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Background: Pompeii wasn’t the only city decimated by Vesuvius in 79 AD. The small and relatively wealthy city of Herculaneum also fell victim to the heat, mud, and ash of the pyroclastic flow (as well as the towns of Stabiae and Oplontis). Some of the residents of Herculaneum were able to escape to the sea. Others huddled in boat houses where their skeletons still remain.

Excerpt from a footnote in my writing archives regarding decision protocols while under pressure:

For some hapless residents of Herculaneum, hiding in boat houses along the then-shore might have been the best option available to them under the circumstances. Decisions made in emergencies are confounded by so many relevant factors that it’s a wonder people can act at all. Some don’t, some freeze under the burden of such stress or even find dying an appealing way out of an apparently hopeless situation, i.e. some lean into it. I could go on here, pointing out the limits of modern emergency response plans, or lack thereof such as surrounding Vesuvius to this date. But my project here is to point out the confounding intersecting protocols at the time decisions have to be made, not only for volcanic eruptions, but also for selecting a mode of cancer treatment and where to cast one’s vote. People are usually making the best decisions they can in their particular circumstances. And, always and ever, decisions in these circumstances that seem to result in the best possible outcome (remember, this outcome is indexed to a for whom) are accompanied by a healthy dose of shit luck. There are many people who we’d otherwise laud for deciding wisely who are not here to tell their tales.