Tuesday, 22 May 2007
Panic - A Good Idea
By Kent McKamy of KentsUSDrive
My seat companion on the flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to New York City told me an interesting story.
He said he instructed his five children and thirteen grandchildren to memorize a certain word that, when uttered to anyone in the family, meant “PANIC. The situation is dire. Come or send help immediately!”
His whole family has memorized that one word. He reasoned that in a serious emergency (a car sinking in a flood; lost in a forest; burglar in the house; mugged on the street, for example), the caller had but to say that one word – nothing else – and the recipient would know to spring into action immediately. All they needed to know was where the caller was (one good thing about cell phones, especially now that most of them can be tracked with GPS technology).
Never occurred to me to use this simple idea for my family, but as of today, I put it into effect with my wife and one son (the youngest – he’s 38 – and the only one of my three that still speaks to me). They both thought it a fresh idea that made a lot of sense. The three of us now have our own “panic” word – and I ain’t tellin’.
This same gentleman told me about something else he insists on with his children; that they each call him every single day to let him know they’re all right. I told him I thought that was a bit much, but he says it’s nothing compared to the peace of mind it gives him. Don’t know if I’ll suggest that, at least not yet.
As my companion and I talked on about our children and grandchildren, we naturally hit on the subject of children who call from college, a distant city, another country and in their own subtle way, ask for “…a little money, Dad, just a loan, just for a while, I hope the tide will turn for me soon…” He said he told his children, when they were all in college that hope was not an economic strategy.
Again, sound advice from a delightful man.
Posted by Ronni Bennett at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post
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I like the idea of a word that means panic to the family. I'll get one going for our group and then hope no one ever has to use it.
Posted by: kenju | Tuesday, 22 May 2007 at 02:29 PM