Quote of the Day

Men are not hanged for stealing horses, but that horses may not be stolen.  ~ George Savile

Grrrsday

Crochet - Bathroom Beauties

Another wonderful (and free) batch of patterns from Purple Kitty.  Check out the penguins.

I'll Get You, My Pretty

I flew back from NYC yesterday, on what I was told was the ONLY connection available to me on the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend.  It meant getting out of bed in White Plains at 0230 in order to leave from LaGuardia at 0600 but that's a small price to pay for getting home.  Thirteen hours a day slaving over a hot database gets to you after a week or two.

(While we're on the subject of airports, does anyone know why the people who designed LaGuardia deliberately made it impossible to return your rental car?  You can't find the Avis lot without a guide dog and a dowsing stick).

I got on the Delta flight in Atlanta, mentally congratulating myself for having gotten an escape row, something that never happens, so I was looking forward to an hour and a half of unprecedented leg-room.  Suddenly the flight attendant popped up at my elbow.

"Ma'am, can you gather your things and come with me?  The gate agent wants to speak with you -- you're going to have to be rebooked on a later flight."

I counted to ten.  Slowly.  Then I asked, very calmly under the circumstances, "Do you know what this is about?

"No, ma'am.  Come with me."

I figured it wouldn't be right take it out on the flight attendant but I was sure ready to rip the gate agent a new one.  I followed him up the aisle, wondering what I had done -- recently, at least -- to get put on the no-fly list.

Anyway, when I got to the front of the plane he waved me into an empty first-class seat.  Turns out he is also a Red Cross volunteer and he spotted the chapter pin I had in my collar.

"Had you going there, didn't I?" he remarked after I kissed him.

Hiatus

I get to spend the next two weeks in New York. Blogging is suspended until 11/25.

(The Drama Queen is sure there's room in that suitcase for her.  Well, yes, if I left out the air mattress.  SO not going to happen).

The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month

"...traditions of things endured and things accomplished, such as regiments hand down forever; and the faith of men and the love of women; and that abstract thing called patriotism, which I never heard combat soldiers mention -- all this passes into the forward zone, to the point of contact, where war is girt with horrors.  Common men endure these horrors and overcome them, along with the insistent yearnings of the belly and the reasonable promptings of fear; and in this, I think, is glory.”

~ John Thomason, Fix Bayonets!

Happy Birthday, Marines

If Marines don’t like you, they’ll beat the snot out of you.  If they like you, then they merely grab you by the nuts and the carotid artery and drive you headfirst into the ground like a spear.

But other than that, we’re normal.  ~ SgtMaj Mike Burke

Quote of the Day

The greatest mistake a talk show host can make is in believing he has followers instead of listeners.  ~ Neil Boortz.

Grrrsday

(post-election letdown?)

Vintage Crochet - A Floral Ornament

From the same Workbasket issue as this cat.  Left-click to enlarge and copy.

Vintage Magazines - Western Story

May be read online at this odd but interesting site.

Food for The Traveler

The title of this cookbook puzzled me, as it is a short work dedicated to what was known one hundred years ago as “rational eating,” a movement dedicated to breaking the Americans and British from their heavy Victorian diets.

I was hoping to find information on preserved and desiccated foods, emergency rations for travelers and others, but instead was presented with a set of recommended diets, broken down for the aged, students at college, brain workers, etc.   Here are some recommended dinners for young children and although I myself am childless, all I can say is good luck getting kids to eat this.  The author must have hated children.

MENUS FOR DINNER FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.

One-half orange, one ounce boiled fish, one-half of an apple, toast.
One half of an apple, one or two eggs, one to two tablespooons raw rylax*.
Cereal salad with carrots and fish.
Legume soup, butter and bread, raw carrots.
Well boiled macaroni, two tablespoons of cold grated cheese.
Light rice with cold grated Swiss cheese
Cereal salad with apple and eggs.
Lettuce, baked potatoes, beechnut bacon and one egg.
Mashed carrots, two tablespoons of young peas, bacon.
String beans with stale bread and butter, bacon and egg.

There’s more, much more, here at Project Gutenberg.

*I have been unable to find out what raw rylax is but I am hoping it is not a laxative compound made of rye flour.

Caturday!

The 20%

Getting on soapbox:

After Katrina, many jurisdictions (including mine) attempted to create a Special Needs list where individuals and families who would need additional assistance during disasters could register (seniors, people with medical conditions, etc).  It has been a massive failure because no one will sign up.

According to FEMA, 20% of any county's population technically falls into what is currently referred to as functional needs groups.  Working with community partners like Meals on Wheels, Faith in Action, and the Area Agency on Aging, our county EMA has managed to convince almost five hundred residents to register.

Most counties are lucky if they get thirty.

There are three reasons for this.  1) Ignorance.  Residents aren't aware this service exists.  2).  Pride.  Many people are unwilling to admit that they can't take care of themselves and 3). Fear.  If their name is on a list, individuals are afraid they'll be victimized.

We've been working diligently to combat all three but it's an uphill climb.

If you know someone who needs assistance because of medical, mobility, communications or other issues, please ask them to talk to their county EMA/ESDA or Health Department to see if they can get registered.  It should be part of every family's emergency plan if they have a family member who needs this assistance.

I've worked in Public Health and Emergency Management for three years and we all admit that we're not going to be able to save everybody.  But our chances are improved when families and individuals have plans for disasters and are prepared to become their own responders, instead of victims.

Getting off soapbox.

Public Health - It's Not Just a Job, It's an Adventure

At one o'clock this afternoon I learned that, due to circumstances utterly beyond her control (honestly -- not her fault), my co-presenter for tomorrow's workshop "I Won't Leave Without Them - Addressing the Human/Animal Bond in Disaster Preparedness and Response" will not be co-presenting.

I hope the audience doesn't get tired of looking at me.