I have been a road warrior since just after 9/11. For the past 5 years I have spent at least 6 months of the year somewhere other than where I call home. At one point after .NET was released in 2002, I spent over a year and a half visiting 2 cities a week (fly out Sunday, speak at a seminar from 7:30 to 5:00 Monday and Tuesday, fly home Tuesday night, fly back out Wednesday night, speak at a seminar from 7:30 to 5:00 Thursday and Friday, fly home Friday night, wash, rinse, repeat).
Some think the secret to being a road warrior is his durability, and for a large part that’s true. But it’s not just a matter of surviving, but thriving through any situation that my come up comfortably. The real key is always being prepared. You never know what might happen.
Last night I was watching the news about the earthquake in Hawaii and thinking of a loved one who was out there for a conference. I saw hospitals being evacuated, police breaking up fights over gas and food at convenience stores, bridges and roads that were un-drivable, no power, no water, no flights allowed in or out, etc. and I was worried. It reminded me of several situations I experienced personally.
Hurricane Ivan was by far the worst thing I’ve ever been through, and there have been many.
In September of 2004, I was working on a project in Montgomery, and had to be there the day before the storm arrived. Things seemed normal enough at work, until everyone spent the second half of the day gossiping over whether or not they would have to come into work tomorrow.
I was in meetings all day and was oblivious to the news. By time I left work, both lanes of I-85 were converted for northbound traffic as a mass exodus of people from Biloxi to Mobile to Panama City were heading north to get out of the storms way. I had a perfectly good hotel room and opted to stay there instead of sitting on the freeway for what would have been a long, miserable drive back to Atlanta. There wasn’t a bottle of water left on store shelves, so I decided I’d be okay and just head back home in the morning.
I never expected that the storm would be strong enough to do any damage as far inland as Montgomery…but it was.
I awoke the next morning to no power and no water, which was the perfect motivation I needed to get on the road and head home early. I figured by leaving this early, the traffic on I-85 would be decent enough to make good time back to Atlanta. I had a perfect view of I-85 from my room, and when I went to look, sure enough there wasn’t a single car on the freeway…there were however a number of trees, the marquee from the hotel, shopping carts, trash cans, and even a stray sock.
I was stuck.
I wasn’t worried at first. I had endured several hurricanes before, once in a tent (Alberto, which dropped 24 inches of rain in a single night that cut off all the roads in and out of our base camp on the Flint River; I spent a week wet, living in a tent, and as a brand new lifeguard, performing live rescues for the first time).
Things started to set in when I tried to find food. The halls of the hotel were littered with refugees who even though they didn’t have a room, the hotel let them set up camp in the lobby, hallways, etc, each one of them with a giant cooler, luggage, and all acting as if they had done this a million times.
With no power, the vending machines were useless. I got in my car to venture out, but a tree blocked off the single entrance to the hotel. I decided to walk, but it was a ghost town. With no power, nothing was open.
Then my cell phone died.
I spent 2 and a half days in Montgomery, without a lick of food and only a single warm bottle of water I traded a man for a pillow.
Most of Montgomery was without power for 4 days. I was unlucky in that I had no supplies whatsoever, but lucky in that I was able to leave after waking up the third day to see that the roads had been cleared. The refugees who had to spend weeks in shelters and hotels had it far worse.
Now I am always prepared. It’s helped me through several other hurricanes (read Katrina), an ice storm, and a few other minor inconveniences. When I’m on the road, I always make sure to adhere to a few simple rules:
- Never get below half a tank of gas, and always fill it to the top.
- Keep a case of water in the trunk of the car. Most gas stations sell them now and it’s easy enough to grab one when you’re getting gas. If I’m flying, I always keep 2 in my carry on and I make sure to stock my room immediately after I check in.
- Keep nuts and energy bars in my bag. If you have to go without food for a couple of days or for 4 hours while your plane sits on the runway without a pilot (thanks Delta!), you’ll be happy to have a something to eat.
- Always keep a full charge on the cell phone and pack a car charger.
- Keep an emergency calling card in your wallet. They are cheap enough these days and if something happens to you cell, you’ll find it terribly inconvenient not to be able to make any calls.
- Carry a MP3/FM Radio. You can listen to MP3’s to take your mind of off things and be able to tune into local news advisories.
None of this does a single bit of good while you sit at home and worry about a loved one half way around the world, but hopefully it will allow your loved ones not to have to worry about you one day.