How about Scrabble, or a chess & checkers set? There are plenty of wannabe Rambo types all over who can easily tell you how many rounds of what ammo they have, and how many years worth of beans and rice, but give them one week of being iced in at home with no power, or evacuated to a school gymnasium in another state due to brush fires or hurricanes, and the bored children will quickly drive everyone batty.

One thing no one much says about school gyms, there aren't many options to plug anything in. The time I helped at a Red Cross shelter (school gym,) was a real eye-opener. No extension cords, because sooner or later it would be overloaded and possibly burn the facility down. Most people there would've felt completely justified plugging in everything they could think of, especially if they might not get another turn. It's just as well school gyms are used, because bored kids can shoot hoops, but during the school year, the younglings are not mixed in with the other school children. And they don't get to use the library. I saw otherwise healthy people who spent the day just laying on their pallets, taking turns keeping an eye on their few personal possessions. Space is figured as so many square feet of floor space per person, with couples, families, and sometimes just friends, combining their space for easier use, and a little bit of elbow room.

What great value did I add to the huge undertaking of relief for those ousted from their homes by Katrina & Rita? I had been approached because I was a First Responder, and stressful conditions like evac and crowded shelters can make things like heart issues and COPD rear up. I was mostly there so that the Red Cross lady was able to have restroom breaks, I loaned my cell phone a couple of times, to those who were still trying to get word to family members that they were ok, and where they were, and I brought games. Children and adults, desperate for something bright and fun, a reminder of "normal" things, fell on those games like starving people on fresh food.

Even if I don't sign up to "work" at a shelter again, I think I can still help. I have hundreds of paperbacks, a few games I was given that I don't especially care for, and some paper and crayons, that I think would be well received.

And leave me with more space for preps (which, admittedly will include paper and crayons. I like to color.)