PHOENIX – Henry Morello prayed to Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost things. But as the 84-year-old spent a fifth night stuck in a ditch in the Arizona desert, he started to lose hope.

“My phone went dead, my battery went dead, and I went dead,” Morello said.

But Morello lived to tell his tale Tuesday at a Phoenix hospital, where the diabetic man was admitted in good condition despite drinking windshield wiper fluid to stay hydrated.

He didn’t have water, Morello said, so he broke open the wiper fluid container with a rock and filtered it with napkin to try to make it safe.

Well, he gets points for not really giving up. And for staying with the vehicle. On the other hand, if you live in a state thats famous for people dying of thirst and temperatures that can fry an egg on the sidewalk and you dont carry something as simple as water in your vehicle….well, perhaps natural selection shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. (And, seriously, the patron saint of lost things??? You know the catalog of Catholic saints enough to know which one to pray to regarding lost things but you dont know enough to throw a $6 case of bottled water in the back of your ‘Burban?)

Water, sleeping bag, reading material, some food, flashlight & batts. There’s your bare essentials list. Not rocket surgery. Add to it as you see fit, but those basics are pretty much enough to save the overwhelming majority of people who get stranded in their rigs.