Go

Sometimes you just need to leave.  And sometimes when you're gone, you just need clean socks.  Enter, the Go Kit.

The Go Kit goes by other names which include Go Bag, Armageddon Bag, and SPAC-Bag  (sometimes SPAC-Pack).  Whatever you decide to call it, it should be something that is never more than a short walk away from you.  It is very capable of saving your life, and to a greater extent, making it much more comfortable.

There should be no surprise that the origin of my Go Kit (and its name) comes from aviation.  There is a part of the airplane-driving workforce that thrives on coffee and adventure.  Ok, so they thrive on them more than most pilots.  On-call pilots, for example, must be able to quickly get to the airport to go wherever on the planet they need to go when duty calls.  The fastest way to get out the door in the morning, or the middle of the night, is to already have everything you need prepared.  It makes sense: everyone can get to their cars in less than 3 minutes every morning, assuming they've showered and  dressed.  What better way to get out when all you have to do is grab a duffle bag, back-pack or suitcase that has everything you need? And I mean everything.

The first time I heard about the Go Bag was not far into my life as a pilot when I went to SCCC.  I met some interesting pilots who seemed to be dedicated to the cause and lived their day-to-day lives as though they were already in the Majors.  They even had a Go Bag just in case they needed to jet set somewhere.  They usually didn't, but the idea resonated with me anyway.  It would be incredibly useful to never again be without something like a clean shirt and socks and maybe a deck of cards and a flashlight.  Winter in New York meant that the gloves and hat were already in the trunk so it wasn't that much of a stretch.

The name came from the late Northwest Airlines (moment of silence).  I threw luggage under planes in college for some cash and to be closer to those aluminum things that I love so dearly.  I started training at KALB on a computer by watching training videos.  One of the training sessions that furiously held my attention was how to handle a plane crash at the airport.  The video said that there were three metal suitcase-style boxes in the office Labeled #1, #2 and #3.  They were the Go Kits.  In the event of an "incident", we were responsible for grabbing one of the kits, opening it, and following the  instructions.  The kits fascinated me.  They had name badges with titles that included "Emergency Crew Liaison", "Media Liaison" and "Controller", among others.  It had checklists, instructions and contact information for local restaurants and hotels that had the capacity to handle the large number of family members rushing in to hear the news of their loved ones.  It pointed out what rooms in the airport would be used to hold press conferences and where and how to deliver news to the families.  The level of detail and preparedness was overwhelming.  If this amount of effort was applied to other things in life, I think we might be better off.  The idea that we had something so useful and so relatively compact was too good to leave alone.  I decided to start with an old duffel bag that took up space in my closet.  Not that I was preparing for a mass-casualty event, but I approached my own preparedness with similar vigor.

At Northwest Airlines, these Go Kits where used to hold critical information on how to act in a crisis at the airport.
Image credit: ebay user bienleindesign

This is akin to simply preparing your car for a long drive through winter, but it's much more than that; it's awesome.  For me, it's adventure.  You know how exciting is it to pack your bags for a vacation or a long journey?  Now imagine that your bags are always ready and with you.  It's a little peace of mind in my trunk letting me know that no matter what happens and no matter where I go, I'll be prepared, and I'll have glow sticks. 

So I might as well list my inventory:

1 T-shirt

1 Collared Shirt

1 Pair Shorts

1 Sweatpants

1 Hoodie

2 Underwear

2 Socks

1 Towel

1 Flashlight

25 Glowsticks (they were cheap)

1 First Aid Kit

6 Energy bars

1 Deck of Cards

1 Lighter

1 Bottle Sun block

1 Can Bug Repellant

1 Multi-tool

Pens/Pencils/Paper

Duct Tape

Zip Ties

Hand warmers

Gloves

Hat (winter, baseball cap)

Antiperspirant

1 Roll Toilet paper

Tooth(brush+paste)

Every so often I will come across something that makes me add another item.  For example: the movie The Transporter starring Jason Statham had his character ruin his suit after an epic fight scene.  He went to the trunk of his car to a vacuum-sealed garment bag that was taped to the roof of the trunk and produced a cleaned and pressed shirt and jacket.  He decided his pants were okay.

I haven't made it as far as the suit, but a recent event has caused me to add a beach towel and a collared shirt.  So let me go into this further. 

One lovely Saturday I was working from 6am-6pm and I was walking from the coffee hut in the factory when I arrived back in the break room.  I put my jacket on the door handle and ate a sandwich and absentmindedly went back to my desk without my jacket which held my keys.  3 hours later the jacket was gone, never to be heard from again.  I will spare you the range of anger I experienced and ramification plots that I played out in my mind if I ever met the culprit.  This would have stranded me seeing as how my car keys were taken, but luckily I'm a freakin' genius.  I lock a spare set of keys in my car......chew on that for a minute and I'll add that my car has a number pad for key-less entry.  As I drove toward Seattle and an apartment that I couldn't get into, I was briefly concerned about what the hell I was going to do, but then I realized that the last time this happened to me I was in another county with Mike, Dave and Tina.  And not just any country, I was in France. France, ugh.  If I can survive a night in Paris in the park then Seattle will pose as a mere inconvenience.  Hell, they speak English here and have better coffee.  However, upon hearing of my misfortune, a new friend didn't so much offer, but ordered me to use his apartment while he was away that evening.  You find out who your friends are.  This is the EXACT situation where the Go Kit shines.  I had everything I needed, although I did add a beach towel in case I have a shower but no towel, or if I wind up at a beach BBQ (the kit spans the spectrum, from stranded in the Nevada desert to Florida beach party).  The collared shirt will come in handy if I have to work the next day (I did), or if I end up in a place where some slight dress-up is needed.

Marvel at the concept of the Go Kit.  It is a very powerful tool for every-day life and one that I recommend for everyone.  It is simple to set up and can mean the difference between life or death, or smelling bad at work the next day.  Put some thought into your own Go Kit because you can only get out what you put in.