~Vitamin Sea~

Bracing for The Mean Season

A twig from a pine tree, that's all it was.   Long and thin. The kind that snap easily when you bend them or rake into a pile when you're clearing the yard.  After Andrew struck Miami, I had a mild run-in with one of those twigs.  Rick, his brother and a friend were about to bring a soaking wet carpet out to the trash, and since I was 6 months pregnant, they wouldn't let me help carry it outside.  (No big surprise there, huh?) 

I headed into the front yard to clear away any debris that might be in their way, and came across the lone branch, sticking upright from the ground.  Reached down to simply pick it up and toss it out of the way, but it was stuck fast and wouldn't budge.   

The guys came up behind me, struggling with the stinking carpet and trying not to yell at me to move.  I pointed to  what was blocking their way.   Rick started to stomp on the branch, but it was stuck fast.  He reached down and gave it a good yank, and in the instant it finally came lose, we all just looked at each other, somewhat in amazement.   From the depth of how deeply it had been driven into the ground,  we could just see first hand, the force with which it had flown into the ground without snapping.   As if we hadn't seen enough already.  I didn't know much about hurricanes in 1992.  I think the whole country does now.

More examples of force existed every where we looked.  A pine tree lay on the side of his mom's house, even though there were no pine trees in or near her side yard.
At a friend's house in the next block over,  a ceramic roofing tile went airborne during the storm, flew through the air to another neighbor's carport, past their car,  through their kitchen window and embedded itself inside the wall in their kitchen.

Still another neighbor's sliding glass doors shattered as wind entered the house, spraying glass shards over the walls and floors.  They put sheets of plywood across the floors so they could walk across the room and marvel at what was left - a single statue left on a wall unit.   Judging from what was left of the house, I don't think they'd have survived had they stayed in the house.

I have a friend who lives near me who put her Lladro statues on her sofa during one of the hurricanes last year. She thought they would be cushioned that way and would not tip over. I'm not sure she thought about items that fly through the air, or mirrors that hang on the walls that come loose and fly every which way. 

I'm also sure she didn't realize that all the wind needs is the opportunity to get inside the house; and once it does, whole couches and tables can fly out of your home while the wind takes your roof and your insulation along with it.    It still amazes me that people who live in coastal Florida will do certain things without really thinking about the outcome of these storms.   Even with the message  that Katrina left behind, they are still unprepared when a hurricane strikes.   Witness the long lines for gas and food the day after Wilma hit, the very next day. 
What does it take to get the word "preparation" grilled into their heads?

Every day for the past week, local news announcers on TV have urged us to begin making preparations now. The 2006 season starts June 1st.   My dad has already been outside in the heat, cutting down trees in preparation. 

• Hurricane preparedness lists are available online at this Florida disaster website, and just about every major newspaper and local news website.
• Federal Alliance for Safe Homes has a Resource Link Section here.
•   Pamibe has a great list  and firsthand experience to share as well.   I have several suggestions in my Storm Tales archives, which I plan to update this week.  I have several novel ideas to share with you. ;)

• The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes has excellent information on retrofitting your roof and securing your house before a disaster.
  

I also have several videos from Andrew. I would like to get them onto a disc so that I can pull some photos off of them.
Tax free week ends soon, so get ready.

As we move into this season I wish all of you the keys to self-sufficiency, foresight, mental sanity and a heavy dose of common sense.  Good luck!

And in case you've forgotten, here's Andrew:

Why Help Never Came to New Orleans

Forgotten

This is a hard video to watch.  Consider working with your local humane society, SPCA, or animal shelter to help make sure as much as possible that this type of thing never happens in our society again:

www.forpitssake.org/katrina.html

Well frankly, watching a video like this in a country like ours just p*sses me off.  That, and all the nursing home patients who were left behind in LA bugs me as well.  We need a whole new revolution of compassion and foresight in this country!  The "ME" generation needs to come to a screeching HALT.
 

Alright, another good link, which I have just found out about recently, is the Emergency Animal Rescue Service, (EARS)  operated by the United Animal Nations at this website.
 

Toons from South Florida

And Having a FEMA Director that knows something helps, too:

thanks to my friend Sueellen for sending this in!

Medical Records

Katrina shows the need for electronic medical records.  The article is here.

Six A.M.

It's early morning, and it's still dark outside.  I pick up the newspaper from the driveway and head back into the house, stopping to call Buddy as he sniffs around the front yard checking for intruders and mortal enemies.  Hub has left for work and Samantha left for school. The washing machine runs in the background;  dryer tosses and turns another load of clothes.  I was out of bed before my time, awakened  at 5:23,  with sinus pain brought on by failing to keep up with the allergy meds. Mentally, I resolve to remember to take these things.   

The cats have had their fill of breakfast. I pour a second cup of coffee and let them back outside again.  The dog follows me to the door to see them out, then to the living room where I'll read the paper for awhile.  He rarely leaves my side.  I read about a family who lost their mobile home to a fire after a candle tipped over. The parents were out looking for work and left their 3 kids home alone.   The eight year old boy tried to put it out but failed. They're lucky to be alive at all.   The parents were taken to jail on child neglect charges.  Rick and I had disagreed about this incident earlier.  Our political and social views are polar opposites.

I shake my head and head to the computer to read email. The remaining cat is in the kitchen, staring at me with some annoyance.  He wants his own bowl of food, not this disgusting community bowl that I've poured the cat food into.  In a few minutes, he'll stride into the bedroom, tail flicking with distaste.  After I type this up, I'll give in and bring him his own plate of chow.

The a/c hums in the background, and from the distance the talking heads on the morning news warn that Progress Energy is raising their rates yet again.  We're paying hurricane surcharges of 3.5 percent on an already growing bill.  Fuel charges are up, and they'll raise the rates 11% again in January.  My bill was almost $100 higher this month than it was the same time last year.

The weatherman begins talking about the unseasonably dry weather we're having, how it could affect a person's respiratory problems. I sneeze and then remember the side yard, my 30 foot butterfly garden of weeden was drooping from lack of water yesterday.  I get up to turn the sprinkler system on, peering out into the dark morning.  Remembering the black racer snake that keeps ending up inside our laundry room, I close the door again.  I'll wait till light to go out to check on it.

I have 30 minutes before I wake Britt for school, and before we both leave the house for the day.  I wonder what it's like for a person to wake up in the morning and realize yet again that they have no home at all.  You know,  those first moments when you  wake up in the morning and expect to see yourself in your own room.

Instead, they're living in a friend or relative's house, or a hotel room, or a shelter of some type. I wonder how they handle the mental images of the water, of bodies floating by, realistic memories of destruction every where they look.  I would miss my home something awful. My in-laws still have vivid memories of Andrew battering their house.  Hurricane season brings the memories back, year after year. 

I sit at the computer and because it's Friday, it's time to pay another set of bills. I click on the website for my car insurance, this bill is for $463. and I pay it because we can.  We have 24 years behind us of choices made to work hard to get to where we are today.  There are people on the Mississippi coast with beautiful homes, people in Slidell, a smaller city in  Louisiana, who made those same choices and had beautiful homes to show for it. 

I wonder what it would be like, despite all that we have worked for, to emerge the morning after a disaster and find everything we have worked for in ruins. To wonder if your homeowner's insurance  will kick in or go bankrupt,  if ATM machines will be working, or if your government will stand beside you.   I shake my head, because it's mind boggling enough to repair an entire infrastructure,  to rebuild your life again when your job might not be there in the morning.  And I look around my house, which is so clean and intact, where everything is running as it should.

I click "submit" on the payment page of the insurance company website, and make my way across the house to wake up Brittany, and the two of us begin to move into action on the dawn of this most ordinary September day.

hmmmMmmmm

I'm such a moonbat:

Q: What is Bush's position on Roe vs. Wade?

A: He really doesn't care how people get out of

New Orleans

.


*********************

It's Contagious

You're sitting in your car at a red light.  Waiting, waiting...hmmmm.
A moment later, you happen to notice the guy in the car in front of you, who appears to be staring at you through his rear view mirror.
BUT! He has glasses on, and you can't see his eyes.
How do you know if he's really staring at you or if you're just a vain, paranoid, Mirror Starer of the worst kind?
You shouldn't be looking forward into HIS mirror, after all. But You Are.  hmmm. Suppose he's just looking at the road in front of him?
Test him.
Just Yawn.  ;)

    *************************************************************************
Wherein  I'll offer up some hints on a semi- occasional basis, here at Vitamin Sea.  Lets throw a little satire into the mix, here and there:

We  (the family) has  been going out to eat a lot lately because I am sick of cooking  we want to keep the gas companies in business by driving often to take up the slack in their losses.

So therefore  I am heartily endorsing The Green Iguana on Tyrone Blvd for good food, great service and an atmospheric blast.  Went there for lunch Monday to celebrate both girls being home at the same time for a change.
They had a good  Cesar Salad with blackened salmon. Delish!!!   Heavy on the spices but I like it that way, it was cooked to perfection, not tough at all. 
"8 grouper fingers" with avocado mayo  was just so-so, unfortunately.  The batter was a little too thick and bland for this type of fish. They should try a good beer batter for punch.  PJ's on Indian Rocks beach has the best beer batter in the south.

We had the Nachos, which  were excellent. Nachos are pretty much standard fare, but these were really good with black beans and a saucy chicken mixture thrown in.   Hub had a hot Cuban sandwich, also really good.   The rest of the menu looked interesting, we'll go back.  I'm always on the lookout for restaurants with great views on the water. The Green Iguana has other chains in Tampa, but I haven't been out that way in a long time. Good to see they have moved across the bay to St. Petersburg.

Don't call in your English Prof:

Also went to Chilis the other day and I still can't figure out why there isnt any chili on the menu; yet it's all over the decor. Wouldn't that make the whole theme sort of oxymoronically ironic?

***************************************************************
FINALLY made it  into Tampa to see The Bodies exhibition at MOSI. Folks, if it comes to a city near you, don't miss it.  Particularly interesting to me were the black lungs of a smoker, and the Fetal development exhibit.
Imagine seeing the fetus at one month, 10 weeks, 12 weeks and 22 weeks.  So tiny, these lil guys.  Also saw an an ectopic pregnancy  fetus as well, just startling.   Other exhibits:  Breast cancer left unchecked was horrible.  Fortunately in our society, it doesn't progress to the extent that it did on this victim. I also saw an arm with a very advanced case of bone cancer, that just made me cringe.

If you swallow your fingernails, you'll stop after you see what it can do to an appendix.
And while I knew we had veins over our entire body, it's something else to see it them up close and personal.
Overall, very eye opening, take your time and be prepared to read. Every exhibit is clearly labeled and chock full of information. 

There is also an IMAX theater on the site showing STOMP! so we saw that too.  I've got to see it on stage!

*********************************************

More:

Motorola, good for you. 2,500 Long range 2 way radios (I call them good old "walkie talkies") were delivered into the hurricane zones so people will at least have  localized communication. 

M&M Mars and Hersheys,  How about dropping some candy from planes, in waterproof containers and/or  hand it out at rescue locations as well.
   Chocolate is a natural aphrodisiac.  The candy will boost blood sugar, especially if combined with packages of dried fruits and nuts, trail mix style. Even the marines eat this on long hikes, I understand it.  Or, are y'all doing this already?

While I've been shopping for supplies for  the evacuees, I'll often get to thinking about the chocolate, but it would melt by the time it reached their areas. So my call is out to the candy companies and their distributors.
Write, call or email them if you agree!

Here's something I bet you all didn't know. Before every storm, guess what sells out the most at the grocery stores in FLorida??
SNACK FOOD.   you can't find it in the hours before the storm. we know how to eat down here and it ain't Atkins fodder. ;)

Sports Athletes making $30 million a year, you could part with a spare million or two.  Give it up, guys.  One million out of your salary will still leave you with $29 million, and yet will provide housing for dozens.  Come on guys, help out your fans.

Ever wonder what is going to happen to all the mail that can't get delivered? 
Talk about a ripple effect in more ways than one. 

Let me know what you think!

SPCA Tampa Bay helping Katrina's 4 footed Victims

LARGO, FL (TUESDAY, September 6, 2005) ~ Hurricane Katrina has left many companion animals homeless and in desparate need of aid. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Tampa Bay staff and volunteers from the Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) are now in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This team of highly-trained volunteers is tagging and processing lost animals, providing medical help and delivering much needed supplies to aid the animals in any way possible. 

The SPCA DART Team is working from a temporary shelter alongside the Southern Mississippi Humane Society and Hattiesburg Animal Control. A nearby Agricultural Center is being used as an animal friendly shelter for evacuees and their pets.  This relief center also contains horse stables to house displaced farm animals.

The volunteer shelter is in desparate need of supplies. Click here to learn how you can help.

Diabetic help for Katrina Vicitms

The American Diabetic Association is asking for supplies and volunteers for Katrina victims.  In addition they have joined partnership with Rite Aid Pharmacy to help with Diabetic needs.  The information is here .   Excellent website and full of information. A must read if you are interested.

New information from the above link:

  As the relief agencies continue to gain ground in the delivery of all types of critical supplies, many members of the ADA community have asked how they can help the Katrina relief effort by specifically donating supplies for people with diabetes in the disaster area. In recent days, a Hurricane Diabetes Relief Center has been organized by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge, LA. Physicians and staff of the Research Center are obtaining the needed supplies, going to shelters on a daily basis and providing the basic care which includes insulin, medications, glucose strips and meters.

The Center is in great need of the following supplies.

Glucose Testing Supplies (revised)

    * Glucometers
    * Strips
    * Lancets
    * Gloves
    * Alcohol preps
    * Gauze sponges
    * Band-aids
    * Sharps containers
    * Glucose tablets
    * Glucose gels
    * Syringes

Pennington is accepting supplies donations at the following address:

Pennington Biomedical Research Center
ATTN: HURRICANE DIABETES RELIEF
6400 Perkins Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

MEMO

TO:  The so called Christian zealots who are making statements that the hurricanes are occurring in the cities where the greatest amount of sin takes place,  yada yada yada, may I direct you to your nearest college, university or public school where you should at least take a basic science class.  In the absence of that, please google this simple sentence into your search bar: "How Hurricanes Are Formed".  Additionally, please read up on the concept of the "hurricane belt" as well.  Find the NOAA site on your own and get yourself familiar with the  weather patterns.

TO:  The fair number of people who have said the people  in Florida and Louisiana "got what they deserved"  with the hurricanes because we "choose to live there."  May I suggest that you refrain from vacationing anywhere in the United States where a natural disaster is likely to occur.

Your presence in any of these cities while on you're on vacation means that the people who "choose" to live there have to provide support for the infrastructure that existed in place long before your arrival.

And that means that when you get off the plane with your suitcase, there will be an airport staffed by personnel who  "choose to live there",  and when you drive your rental car down through town,  the stoplights that will keep you from crashing into another car were put in place by a person who also  "chooses to live there."   Ever drive in a country without stoplights? 
The roads were paved by people who choose to live there, food and water were provide by people who choose to live here,  and God forbid you get sick and need medical care while on vacation, because the people who choose to live here will be on hand to help you, despite your contempt for their hometown.

Further, may I suggest that you stop eating any wheat products, bananas, tomatoes, basically any vegetable that arrives on ships to the  ports from Louisiana to Texas and further south to Florida.  May I also suggest you put down your morning coffee and stop drinking your orange juice as well.    Please refrain from doing laundry or using fertilizer as a lot of it comes from the phosphate mines in Florida, a coastal state  where you believe that no one on earth should live.   

Some of the people who "choose to live here" somehow have to reach the port to get to work and make it possible for you to have these products available in your supermarket.  Should they commute to their jobs from Kansas or some other Midwestern state?

TO:  The people who have not been through a hurricane: The next time you're asked to leave, please do so. You can't hold your roof down with your bare hands.   Stock up on food so you won't be hungry and thirsty. Katrina was your wake up call.   Get your hurricane preparedness plans made NOW.  If you'd like to see mine, I'll send you a list and pictures.

TO:  FEMA, the Governments of LA, Mississippi and Alabama, and most importantly the Bush Administration:   I don't understand why, five days later, people are dying in the streets, floating dead in the water, crying out for help, .. WHERE IS THE REST OF THE CALVARY?  Where's the tent cities on the outskirts of town,  just for starters?

I understand this is a massive zone of destruction, but where the hell was your emergency contingency plan in the event of a catastrophic Cat 4 or 5 hurricane hitting a major city in the US???
Did you not learn a thing from Andrew, Ivan, Floyd.. or any natural disaster at all?

With the lessons learned from Andrew, from Ivan, from all the storms of this century,.. why did you wait so long to send in the troops?  We have the best friggin military on the planet and yet, five days later, we have not fully utilized their resources.  why??   
There should have been a plan in place. If this is what the plan was, it's a bonafide disaster.

Charity Navigator

What happens to your money when you donate?  This might be a good website to bookmark for future reference:
  Click here for the Charity Navigator website.