I have a bag I never leave home without. It contains a first aid kit, a couple of RXBARs, my Tommy Bahama-branded Swiss Army knife, stuff like that. I won’t list everything I keep in it, but here are a couple of things it doesn’t have: a defibrillator and any of my blood.
I like to think I carry that bag with me because I plan ahead. In reality, it probably has more to do with my very mild obsessive-compulsive personality disorder that drives me to try to control things I have little control over. But enough about me.
The point is, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also keeps a bag with him wherever he goes, and his might actually contain a defibrillator and some of his own blood.
We don’t know, exactly, but that’s what Javier Manjarres, writing for The Floridian on Sunday, speculated the governor’s bag might contain, along with “blood clotting supplies for traumatic injuries.”
Fancy.
The question came up because the governor’s bag was spotted with him during events related to his evaluation of how recovery efforts have been progressing in the wake of Hurricane Ian’s landfall a couple of weeks ago.
DeSantis, whose hurricane response has generally been described as good by everyone from local residents to President Joe Biden, has been understandably focused on relief efforts since the storm hit.
According to Manjarres, Biden and Vice President Harris carry similar bags with them — or, rather, they have people carry them. But then, they generally have ambulances following wherever they go, just in case.
When Harris’ was seen in the hands of a Secret Service agent assigned to her protection detail, The Floridian asked about it. Capitol Police said it contained “emergency medical supplies” and was always nearby when she traveled.
Do you keep an emergency bag with you when you leave the house?
DeSantis’ bag is generally carried by members of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Manjarres wrote. (Actually, he wrote “FDLE,” but I knew what he meant.) Usually they’re not super obvious about it being on site — no reason to give anyone any ideas, I suppose — but when it showed up recently, Manjarres apparently got curious about it.
I confess to somewhat less curiosity, but I was interested enough to email the governor’s office about it. (I haven’t received a response and, given everything else going on in Florida, I might never. But if I do, I’ll update this piece.)
“Could DeSantis be stashing an emergency Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich within the bag that presumably holds medical supplies like band-aids and surgical tape?” Manjarres asked.
I suppose that’s possible — but if he is, I hope he doesn’t keep it in there too long without replacing it. I mean, I carry a couple of water bottles in mine, and I wash them out and re-fill them once a month or so.
You don’t have to get blood drawn or spend $800 on a defibrillator to make your own emergency bag, sometimes called a “go-bag” or, if you’re cool like me, a “get-home bag.”
There are lots of places online that provide tips about what to put in it. And with winter fast approaching, having some basic survival supplies can be important if you live somewhere given to snowstorms.
My suggestion: Imagine you’re stuck somewhere (for whatever reason) 40 or so miles from home and you’re going to have to get back on foot. No hitchhiking, no cellphone … certainly no Uber. What would you want with you for that two- or three-day hike? Get those things together, find a durable bag to put them in, and then keep it with you wherever you go.
Voila! You can now refer to yourself as a prepper and enjoy the sly looks people give when they find out you’re “one of those.”
By the way, if your first thought about what you’d want with you was comfortable shoes and a couple of pairs of dry socks, congratulations: You just guessed two more of the things in my get-home bag.
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