first things the Red Cross brought in after three days was a baggie with vitamins for each passenger.

8. Medications: Always carry your prescriptions in your carry-on bag. Add pain relievers, stomach medication, cold relievers — you know the drill. All of these come in various forms so you don’t have to worry about liquids at security.

9. Change of clothing: Include a change of underwear and a clean shirt in your carry-on. It is amazing how much better a change of clothes makes you feel.

10. Personal hygiene items: Folks in Denver were longing for their toothbrushes. You can get toothpaste, bars of soap, shave cream, deodorant, almost anything, in travel sizes now. All of these will be some of the first things to sell out at the shops, not to mention feminine supplies. Anything you couldn’t live without goes in the carry-on. While you are at it, include a washcloth.

11. Mark your luggage in a unique way: If you are competing with hundreds or thousands of others with look-alike bags, attach a crazy luggage tag, colored duct tape, or a wild sticker to your bag to distinguish it from all the rest.

12. Insect repellent: Sounds crazy, I know, but I would really rather not be bug bait if I had to sit or sleep on the floor.

13. Pack a diversion: If you are traveling with young children, pack books, crayons, paper, or a favorite stuffed animal. In our 72-hour kits we include a small inflatable beach ball and Styrofoam airplanes. These are cheap, practically weightless, and could be fun for a long time. If they happen to hit someone nearby they will not injure or make tempers flare. For adults, include a book, magazines, crossword, sudoku, or a travel game.

14. Mylar survival blanket: If you are lucky enough to get a blanket you will want to use it as a covering and that leaves you sleeping on a filthy floor. Place your mylar blanket on the floor and even though you may still be visited by insects, the surface under you is clean, and the foil side of your blanket will reflect and retain your body heat.*

15. Travel soft: If you are traveling with two carry-on pieces, put your soft items in one bag, like your backpack, and keep bulky shoes, camera, etc. in the other bag. Now your backpack is ready to be used as a pillow if the need arises. There were no pillows provided to passengers during the Denver airport shutdown.

16. Moist towelettes: When you are stranded like passengers in Denver, help and supplies can’t get in. Restrooms run out of supplies, food courts run out of napkins, and Kleenex — forget it.

Hopefully you and your loved ones will not need any of these supplies or suggestions but it is always better to be prepared than to wish you were. Happy traveling and stay warm.

Before the Disaster, current concerns

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