Well, let’s see. I don’t keep a lot of hard copy, so family photos and such aren’t going to make the list. Not very many mementos available in easy-grab range.
From a purely pragmatic standpoint, I know that I get very bored, very quickly, without my gadgets and gizmos. So bearing that in mind:
Kindle (huge pile of books in one very compact package).
Laptop. Assuming I can reach an open wifi, we’ve got internet.
Cell Phone. Them relatives gonna be callin’. And see above.
Pocket plunder, including wallet. We’ll cheat and call this one item, but a lot of crap lying on my dresser gets shoved quickly in my pockets every single day (with good reason).
And…hmm. Several kinds of chargers (shove em in the briefcase and take it).
So I haven’t walked more than ten feet or so, total prep time under sixty seconds, and have I most of the basic essentials of a technoaddict.
***
Not really all that much different from the standard “Oh damn, power’s out for several days again (Damn You ComEd)” survival kit, when you get right down to it.
Lord knows we’ve had practice with that one.
Your home is on fire. Grab five items (assume all people and animals are safe). What did you grab?
Good call on the Kindle. I forgot that one. It’ll give you something to do while you wait on hold to talk to your insurance adjuster.
Or spend weeks in a Red Cross motel room…