Writing activity with a friend

Okay, okay, okay, at the coffeehouse again. And to encourage my friend to write, we're going to address the book "If" with our next available journaling. He never really writes for any reason for his own (I probably should follow his example!) and I'm just curious as to what he pens. This is our way of writing for another person. He's picked a topic which I'll list next and we'll both write responses. He, in his journal; myself, right here.

"If you could have survived any historic disaster, which would it be?"

Let's be realistic here. Not a whole lot phases me when it comes to fear. I mean, I've been reading Mr. King since sixth grade, I saw Halloween in elementary school. Yeah, sure, maybe it's helped me develop into psychopath into training, with tales of bloodletting I sometimes write, but it also has helped me develop a fairly tough skin when it comes to the scary stuff.

I love watching my students talk about some horror movie like "Saw" and think they are so brave for living through the experience. I see myself making those statements all those years ago. Time passes and what was once scary comes to light in time and the fears reformat themselves. Such is the case with disasters and me.

When I left Fuckface all those moons ago, I had a miniscule apartment. I ran away with my tail between my legs, only grabbing my television and clothing. I had little else. I used to see reports of fires and apartment floods on the news and look around my meager ownings. The stuff could be destroyed and I'd only be upset about the fact that I didn't have any clean underwears.

Then I got a computer. Then I got a husband. Then I got a house. Then I got a dog and a cat. Suddenly, my life bloomed and boomed. I had things that I had to take care of and watch over. And when I saw about people's houses being burned down in a freak brush fire or sudden flood, my heart stopped. Now I looked around the room and my heart sank.

I worry about my husband, my dog and my cat. And yes, my computer. I've written much, especially lately, that my heart is truly stored on a hard drive.

And the concept of fear now has new face....disasters. I am truly fearful of disasters.

And I think that the worse disaster is the one that is man-made. A flood or a fire carries no weight. There is no one to blame but fate. To lose a loved one is to know that the hand of God swept forth and deemed this moment a person's time.

But what about the Holocaust? There was a disaster that had humanity's flaws completely on display. I am already a sympathic man to the world about me, in my opinion. But to live through that disaster would have a changed me on such a level. To lose my husband due to sheer fear, that would change me forever. I do not know if I would become sympathetic. I do know that the experience to have survived would truly show me that I needed to live and let the world know of the hate we can create when we do not pay attention.

That would be the disaster I would have to survive.

And know the horror forever and forever.