Hi everyone and welcome to our Everyday Carry Essentials website. About 20 years ago I became interested in what I carried with me on a day-to-day basis, I was also interested in what others carried with them. First, it was kind of a joke asking others what they felt was important to keep with them each day. Eventually, I realized that everyone seemed to look at that a little bit differently, not everyone carried the same items. As time went on I realized it was very important to keep the right items with me because I never knew what was going to happen that day. The following situation changed my life.
A STORM THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
One night in 1997 I was staying up late, working on my computer, and my wife and 18-month-old son were sleeping. It had been raining for the last couple of days and things were getting very wet. As I worked at my desk I began to hear some funny noises coming from under the house, but I did not give it a second thought. But as I continued working, those sounds continued and got louder. I got up from my desk and looked out the front window and all I could see was water. I went to the backyard window and the same thing was there – More WATER!
I woke my wife to tell her what was happening and we were not quite sure what to do next. We initially decided to stay in our house because that was our “safe place,” we could just wait things out and soon everything would be back to normal. But the rains kept coming and the water got deeper and deeper. It was at that time that we noticed water seeping up through the floorboards of my son’s bedroom and we knew right then that we had to leave our house. We gathered our son, 2 dogs, and 2 cats and went out the front door, wading through knee-deep water to get to our vehicles. We first went to my 4-wheel drive Nissan pickup, I put our pets in the bed of the truck under the topper, and we jumped in the truck and headed for the higher ground around the corner. Then I walked back to our house to get my wife’s Toyota hatchback and get it to safety too. As I opened the door of her car I noticed there were 2-3 inches of water on the floor of the car. I put the key in the ignition, turned the key and it started right up, I put it in drive and I got it around the corner with mine.
Why did I bring up this story and all those details? This situation was the most traumatic thing I had ever been through and it made me realize that I was not prepared for things that could happen in life. I needed to plan for things just in case and have some items ready to go as needed, I had not been doing that.
But I cannot leave you hanging there without finishing the story. In short, we got out of there with the clothes on our backs but nothing else. No shoes, no other clothes, nothing! But we all got out of there together and safely, and that was the important thing.
So what did I learn from that? When an emergency like that happens it is not possible to gather your belongings at that time, you need to have them ready beforehand. Because in an emergency you need to move fast and get to safety as quickly as possible. A person must be prepared because you never know when something devastating could happen to them. So looking back I realized I was not prepared, I should have had some bags packed with essential items and ready to go at a moment’s notice.
LIFE CAN GET HECTIC
Life can get away from you sometimes and you need to be prepared. If I can be in this type of situation then so can other people. I just want to get people to THINK; think about their needs, think about their loved ones, and think about what really matters to them. Everyone seems to be in a rush these days, always on the go. It’s time to slow down a little and make sure they are prepared for what might come their way. I would like to be a resource in getting people prepared!
IT’S TIME TO PREPARE
If you can take one thing away from my situation, look at life a little bit differently from now on. Do not get so busy that you overlook the little things that might just save your life one day. I would like to help you! This is not just a business, it is a way of life for me. Let’s see if I can give you some good information about EDC. I mentioned that I will never be without EDC essentials again, now you know where my business name came from – Everyday Carry Essentials.
If you ever need some help or have any questions, feel free to leave them below and I will be happy to get back to you.
All the best,
Larry
Founder of Everyday Carry Essentials