The Median Sib

My sister, Janice, sent our family group an email today about preparing for an emergency. Here is what the email contained:

During the Rita evacuation, many coastal residents headed inland without food, water or extra gas, thinking they could buy what they needed on the road. They were wrong. Everyone should have a “grab-and-go” backpack with water bottles, medicines, cash or traveler’s checks, and other necessities, along with a three-day supply of food.
Maps, planned-in-advance escape routes and destinations, and an extra 5 gallons of gas can also come in handy. Those in hurricane, tornado and earthquake zones have the most obvious need, but the next terrorist attack could be anywhere.

Now that is something to think about. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, I recall reading about how everyone should have a gas mask. I immediately got on eBay and bought myself a gas mask. I THINK I know where it is. It makes sense at the time, although it is sad to think of having to have such things on hand. I already have a backpack and everything except for the 3-day supply of food - but a box of granola bars and dried fruit would take care of that. I’m not likely to be directly affected by a hurricane, but tornados and earthquakes are a definite threat around here. And of course there are no safe areas in regard to terrorism.

I recall about 10 or 12 years ago - maybe more - there was a big hoopla in the press about the New Madrid seismic zone and how someone had predicted that THE BIG ONE would occur that year. We had drills with the kids at school, and everyone was just waiting for the big earthquake to happen. It didn’t. It still hasn’t. I did a websearch for “emergency preparedness”, and the results were interesting. There are entire businesses and websites devoted solely to selling provisions for emergencies.

I’ve been looking online to see houses that are available in my area. This afternoon after work, I drove around the area for an hour or so just looking at what’s available near my school. It comes down to how far I’m willing to travel to live in the house I want. Well, on second thought, that’s wrong. It comes down to the fact that there’s no way I can afford what I really want, and so it then comes down to how far I’m willing to travel to get to one I’d love that I can afford. I don’t really want to go through moving again anytime soon, but if I find what I really, truly, honestly, without-a-doubt want and can afford, I’d be willing to move again. In the past eight years I’ve moved six times. After the third time, I swore I’d NEVER move again…and look what happened…another three moves.

This could lead to a discussion of the value of moving. It’s incredible how much JUNK and unnecessary “things” accumulate over time. Moving is great in forcing a person to get rid of excess. I keep waiting for the IRS to audit my tax return because of all my contributions to Goodwill over the past eight years.

I’ll look at more houses this weekend, and I’ll keep it all updated here.

For someone who has used a computer for many years, I have only in the past few months started banking on the computer. Why did I wait so long? It’s wonderful, and it only took me about 30 minutes to learn how to do everything I need to do. No more having keep a register. I can check my account online anytime and see what checks have cleared and what my balance is. I can transfer money from one account to another. The best part, though, is paying bills online. It takes literally minutes - maybe 5 or 10 - to pay all my bills each month. No envelopes, no stamps, no trips to the post office, no writing checks by hand. I open the bill, make a few clicks on the computer, and then shred the bill. It helps me not spend money I don’t have because I can see the actual balance whenever I want. It works out so much better for me than keeping a handwritten register.

Not much point in this post - except to express how great it is to be sitting here at the end of September and able to spend about 10 minutes on the computer — and all the bills are paid and done. YEA!!!

I was talking with a fifth grade teacher today, and she was working on an author study of Jane Yolen. She mentioned a book by Yolen that I hadn’t read before - Miz Berlin Walks. She loaned me her copy, and I read it immediately. Only took a few minutes since it’s a children’s picture book. Different books produce different reactions. This book made me want to get outside and walk for an hour or two.