Survivalism

Past weekend, risking some serious chemical burns, Dad installed a battery backup for the sump pump in the basement, thus reaching the first level of paranoia in getting ready for floods, locust and plague - being ready for an unlucky combination of torrential rains, power losses and gasoline shortage (or generator breakdown).

The battery for the pump came "dry", without electrolyte, so we had to add it ourselves. It took almost a month to collect the right amount of sulfuric acid from various shops, one quart at a time. We were expecting the FBI knocking on the door any time.

If the neighbors were curious to look at our lit by the cold November sun porch yesterday, they would see Dad wearing safety goggles clumsily holding a menacing looking canister in his rubber-gloved shaking hands (the shakes were from the cold, not from the exertion, said Dad). The gloves were mostly for the show, as a clerk in one of the stores where we bought the acid said - oh, you be better off without the gloves, it will eat right through them anyway.