After learning how people suffered unknown diseases from breathing the filthy air after the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, it has been my practice to carry surgical masks or nuisance dust masks in a camera case on my belt.

I am sometimes scorned for practicing preparedness — for being a bit “crazy” — but wisdom is justified by her children. Carrying a couple of disposable masks is a small matter for the potential they represent.

Consider what happened yesterday (Jan 13, 2015) to subway commuters in Washington, DC. They were trapped deep beneath the streets  of the city, and survived without emergency assistance for over an hour in dense smoke. The victims held handkerchiefs, clothing, even facial tissues over their faces in an attempt to filter the deadly air.

The terrorist attack of 9/11 was a national catastrophe. Yesterday’s yet unexplained incident in our nation’s capital was a disaster.  Recent events in France and around the world reveal once again that when bad stuff happens, we are often pretty much on our own. Certainly these events  point up the need for Americans to prepare themselves for the unpredictable and unexpected.

The idea of using a little camera case  to carry your cell phone and emergency items is covered in the book, You Can TRIUMPH OVER TERROR, available at Amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Triumph-Over-Terror/dp/0976672006/