TMI

I created a problem on my humble blog when I figured out how to upload pictures from my camera and change the background on the header. For all my fiddling, trying to make the blog appealing, I made it too large for the memory of other people’s computers and e-readers.

 I returned to the simplest version the hosting site offered: “Dynamic.” 

Dynamic comes from a Greek word meaning power – and power is a word that means a transfer of energy in physics, or the ability to influence people’s behavior.  And the design that the hosts put together conveys ideas more quickly than the former blog because its display is simple and pictures on the list of blog entries are easier to read. Less verbiage to wade through – it's like I went from an 80’s mindset to almost the second decade in the new millennium. 

Twelve years ago, awaiting the year 2000, btw, I was wondering if the sky would fall when all the computers in the world crashed as the New Year dawned. Many of our friends were making serious plans for huge outages, shortages, and other problems springing from being too dependent on grocery stores, ATMs and cars. Even now, describing the craziness is too much information, so, I offer links: The Problem  and The Panic.

By the end of 1999, we realized we had missed the chance to stockpile, harvest wheat we never planted, to grind into flour for bread we would never bake in the solar powered ovens we never built. So, we went to the Red Cross Website and followed their instructions – a handy reference for any who live in the path of hurricanes or tornadoes. (Y-2K Checklist)

We  set aside a two weeks supply of soup, bread, bottled water and toilet paper; we bought an alcohol-fired cook-top, batteries, and hand-cranked radio. We filled up our gas tanks and also bought two 50-gallon plastic drums, and filled them for flushing and washing. If the worst happened, we would have avoided being part of the problem for maybe a week or ten days – and perhaps we could have helped others a little. 

What made News Year Eve that year tough was our son was overseas, and daughter was at a party. News came that Australia made it – then India and finally Great Britain survived. When we stepped outside to greet the New Year, the year before the third millennium, we breathed deeply and were never so glad to see Christmas lights as we were on that new morning!  (Explanation)

The problems Y-2K posed seem small compared to the threats we still face.  The run up to Y2K’s problems though may have equipped Wall Street to rebound after 9/11/01.

·      What have we learned in the past twelve years that could help us cope with storms like Katrina and Sandy?

·      How have the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq made a difference in us who are stateside?

·      Has our thinking about debt and deficient spending changed so that we could manage in a major financial crash?

·      Have we thought about the fact that death follows hard on the heels of disasters and outbreaks of diseases?

My friend, Lucy Higginbotham, writing for the White Rock Lake Weekly described what to do in the first few hours of a crisis – like a huge storm: Like your own funeral, the time to plan for an emergency is not after the fact, but before, she said.  

Three things are critical: first, we must be equipped to care for ourselves and/or those in our households. Second, we must know our neighbors, determine their needs and their resources and have a plan to address both. Third, wanting to help is good, but knowing how to help in a way that does not endanger you or others is best.  (White Rock Lake Weekly – November 12, 2012)

Before the unexpected happens – whether wars, or rumors of wars, weird weather, (like a gigantic tornado in Italy!) or illness, betrayal, or disappointment, plan now: 

·      Rejoice in your portion.  ~The Talmud

·      Beware the barrenness of a busy life.  ~Socrates

·      Eliminate physical clutter.  More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter.  ~Terri Guillemets (The Quotegarden)

And don’t let what you think about Christmas past wreck what might be a fresh understanding of the season we are about to observe, both Christians, or “None’s.” 

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:6)

That’s not too much information, is it?