It becomes quite clear that in the opinion of my cat Sympathy I am NOT supposed to be wiggling my fingers around like this while she is laying on my forearms.
Took some convincing but she’s gone elsewhere. Now, if her kittens will just leave me alone long enough to get something written for the newsletter all will be well. Providing of course a goat or two don’t escape by climbing on that limb that came down inside their pen. The one they’ve been cleaning the leaves off of for the past day or so.
The news stations all seem to agree that what hit in Cash and traveled along 1564 to the Villages was an F1 tornado. You don’t even have to go down toward Cash from 69 to see a lot of damage.
That and what’s still happening in Japan gives me my opinion of the week. Emergency preparedness. No, no, no! I don’t mean go out to the Army Navy store, or on line and buy all that survivalist gear! But a nice big first aid kit wouldn’t hurt and might come in handy in all those other small “emergencies” that happen every day. As long as you keep it stocked up.
Some of the survivalist stuff might be handy, but most of it that I’ve seen is fairly pricey and hopefully all you’d really need would be the basics. Water, food and meds for a couple of days for each family member and maybe some camping gear that could also be used for, well, camping. I would suggest keeping it all together however, so you can grab it and run if need be. Like if a wild fire is bearing down on your area. Don’t say such as that can’t happen here. Have you paid any attention to the weather folks on television saying how bad a drought we are in. Yeah. It just rained. But that grass will dry before you can realize it, and green or not, it will burn given half a chance. All you need then for a wild fire is a strong wind blowing it toward town. Some stuff even the bravest, craziest firefighter can’t stop no matter how hard they try. Twisters come to mind quite easily after this past week end. Especially with the weather reports indicating it might happen all over again next Sunday / Monday. With those and strong straight-line winds all any firefighter, paid or volunteer, can do is help clean up afterward. Even then it’s their job to help everyone so they’ll mostly stick to clearing roads and such so that would leave the individuals to take care of cleaning up their own property.
The best thing any one can do to be prepared right now, today, is to remain vigilant. Pay attention to the weather reports on TV at least, and to what’s going on in the sky when you are outside. Be aware that lighting can strike several miles away from the cloud that generates it. If you can hear it you need to be under cover. Same goes for fires. If the police or local firefighters come by and tell you to evacuate, grab what you can and go. You might ask how much time you have but they might not be able to tell you either. Fire usually has it’s own, hidden, schedule which it keeps until it is put out.
You should also keep in mind that there are other emergencies that can come up. Such as if just your house is flooded by a burst pipe, or burned by a pan left on the stove too long. There are various things you can do to prepare for those kinds of emergencies as well. Even such emergencies as being sick and too likely to infect others to dare go out for anything but a Doctors appointment.
Of course the best help in any emergency is good neighbors. Just don’t plan on always being the one who gets the help. You need to stock up on the stuff and the knowledge to give help. Might not hurt to practice some before something big happens.
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