Same old drum

I've been trying really hard to think of a new way to say the same old things.  Decided to just get that tattered drum out and beat it some more.

As adults in an ever changing environment - whether we're talking about politics or weather -  there are a few things we need to be doing to

Take

Care

of ourselves!

It's not up to the government - local or otherwise

It's not up to your neighbors (although we should be helping them)

It's up to us to take care of ourselves.

As always, I'm not talking about plowing up the back 40 (even if there IS a back 40) and laying in enough gardens to feed the county.

Not talking about storing enough water to float an ark if the rain gets bad enough.

Not even talking about enough long term storage food to feed that aforesaid county.

I'm just saying:

We should (need to) have enough non-perishable food for at least a few days.  Doesn't have to be fancy - just doesn't need refrigeration.

We need to have at least a gallon of water per family member (don't forget Fido) per day for a week.  Remember:  what's in your hot water heater is there in a pinch.  And you don't need fancy containers - refill ones that you are emptying - like soda or juice bottles.

We should have at least basic first aid supplies and a working knowledge of how to use them.  It's a sort of joke (not really) that when seconds count, emergency services are minutes away. In reality our actions in those first seconds can have a huge impact - so all of us need to know some basics.

None of us can protect against global warming or an EMP strike out of nowhere so there's not a lot of sense in losing sleep over it - but we can be as ready as possible to take care of ourselves and our families in at least a short term emergency.   I'm sure that most people out west didn't expect wildfires to the extent that they are flaring up this year, nor did any of the many flash flood victims think that they would be cut off from "town" for days in the aftermath of a storm.

So please take a look around your house and acknowledge that either (a) you are in good shape for most of these items or (b) you need to make some positive steps towards being ready to cope with at least a short term emergency situation.  Easy enough to do once you take the first step!

Then you can go back and pick that lettuce that I KNOW you have planted - right?  😇