A Pair of Thoughts

I’ve got two ideas for what to write about this time around, but since they’re maybe not as fully fleshed out as they might be, I figured we could talk about both.

The first bit was inspired by a Reddit post I read this morning: What are some out-of-the-ordinary “emergency” things that you keep in your vehicle? Responses to the post in question started with a spare serpentine belt, and rapidly went–of all the things–more mundane, in my opinion, from there.

To be fair, a little discussion was had about ways to “fake” replacing a belt, even if only for long enough to get you to an auto parts store or a mechanic. Things like boat line, or duct tape, or pantyhose. Worked right, I can see any of those letting you limp along for a mile or three.

Then they started in on the “and the tools to replace the belt,” and fire extinguishers, and various camping gear. Spare masks, in this age of COVID. Various containers and volumes of: water, gasoline (or diesel), oil. Emergency foodstuffs. (A cogent argument was made for putting a bag of Turkish coffee grounds in there; I’ll have to see about experimenting with this, and get back to you.)

A couple of responses hit upon something I rarely actually see mentioned. One person stashed various bits of cash–usually $20 bills–in hiding spots around the cab of the car. He said only sixty or eighty dollars or so; another responder specified about $1k in cash, stashed in the emergency bag. Either way, I like the idea of having a little “emergency fund” hiding in the car–because if you run out of gas, or have another emergency of that nature, you’ll almost never be somewhere you can access your “regular” emergency fund. (And you do have an emergency fund, right?)

The second bit is a bit more frivolous: What sort of entertainment do you keep packed in your BoB? What kinds of games?

I generally recommend having a deck or two of cards. They’re inexpensive, and can be used for a million and one games–or as notecards, or various other types of markers. But for the purely entertainment side of things, they’re hard to beat.

Boardgames are a different matter. Most of them take too much space, or are just awkward and/or bulky to carry. But some of them aren’t, or can be otherwise improvised. From my submarine days, I’m fond of cribbage; the board takes very little space (and often holds the cards). There are various types of “travel” board available, too. When it comes right down to it, you don’t really need the board; it just makes keeping score easier.

There are a few older games, as well–for the curious, look up “Nine Man’s Morris” (or “Miller,” or any of a dozen other names it goes by). Various forms of Tafl (often associated with the Norse) can be quite simple to put together from practically nothing, as well.

What about you folks? What do you keep in your car, beyond the “usual”? What do you put in your kits for fun? I look forward to hearing about it in the comments.