Re: [RC] Something to think about - Mary Ann Spencer
Excellent point..... Too many are TOO willing
to blame others when they could have done some things to help themselves.
We live in a land of plenty but most of us still have to work for what we
have. It is also called PLAN AHEAD!! My place in TX is also near the
hurricaine ally. The news on TV and RADIO start telling people what to
do DAYS in advance. But then, it still takes some
planning..... too many just want others to do for them ( or so
it appears). America has stood for INDEPENDENCE for over 200 yrs.
God helps those who help themselves.
Give them a fish and they will eat for a day. Teach them how to fish and
they will have food everyday. I am NOT into religion or against helping
others. BUT there are many who do not have money for the antibiotics for
their children's ear infections and hence the children get hearing damage and
speech problems. I have more sympathy for them than those who deliberately
'sit in the way of a hurricane' in a KNOWN sub sea level city and then complain
instead of packing a lunch and going NORTH.
Common sense is just not common enough.
Look at history. DUH! Gulf coast is a target EVERY summer and
fall. I left because I did not like to evacuate. Seems there are
many who like the 'RED BADGE OF COURAGE' to see who survived the biggest
hurricane. Lousiana country music has songs out about it.
All my life I have had the mindset of a
survivalist. I was not raised that way ... my mom never made a meal
from scratch her whole life... I grew up on Hamburger Helper, Hostess, and
KoolAid. And it has ALWAYS amazed me that so few people have a
survival instinct. It doesn't take much effort to do a few simple
things to ensure your survival. Granted, it's impossible to account
for ALL things, but surely it isn't unrealistic to expect people to take
care of themselves.
Please don't get me wrong here... I am NOT putting
down those poor people trapped in New Orleans. I am simply pointing
out there is a lesson to be learned.
Those of us here (endurance
riders, on ridecamp) are lucky, I think. We, as endurance riders
must think of our survival each and everytime we get on a horse and go up
the trail. And we do things accordingly. Stretching those
skills into day to day life isn't that hard for us. But, anyone can
set aside food and water, candles, flashlights, etc for times of need.
Even if it takes months to save up a decent "store" And once your "store"
is in place, it's easy to maintain it.
There have been many times in my
life when people have questioned me as to why I do the things I do. And my
answer today is "Because of the hurricane in New Orleans" And I try
hard to educate the willing as to how easy it really is to be prepared for
the worst, and how satisfying it can be to "be prepared". It's been
a lifelong "cause" of mine.
We had a horrible blizzard here two years
ago. And Alan and I sprent a lot of time rescuing neighbors who had
not taken precautions in spite of warnings. No power, no water, no
food, and no feed for their horses. And even though Alan and I (and
the animals) fared well, it showed me a few weaknesses in our
preparations, which we are still working to correct. Life is an act
of survival, and people are blissfully ignorant of that much of the
time.
For those of you on the front lines of this disaster, I
commend you. You will do what you can, and learn from the experience
in ways I can only imagine. For the rest of us, this is a wake up
call. A time to evaluate and rethink, a time to plan. Our
survival may one day depend on
it.
