5 points, FEMA information on natural disasters, loans, grants, insurance and disaster relief organizations

Two very closely related subjects I have been thinking about while the disastrous Hurricane Harvey has made landfall and is raising havoc in Texas and Louisiana.

Harvey, 3 days ago. 

. I also live in a flood zone, not a 100-year floodplain but one of those that is in danger all of the time. We pay for flood insurance, the federal government mandates flood insurance for homes that are in an under 500-year occurrence event. As I understand it if your house is in a 500-year zone, you are not required to insure your home, if you live in a 400-year zone you are. In fact, most localities do not even plan for a 500-year event due partly because of the impossible task of predicting how bad it will be. I don't know about you, but it doesn't make much sense to me to not have insurance, so let's take a look at it. If the Federal Government did not mandate you to have flood insurance and your home is in a 500-year zone would you purchase it anyway or take your chances? Let's make a list and go through it:
  1)  Who is eligible for Federal Disaster assistance? You must first off be in a Federally designated disaster area, most go by county. The first item to take place is the disaster, second if it is bad enough the State will declare it a disaster area and allocate some funding. Then the Governor will request the President of the United States to declare the area (s) a "Federal Disaster" area, FEMA is then allowed to begin their operations, nothing can happen until the Feds declare it an emergency. That cannot happen until the State declares it an emergency. Then cannot happen until after the catastrophic event occurs and the damage is assessed. These are the basic pieces of a Federal Disaster. Renters and Home owners who have sustained damage to homes, vehicles or personal property as a result of the storm should apply, on line: www.DisasterAssistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362. Then what happens?
  2) There are two types of assistance, Grants, and loans. Grants are a "Gift" and do not need to be paid back, a Grant is meant to assist people to help pay for temporary housing, emergency repairs to their home, uninsured (and under insured) personal property losses plus funeral expenses, dental, medical and any other serious incidences caused by the disaster. After the registration is submitted FEMA will contact you for an appointment, at that time they will look at the damages, the appointment will be a few days after the application is submitted. The inspector will not approve or disapprove the application, they are there to gather pieces of information, the decision will be made after that. FEMA inspectors do not ask for money, or make recommendations for contractors if one does it is a scam. You are eligible for reimbursement even if cleanup and repairs have been made. Take a mountain of pictures, before and after, label, date, location, time and weather conditions should be noted, the more information we have the better off we are, and the faster the decision will be made. If we have flood insurance we still have to apply with FEMA, after we contact our insurance company, in some cases the insurance company will notify them. Check with your carrier. Click here for the FEMA application and information.

Huge storm, New Orleans and Houston always seem be right in the middle of these things, oh yes, Mississippi is too. 

  3)  I understand the grant, what happens if I don't qualify for a grant, or even if I do qualify can I get a loan? Where does the loan come from? Do I have I to have been denied by my bank first? The Small Business Administration offers loans to home owners and renters, they must be paid back at low interest rates. It makes me wonder about the areas that flood every year such as, the Red River of the North, the entire Mississippi River Valley, and Florida, how can these people afford it year upon year. None the less, the SBA is the main source of funding financial help after a disaster. Renters, as well as home owners, qualify for grants, renters may also qualify for emergency loans from the Small Business Administration. The SBA loan will also be made for assistance to home owners to pay uncovered damages.
  4)  If a house is not covered by insurance will FEMA pay to restore that home to its pre-disaster condition? The answer is No, this is the question I had from the beginning, no insurance, then yes grants, and loans are available, FEMA will not rebuild the house. This is the same question I had during the Anderson Dam incident in San Jose, many people did not have insurance. (At least the ones interviewed on the evening news did not). The people in that city have a lot of lawsuits attempting to place responsibility on any one they are able to. I must say many people did have flood insurance, many more did not. The lawsuit will be in the courts for many years most likely. This flood insurance thing is going to become front page news at some point depending on how many and how severe the future storms are. My insurance is subsidized by the Federal Government, and Congress has had a major problem with it for the past 10 years that I know of, it doesn't pay for itself, or even close to it. My flood insurance is $2000.00 a year, I think that is reasonable, there is a debate in Congress to raise it, at one time mine would have reached around $20,000.00 a year, recently Congress said they may cap it at $10,000.00 yearly. All I can say is "We'll see." If you want to know more about the Federal flood insurance program click here.
  5) A myth circulating is that if a person is not a US citizen there is no assistance available. That is false, FEMA may provide eligible immigrants who are undocumented, with short-term non-cash assistance. I personally believe that is a good thing, knock down all the barriers during a disaster and help everyone.
  To check the status of a claim we may go online www.DisasterAssistance.gov or contact FEMA 1-800-621-3362.
 

From one disaster to  

to another.

Wow, what a terrible disaster, to observe from bone dry California is quite a contrast, How can I help, what disaster relief organizations can I rely on, to be honest with my donations? The only natural disaster relief organizations that I would be anywhere close to being qualified to recommend are outfits like the Red Cross, I suspect the best non-profits to donate to would be local long established organizations, before making a donation perform due diligence and find a trust worthy one. I am sure we all remember the scam stories we hear after every catastrophe.
  It is estimated that 1/3 of the population will be prepared to the maximum for a disaster, Preppers, homesteaders and the like. 1/3 of us plan to do something to at least have some basic survival supplies on hand, then there is the 1/3 of us that have no interest, or desire and believe the threat of a natural or man made disaster will never happen. This terrible disaster can be a valuable lesson for some of us to get off of top dead center, create an emergency plan, prepare a 3-5 day survival kit, either put together yourself or a pre-packaged kit (check it out here). Make sure in your plan to have a telephone number for a contact out of your area, I will go on about that in my next blog, it is absolutely a must to have a contact away from your location.
  Thank you for reading, please leave a comment I would really like to hear what you have to say, share this blog, they may need it. Thanks.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Action to take prior, during and after an electrical power outage

  I don't know, and I am unable to think of anyone I know that has not experienced a power

Stay calm like this mom, and the kids will be as well. It's not scary when
a flashlight is available, with a good book.

interruption, or as we all call them an "outage". How many of us give much thought to disaster recovery after an electricity blackout, after all it is a disaster. It's more than merely knowing where the main circuit breaker is, it's all about disaster recovery procedures. This blog is written to address an event lasting 24 hours or longer, we have all experienced outages up to 10 hours, 2-3 days is a more intense experience. To prepare prior to an interruption here are tasks we can complete well before a blackout occurs:
  1) Make certain everything that's suppose to be in your emergency kits are in there, check the condition of battery's, first aid kit, lighting, and be sure the cash that was in there still is.
  2) Have the most modern state of the art charging systems for your small electronic items, be sure you have a reliable source of power to charge these items, Cell phone, lap top (really), lights, and heat sources. Your vehicle can be used to charge equipment, however do not run the car or truck in the closed garage.
  3) Pre-charge all cell phones and battery operated devices, every night prior to going to bed, every night.
  4) Everyone needs to know how to operate the big garage door with out electricity, this is extremely important as it may be your only route of escape.
  5) Place ice packs in your freezer, leave them there all year long, two inch thick one and two gallon containers are available, I use two of them in mine. They will help maintain the freezer temperature, and the water can be consumed after it melts.
  6) Keep your gas tanks full, if you have to evacuated and empty tank could be a disaster. Don't leave it running especially in a garage, during the winter use a "tank heater" especially when parked outdoors.
  7) Make sure to keep up with the local procedures and emergency plans established by the local government agency's dealing with emergency planning. Normally on the local government's web site, or pay a visit to their main office, you will leave with a bunch of information.
  8)  Establish an emergency plan, be certain all potentially affected people have input and are present while it is being developed. Practice your plan, make sure everyone knows where their kits are, what to do if they are home alone, who to call, and where to go.
  9)  Place a photo of the family with the family pet, this will enable responders to associate you and your pet with faces and names.

No, No, No pose with your PET, not PEST!

  10) Prescription medication, have your entire supply accessible if it is lost contact your medical suppliers as soon as possible for a replacement.
  11) In the emergency plan have an out of area telephone contact, during emergency's the local lines will be totally jammed up. When a "busy" signal is heard most people (human nature) hang up and immediately try to make the call again. It complicates things by adding more callers locally, making the problem even worse, the out of area lines will not be impacted (unless everyone takes my advice, they won't). Read more on communications here.

  OK, that prepares you to an extent, as you go a long with your preparation more issues will come up that will have to be resolved. That's good, the purpose of any list is to start people thinking, and we do.
  So, what should we do and worry about during the event? I have listed below some tasks to pay attention to, again it's not a complete list, it's a living list:
  1)  Don't waste your battery's, scaring someone is not worth being without emergency lights, unless it's a crank light, have the perpetrator turn the crank, he will learn. Candles are not without their issues either, fire is always a concern, be extremely careful with candles, put them out prior to retiring for the night.
  2)  Don't open and close the refrigerator and freezer, the ice packs we placed in the freezer can not keep up with it, and the cold air in the fridge will spill out, save the coolness.
  3) If it is summertime, stay cool, wear light clothing, not dark colors or heavy fabric, drink lots of water (my battle cry), get in the shade and stay there, move downstairs if you have one. If you go into a basement or other enclosed areas bring your CO2 detector with you, it's possible for poisonious gases to accumulate there.
  4) If it is cold outside wear warm clothing, establish warmth by a wood burning vented stove, or a wood or pellet burner that can be operated on a car battery. go to another location, neighbor, relative, or emergency shelter.
  5) Turn off all electrical devices, TV, audio, lights, and heaters are a few, have surge protectors if you don't have them. Surges can and will destroy computers.
  6) Generators are affordable now, consider purchasing one, if there is a disabled person depending on disability equipment it is a must have. An electrical engineer can assist you in choosing a generator and making certain it is installed correctly and it will work when it has to. Have the electric terminations done by a professional, your local utility will have to make the final connections to your main circuit breaker box.

A generator of about this size is most likely what we will end up with.

  7) Do not use the generator, unvented heater, bar-b-que or any internal combustion equipment in doors, Turn off the gas supply, it will take a special tool, if you smell gas during the event, evacuate and don't go back.
  8) Turn off the water supply, especially if you are on a well, a surge may destroy your 212 volt pump motor.
  9) If flooding is part of the emergency, do not use the flood water or your water well for anything, do not use it until the event ends and the well has been tested.
   OK, that's during the event, it's common sense, stay calm and think everything will be alright. Most outages last for a few hours, some extend wide areas and last for weeks. It is not difficult to prepare for a power outage, it is harder to not over prepare which is in itself tough to do. One plan includes having a supply of food and water on hand for 3 days, another 14 days. I prefer 7 days of supplies in this situation, the food in my pantry will keep us supplied for about a week. I do not rely on the food in the fridge after the first two days, food has the tendicy to go south fast in warm humid conditions. If any of your food has touched flood water or been in contact with fire toss it in the trash, we don't need to have severe intestinal distress in this situation. So how do we reclaim our homes? Not to fear I have conjured up a list for that as well:
  1) Throw food away that has been exposed to temperatures over 40 degrees F for 2 or more hours, if you don't think it's OK it's not, trust your instincts. Touch, look, feel and smell, if any register as being odd, do not eat the food.
  2) Leave the food in the freezer until you need it, if it does not go below 40 degrees F and has ice crystals formed on it, refreeze it, it's OK to consume. Non-fat milk can be frozen in air tight containers with no lasting affects.
  3) Look at your perscription medications, spoiled or otherwise compromised supplies must be discarded, then contact your medical supplier.
  4)  Stand to the side of the electrical box prior to making sure all of the circuit breakers are in the OFF position prior to engaging the main circuit breaker to restore your power. If you are in dought, call your provider, they love doing this for you.
  5) Turn the gas back on, if you smell gas call the utility supplier and shut the valve, your house could blow up.

  6) Turn the water on, after making sure all of the faucets are off prior to turning it on, open the faucet furthest away from the shutoff valve to purge the air from the line.
  7) Re-supply your emergency kits, you will use some of the supplies. Go over your preparation plans and re-establish your pre-outage position of being prepared for the next outage.
  Thanks for reading, we all have or will experience this event, pre-planning reduces stress and adds confidence to people, good planning and practice are well worth the time, effort and expense.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Hurricane Harvey, hurricane news, Houston Texas flooding, Hurricane Harvey resources here

  How in the world can someone write about a major hurricane with millions of lives being threatened, while it is happening, without sounding condescending? The emotions, compassion, and concern even for those of us that have no one close to us in the affected area is very strong. Watching the weather channel or other news station, the high winds and heavy seas when it first met the land is a powerful sight to behold. There have been some nasty powerful hurricanes rip through that part of the country, they sure seem to get their share of them. The evacuation line, although listening to a lady on TV this morning who was part of the line of vehicles heading north, said the traffic was moving and it took twice as long to get from Corpus Christa to Austin. In my opinion that spells a success, a success of many things that are taking place and many more of which we will hear of. Hurricane Harvey (click for resources) at 130mph winds at landfall, is now stalling, slowing down to a crawl, it's going to hang around and dump a bunch of rain while it lumbers along.

Most deaths during a Hurricane are caused by drowning, most drownings
during a hurricane occur in the victims vehicle.

  In 1969 I was in Memphis Tennessee when a hurricane struck the Gulf states, I don't remember what it was named or even if it had a name. I was in the Navy at the base for training when the storm came through. Originally from further north on the other end of the Mississippi river, we did not experience effects from hurricanes, leaving me with no idea of what to expect. I was 18 years old, in a barracks with a wall of glass windows, I was 20 feet away from them, of course, invincible and watching the storm out the window, when it exploded. I had never seen a window explode like that, the wind was most likely around 80 mph, shaking those windows like they were castanets. The window exploded sending glass shards across the space, a large one struck me on the upper thigh causing me to suffer a deep long slash, I'm fortunate it did not slice an artery. I went to sick bay and got stitched up, I was and am OK, I've had a lot of stitches since.
 

Big ships rock and roll in heavy seas and high
winds, like a Hurricane.

Out at sea about a year after my first hurricane experience, we (the ship) got hit by one on Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam. A big ship rock and rolls when in a hurricane, the waves were breaking over the bow which was 100 feet off the surface. The flight deck was full of airplanes, they were securely chained down to the flight deck, however, there are a lot of chains some are bound to come loose. This was no exception, a plane about six off the port (left) bow had chains come loose, one uncoupled. I was directed to run up there and secure it, there is no sense in placing two people in a dangerous situation so I told the Chief I'd do it alone. Not a big deal if a guy is able to stay on the deck, it would surely be a lost cause if I were to be blown off into the ocean with waves that size. There are "pad eves" in a square pattern measuring approximately 10 feet on a side, thousands on the flight deck level with the top. The pad eyes are there to secure the aircraft to the deck, normally with a minimum on 6 "tie downs" two on each wheel were used. During a storm such as this, 12 would be a normal set, one on the nose and tail would equal 14. The exhaust end would most of the time be hanging over the ocean above the "cat walk". I worked my way up to the plane by using the pad eyes as grips and walking on all fours, it had to be done or we would lose airplane over the side with possible damage to the ones on each side of it. I had 150 pounds of chains in a backpack on my back so it helped to hold me to the deck, I did lose the sack over the side after I took the last chain out of it. The aircraft was secured, I made it back to the compartment one deck below, and the ship made it through the Typhoon, they spin counter clock wise in the South Pacific.
  Sometimes things just have to be done, sometimes they are done due to moments of panic, during an emergency we need to control our fear and eliminate panic. (The following did not occur during Hurricane Harvey, it took place in an earlier one) The weather channel reported a family decided not to evacuate, it was an OK decision because their house survived unscathed. When the first high winds struck their home they decided to evacuate, in a moment they did, they were caught in a water surge and met their demise. Had they of stayed in their home they would have survived, it wasn't a dumb decision or stupidity it was most likely a panic. When Hurricane Harvey made landfall it had the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded, a hint that this is a very dangerous storm. The winds were 130 mph, I can see how someone would panic or even not panic but making an unfortunate decision trying to save their lives. Isn't that a terrible spot to be in to make a life or death decision? How does a person do that, how can a person with a family make the decision placing the people involved in direct danger? The very people they live their lives around, kids, grandma,

Sometimes we all make mistakes, this one could be disastrous, and it looks like
it may have been. 

grandpa and other loved ones, What a terribly impossible decision to make, if it is successful you're fine if it's not successful you're not fine. I personally feel terrible about this incident, I imagine it happens often while experiencing a hurricane it would be impossible for a by stander (as I am) to know the thoughts flooding a person's mind. Imagine 130 mph winds pounding on the roof and walls, those walls had to be jumping and vibrating. The windows rattling, some plywood may have been ripped off, Mom and Dad two children a dog and Grandma, Knowing the storm would most likely be hanging around for 3 or more days, with the family in the house. I imagine the discussion goes a little like this. "It's getting really bad", Dad says. "We can die here or die on the road, we may be better off taking our chances by evacuating." The decision is then made to make a run for it, I think I'm capable of making a decision like that, maybe disastrous.
  It appears the people in the affected Gulf states, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, with Texas as the epicenter. The prediction is the storm will stall, with hard rain falling causing massive flooding, 30 inches of rain is predicted. In every natural disaster, the major cause of loss of life is flooding, people drowning in floods, in their cars. Flooding during hurricanes is a given, contaminated water driven in 130 mph winds, it must feel like rocks when it strikes a person. Electrical outages are also common and expected during a hurricane, we need to be certain to secure all of our electronic equipment and isolating the main circuits breakers. Turn off the gas supply if you can, evacuate if you smell gas, Listen to the emergency radio station, stay as informed as possible. Click here for a lot of information on Hurricanes.
  What a terrible tragedy, in the meantime, if we are close to the disaster we can help in any way we can, further away we do not have many choices until it is over. Prayer, positive thoughts and national unity are the order of the day for at least the next few days, possibly longer, I certainly hope not. Thanks for reading I would like to hear comments and concerns. Thanks again.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

5 uplifting news stories have violated the perimeter it tells me the world is really alright, will you agree?

I like many people look around and see the threat of war, violence in the streets, politics going completely nuts, it appears the entire place is about to go up in smoke. Endless gossip on social media, people being outrageously outraged, mosquito's carrying deadly diseases that if they don't get us the weed killer we're using will. Are things really that bad? According to Psychology Professor Steve Pinker of Harvard, we are actually in the peaceful times since the beginning of the human

species. I agree with him, and to prove it here are 5 good things that have happened in this world during the year of 2017 (so far):

  1) 19 year old Army soldier Keaton Tilson stationed at Fort Hood did not gain approval for travel over the memorial day weekend until the last minute. Most people who served in the military know how that goes, it's just part of serving, in the Navy, they are called "Chits", I am unfamiliar with how the Army refers to them. The young GI, unknown to all but himself, had been trying to fly "standby" for two days, he hadn't been home since Christmas. A fellow traveler noticed Keaton Tilson and approached him, offering to trade tickets with him so the GI could be re-united with his family for the holiday. The switch was not possible due to the soldier being the only person flying standby, Not to be denied the civilian Josh Rainer purchased a ticket to Illinois and gave it to Keaton Tilson. This was one of the busiest memorial holiday seasons since 2005, nearly 40 million people in the US were traveling 50 miles or more from home. The young GI asked Rainer for a hug, "I think we both had to fight back the tears after that," the compassionate traveler told the local news station. This makes me feel better already.

  2)  Women are most attracted to men who eat fruits and vegetables, fat, meat, egg and tofu create a carbohydrate filled diet related to a more intense unpleasant smell. It's been known for a long while that odors are instrumental in attracting the female gender. Just take a look at the number of

Lots of fruit and vegetables from now on for me!

fragrances available at every retail outlet on the planet. It makes me wonder why after having this information in our pocket now, why doesn't Ranch Style "cologne knock em dead?" Scientist used a spectrophotometer in the first of two tests to measure the effects of a person diet by flashing a light on their person, how much carotenoid-rich the skin is. It was discovered the more yellow the skin was, the more attractive the male was found to be, hmm. The second test was a "Tee" shirt test, after a workout, a few ladies whiffed the shirts to determine who smelled the best, again the fruit and vegetable eaters were the undisputed winners. I remember a sailor on our ship who ate only carrots for weeks, his skin turned yellowish. The Chief sent him to sick bay, they ordered him to start eating a more diverse diet, I guess they didn't smell him. (But then we were all men) This illustrates just how diverse our interest and areas of study are, I thought beer and pizza were attractive, boy am I wrong.

  3)  Scientists have reported a breakthrough in the treatment of peanut allergies suffered by many people, notably children. The discovery in 2013 (the end of the experiment) makes a total cure being found a real possibility. The research was begun when a number of children at Melbourne's Murdoch Children's Research Institute were given a probiotic that contained small doses of protein from peanuts, it was administered over an 18 month period. The experiment concluded with 80% of the children tested were able to eat peanuts with no effects. Four years later, 70% were still able to eat peanuts without a reaction to them. Peanuts are among the most common foods people are allergic to, it affects 1 in 20 children and 2 in 100 adults. Seafood, cow's milk, and eggs being other top allergy causing foods. To all the parents in a constant state of worry, while their youngsters are away and may be exposed to peanuts, help may be on its way. I like peanuts, all nuts really, why are unsalted nuts tasty and good to eat, but unsalted peanut butter is from my perspective un-eatable. The cavalry is on the way, they are wearing lab coats.

Looking for my next gig, this is fun!

  4)  The "mower gang" in Detroit mows the local parks for free, with the intent of giving the kids of Detroit safe clean places to play. Tom Nardone told the local news station "It gives me a good feeling", now, however, he has another problem. He has what he describes as an "Awesome Snow Blower," all of his neighbors do too, it takes him 5 minutes to clear his drive and walk. It also takes his elderly neighbors 5 minutes to do theirs, they all do their own, he's looking for elderly residents to help out with their snow clearing. Tom Nardone, a good man with a good cause and no one to help, I guess we've all become "self-reliant", if you are in Detroit and would like your snow cleared Tom's face-book page is accepting the names of people desiring assistance.

  5)  The State of Nevada has made it illegal to drive too slow in the left lane of the highway, yes a minimum speed limit in the fast lane. The Highway Patrol has found that slow drivers in the fast lane are the number one cause of "road rage". To address this problem the first offense will get the offender a $50.00 fine, the second $100.00 and the third will draw $250.00. A decline in accidents is expected because drivers will no longer have to pass slow drivers on the left side, merging into traffic traveling much slower. A law that makes sense, try and figure that out, so the third offense will cost about the same as a day at the "blackjack" table, if I'm on my way home I call that "gas money".
 

We've all been here at one time or another.

Many "good" things happen every day all over the world, in these turbulent times to pay attention to positive things happening lifts up my spirit. Being an eternal optimist as most people are we look for situations that enlighten us towards the good in life. The funny thing is we don't have to look very far to find it, we don't have to look far to find whatever we want, good or bad. Talking to my dad many years ago about WW2, he said "I only remember the good times", he then added, "the problem is, it includes the bad times". The trick is realizing the past is gone, it can't be changed, we learn from it and move on. The same with the times we are in, they will pass, we will laugh about it while shaking our heads, and return to doing "one positive thing every day", our motto, at the end of the year we have accomplished 365 positive steps 730 combined between us.
  Thanks for reading, I am hoping this blog lifted the fog at least a little bit. I recall when I cut way back on eating beef, like I quit entirely, after about a month I felt the fog lift out of my brain, it feels the same when "good" news invades my thinking. Leave a comment and share, I like to hear from you.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

 

Supercell, a new cell phone? related to weather? Jail? Enlightenment is right here for you,

In a restaurant one day we were dining with friends and their children on our way home from a camping trip. As the waitress took our orders she asked one of the young boys soupersalad, he answered "yes".  Again she said "supersalad", again he said "yes, I do." We were all laughing, he did not hear "soup or salad", he heard "would you like a super salad." She did bring him a super salad, a classic case of a misunderstanding. This brings us to "Supercell".

This is a "supersalad" for sure.

  1)  Just exactly what are we talking about here, what is a "Supercell"? Simply stated a Supercell is a severe thunderstorm, often hail damage is the signature of a supercell thunderstorm. A thunderstorm that is caught in a tenacious consistent updraft. Supercell thunderstorms are often referred to a

rotating thunderstorms due to the cyclonic action that is created during the current of rising air. The column of air current will continue rising until it reaches a level where the ambient equals or the density matches the warm air that is rising. Conversely a mass of cooler air known as "subsidence", easily said "hot air rises, cooler air sinks", the hot wet air causes large clouds to form, becoming the epicenter of a thunderstorm. Supercells are the least common of all of the classifications, but have the distinction to be the most severe They can be the controlling weather condition with the ability to be the dominating weather condition in a 20 mile radius of the epicenter of the storm. There are four distinct classes of thunderstorms the first in this paragraph "Supercell", then:
  2)  The second class is a "squall line", AkA quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), we have all seen this in the weather forecast maps on the television and in the newspaper, a squall line is the line stretching across the map consisting of thunderstorms forming in front or on the leading edge of a cold front. Causing the usual effects of thunderstorms containing heavy rain, hail storm damage, thunder and lightning. High winds, cooler air, possible tornado's forming, as well as waterspouts. If it sounds a lot like a severe thunderstorm, that's because it is, it is not as severe as a supercell however. After the squall line passes, warm air will flood in, high gusty winds, a rapid temperature increase and a reduction ambient humidity signifying the thunderstorm has decayed having relative calm restored.

Just try to make sense of this, Mark Twain said it and I believe it "Everyone complains about the weather but,
No body does anything about it".

  3)  Multi-cell thunderstorm is the number three class of thunderstorms, a multi-cell storm consist of a storm "cluster", multiple thunderstorms that are at different stages of development. It is called a "couplet", several cells in close proximity to one another acting as an unstable unit. Several "anvils" will cluster together dissipating as new more powerful cells are created and become dominant factors in the cluster. The Multi-cell is able to exist for several hours, but the single cells have a life span of 20 minutes to an hour, it's a tag team existence for these guy's. They are inconsistent, very difficult to predict due to the choreographed paths the cells create by their confusing state of constant flux. Severe hail storms often accompany the multi-cell which last a short period of time but is capable of inflicting severe hail storm damage causing high hail damage repair costs.
  4) Producing severe thunderstorms, albeit for a short duration is the  "Single Cell" thunderstorm, this type of storm alternately weakens and gets stronger, causing it's nickname "Pulse Storm" to enter or vocabulary. Originating in areas that are moderately unstable with absent or low wind shear, causing a short life span. Rarely forming a tornado, it is however accompanied with down burst of hail along with high velocity damaging winds.
  Supercells, of which the four classifications make up have three other classifications dealing with the amount of rain they produce:
  1) Classic
  2) Low precipitation (LP) are found in areas that experience arid landscapes, such as the high plains of the US.
  3) High precipitation (HP) found in high humidity areas, wetter landscapes any where in the world, when the correct weather conditions exist. They are most common in the Great Plains of the US, or as we know it as "tornado alley".
  Supercells are highly unpredictable, moving across the wind direction tracking either to the right or left (of the wind shear) they sometimes divide themselves into two separate storms with opposing rotation, one moving to the left the other moving to the right. They can be huge or very small, but normally creating severe thunderstorms, lightning, thunder, strong winds and extreme down bursts, they are one of the few types of clouds able to produce tornado's, however less than 30% do.
  They will under the correct weather conditions form anywhere under the big blue bowl, except when they form the bowl is full of clouds. The first supercell was identified as the Wokingham storm which occurred in 1962 studied by Keith Browning and Frank Lublam. Supercell occur in many mid latitude regions, which includes East China as well as throughout all of Europe.

Quick look out the front window, Holy Cow!

  Supercells are tornado producers, they are the most dramatic effect of a severe thunderstorm which is caused by the supercell's. Even though tornado's are the most prominent result, the high winds resulting from a supercell storm create severe winds which can exceed 148 km/hr (92 mph), inflicting tornado type heavy wind damage. With all of the dynamics of supercells, the tornado's, the winds and hail the most deaths are caused by flooding.
  This is a very small snippet of a very serious weather situation, the effects of these severe thunderstorms cause millions of dollars in hail damage, high wind damges and flooding caused by these heavy thunderstorms. I thank you for reading, we've all experienced these storms, how many of us have looked the window to see an ominus dark forboding cloud on the horizon turning day into night, my reaction is normally to say out loud "HOLY COW"! Leave a comment or a thunderstorm story, I like to hear them, then share this blog if you please, thank you again for reading.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Tornado's 5 interesting how much do you know about them? Read and share.

1) Tornado:  Moving in a circular pattern, and having a wind speed (in most cases) of under 110 miles per hour (180km) in contact with the earth on the lower end and a cumulonimbus cloud on the upper. In the most extreme of cases, Tornado's can reach speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (480km), exceeds 2 miles (3km) in diameter Rotating clockwise (northern hemisphere) and counter clockwise (southern hemisphere) staying on the ground sometimes for great distances.

I would not chase this, but then of course I wouldn't know what I was doing
either, I do have a deep respect for tornado's however. 

  I have seen the sky turn "green" shortly prior to loud thunderclaps then driving hard rain, looking skyward we would watch the Cumulus clouds at the bottom for "tails" dipping down. Watching the spinning cloud in its funnel shape heading earthward, we knew a tornado was forming, then we headed for the basement. We were taking shelter one day when a tornado hit a tree in the yard, breaking a huge branch causing it to fall across a power line. In the basement we watched the electrical panel stripped of its wires as the tornado ate the wiring like spaghetti, luckily all was OK, except the electrical system. Click here for information on Tornado preparations.

Trees and Cars offer very  little resistance to Tornadoes 

  The multiple vortex tornado, suction vortices, landspout, and waterspout are three types of storms very closely related to tornadoes.
  2) Waterspout tornado:  Connected to a large cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud this tornado shaped wind current, funnel shaped, normally a non-supercell entity forming over a body of water. They are not classified as a "true" tornado, they develop in the sub tropics being rare in the higher latitudes. They either form over water, staying over the water until they dissipate or move onto land becoming a "land tornado". At sea waterspouts are normally accompanied by high winds and heavy seas, large hail and extreme dangerous lightning and severe thunderstorms are common companions, having the same properties of land tornadoes. These are tornadoes on the water, to put it simply, the dynamic properties of the ocean make these storms and cyclones very unpredictable.
   3)  Multiple-Vortex-Tornado: Containing several vortexes of the wind, referred to as "subvortices or suction vorices", the vortex wind rotates inside of the main funnel vortex. The subvortices are sometimes visible when the tornado is forming, otherwise, they go undetected, or when debris and moisture (in the form of condensation) are in equal balance is when the wind vortex is not obscured. They have the ability to increase wind speed to well over 100 miles per hour at ground level. The Multiple-Vortex-Tornado is often the cause of extreme damage which occurs right next to much lesser damage laying in the tornado's path. May 31, 2013, the largest tornado ever recorded was a Multiple-Vortex-Tornado, striking El Reno, Oklahoma. Three researchers were killed, Tim Samaras, his son Paul and their partner Richard Henderson. It was at its maximum 300 miles per hour (>476 km/h) and >2 1/2 miles at the base (4.2km). It was rated at EF3 on the Fujita scale due to a lack of property damage.
  4)  Suction vortices: Sometimes referred to as "suction spots" are common as "substructures" of many Tornado's, they are not always easily visible, occurring at the base of a tornado on the ground level. This substructure of a Multiple-Vortex-Tornado is not restricted to occurring only at the base of Tornado's they also appear as "dust devils" being a natural result of vortex wind dynamics.
  5)  Landspout: Not related to a thunderstorm tornado, the term was first used by Howard Bluestein in 1985. An expression to describe tornadoes forming with the main cloud in its forming stage, the vortex originates in the outer boundary layer. The landspout received its name due to the similarity of its appearance to a "waterspout".

Landspout, I've never seen one, have you? It looks like an odd duck.

  Smaller and weaker than super cell Tornado's they do not form with a pre-existing rotation in the mother cloud which forms the landspout by pulling and stretching the outer wind vortex up and into the cumulus congestus's cloud's upward suction. Doppler radar rarely is able to detect them, making tracking extremely difficult. The debris whirling around a landspout is often the only way to detect them, however, they are still considered Tornadoes. They occur mainly in the high plains regions of the United States, May through September. Most cause minimal damage and to exist for a period longer than 15 minutes is unusual however not unknown.
  Summary: Tornadoes are highly unpredictable  entities, the many different types make the prediction of movement, creation, duration and dynamic properties difficult to predict. They can start out strong and end shortly and weak, or conversely start weak and gain in all areas becoming stronger and more unpredictable. To me they are nothing to mess with, I heard stories while growing up in the northernmost reaches of "tornado alley" that encouraged respect for these extremely powerful and unpredictable weather compatriots of ours. They do occur most places of the world, however, no area being more afflicted than the United States Great Plains, Tornado Alley.
  Thanks for reading, share and leave a comment or suggestion.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Self reliance is a life style, and many other things as well, here are 5 traits I have listed people share.

One of my Grandson's left for Michigan State University yesterday to complete his education which is a music major, he plays the guitar much better than I do. He and I did some mechanical work to his 1995 Mitsubishi pickup after his mom gave it to him in June, it runs great, until. He called from some where in Utah, (Green River valley?), he could not shift, he fixed it with my guidance and his skills, he is now at his aunt's house in Denver. He is becoming "self reliant", learning new skills and gaining abilities that not everyone knows, I began thinking about what being "self reliant" really means, I will attempt to do it justice with this blog.

We all know this guy.

  1)  Taking responsibility for our actions, reap the rewards as well as admitting to others as to what went wrong, and what I could have done to have changed the outcome. We can live and work any where we want, the only people not making mistakes or putting their foot in their mouths are the ones not doing anything. We must expect to make mistakes and to say the wrong things, when we do use real apologies instead of the canned version of "if I happened to have offended someone," if you think you did there is no "if".
  There are plenty of sayings related to taking responsibility, my mom would say two things that stick in my mind "you made the bed now lay in it," I think most of us heard that growing up, and "Blessed is he who helps himself." the basis of being self reliant. Plan your own activities, take credit or blame as fitted for what we have done, check what is your responsibility and repair as needed, I was working in the boat today and noticed an inflatable life vest was inflated, the usual suspects come to mind, one of the three grandson's that have been helping me over the past few weeks. When they all return I will ask for someone to take responsibility, only because it was discharged and tossed on the deck, deflated and unfolded some one is going to fold it up. More important is to accept responsibility for it, it's not a big deal, it is however something to deal with. He is 20 years old, he should have folded it back up and said "hey grandpa I blew up the life vest and I don't know what to do next." I would have laughed and showed him. Now it's got to be a "don't leave anything broken laying around for the next guy to deal with." Talk, that is how we learn.

  2)  Never stop learning if you don't have a high level of curiosity, create it, become curious thereby developing passion, it will contribute to your self care ideas and survival prepping. Curiosity covers the who, what, where, why and when of things, it reaches into scientific analysis or spiritual insight. Curiosity creates a mindset of constant wonder and marvel, I wonder why we don't have alligators in California, where have the birds gone? Curiosity creates learning, it demands a person to learn, gathers interest and creates the desire to become engaged in projects. I met a big man, I mean this guy was big, 6"8" would not be an exaggeration, weighing probably 300 pounds, the only man I have ever met who was bigger was Andrea the Giant, (that's another blog). The big man had in his hand a walking cane, I use two canes, we are both 67 years old and walking impaired. He showed me his cane, it was a unique cane that was bent in a unusual way. I told him "I like this cane, I am going to see if I can make one." Since then I have made three, not perfect, my bending of wood is a challenge due to not knowing how it is done. I researched and I am now making a steam chest from "stuff" I have laying around and some reclaimable materials my neighbors gave to me. I am not completed yet, I will be tomorrow, I made a goal of making a You tube video of the construction of the box, then I will make a video of making a cane. Which lead to my creating a YouTube channel and the planning of 4 other projects I will be video taping. That is how curiosity created learning works. When a child asks a question it is at that time the learning door opens, take advantage of it, go ahead talk about

Learning is a lot of fun, just ask anyone
not this guy though.

Napoleon Bonaparte with them, it won't hurt. One such conversation inspired me to read extensively about him, then my grandson and I had a really good conversation. Ignorance puts us at the mercy of others, read, write, experiment and think.

  3)  Set some goals, I tell people that I am a "uni-tasker", I have never been able to work on more than one project at a time. It's not for everyone, my wife thinks of it as a "disability", she is an insufferable "multi-tasker", her battle cry is "I'm going to get organized!". My battle cry is more of a whimper in comparison "I'm doing this today, that tomorrow and that over there after that, yes I'm a uni-tasker. Set the goals high, a mistake I made when I was young, making goals that were easy to attain. We should set goals one step beyond what we think is attainable for our skills, that will create a learning environment, creating passion to finish the task at hand. A lot of people write their goals down, some (as my wife does) places a photo of the goal somewhere she see's it as one of the first things in the morning. I'm on the other end of the spectrum, I don't write it down, use pictures or any motivation other than commitment to memory. We are each capable of creating goals that we can create passion for, in bird books at the back is a check off list of which birds are sighted, some make that a goal. Think for ourselves, "believe non of what you read and half of what you read," another sing song I heard constantly growing up, think for yourself my parents told me. When questions such as "that can't possibly be so," or "there must be more to the story." The questions scream out "find out what's going on," read all you can about the subject at hand, make that a goal, I will not settle for things to be explained to me, I want to discover for myself. If I fail, I want to fail on my own terms. Tips on goal setting.

  4)  If you live on a homestead, a farm, in the wilderness or a suburban setting being self reliant is a life style. It's a constant learning experience, as well as the routine every day mundane task it takes to make life worth living. Self reliance is about us making decisions and learning tasks and skills that apply to the world as we see it, not everyone raises goats or chickens, a standby hand water well pump is not very common, repairing irreparable items is part of it as well as inventing ways to accomplish new tasks Being self reliant is about being prepared for whatever we may encounter, it means having a family emergency plan, a natural disaster kit available in the home, emergency tools and other emergency preparedness we need to make. It means to me to exhibit compassion to my fellow humans, to be overly prepared for a disaster up to the point of having enough to share with my neighbors who are unprepared.

  5)  Learning of skills, carpentry, farming, and mechanics as well as others, I am not a believer in a complete collapse of society, however I am a believer in a temporary complete collapse. By that I mean the lose of utilities, transportation and a shortage of food, I believe it will happen. Due to many potential causes, civil unrest, depression (again), natural disasters or other incidents that may cause us to stay where we are for extended periods.
  One important skill is to meet your neighbors, it's easier to get to know them now versus in the middle of an event that is unfolding. When we are isolated we will have to depend on each other, it doesn't matter what our opinion of them is now, at some point we will have to band together. First skill, learn to get along with people, it will pay off.
  Each of us possess skills that are indispensable and teachable, the more we know the more effective we will be when a disaster strikes.

Everyone knows how to do something.

  To summarize, self reliance is to have faith in yourself, confidence in the abilities you have, we are honest with ourselves and others, we are trustworthy, we rely on ourselves first try everything first then get help, we make our own decisions, we are able to make decisions and act on them. Self reliance is a personnel journey, it does not set a person apart from others or cause aloofness, it is created from the heart and brain integrated into our lives in a slow steady pace. As a matter of fact many people wonder what the big deal with self reliance is all about, normally exclaiming "what's so new about this stuff, I've always done these things." Most of us are more self dependent than we realize.
  Thank you for reading, there is a lot more to this subject, I hope there is inspiration in this blog for you. Thanks leave a comment or suggestion and share this blog.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Where do coyotes live, what to do when you see a coyote, coyote habitat and pet coyote's there is a lot to them

 We lived in La Quinta California from 1996 until August 1999 I left for work at 4:30 am to beat the

The valley, golf course and mountains in a picture that includes 80% of
the small city of La Quinta California, look at all the coyote habitat that
is available.

heat. I would drive around the block, it is a relatively small town in a valley between high desert mountain ranges and a lot of wild space. I at one time described it as being in the middle of miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. It was a really nice place to live, however being "Northerners" my wife (upstate New York) and me (Bloomington Minnesota), the summer temperatures were more than we were able to handle. On my way to work after rounding the corner of the block we lived on, many mornings I would see 3-6 adult coyotes laying on the front lawn of a house. The same house every day, I don't know why they chose that house, it wasn't the least bit isolated, it is across the street from a PGA golf course. On the far side of the golf course the landscape transits immediately into a drastic slope to the top of a mountain I'm guessing is 3,000 feet high. The coyotes were perfectly at home in the early morning light relaxing and looking around, they were not in the least bit concerned about anything. They were acting like a pet coyote would act, or more like a pet dog, is that a historic coyote habitat in the middle of a busy little town? Where do coyotes live anyway? Is there a standard coyote habitat? What to do if you see a coyote, in many areas of the country it is more like what to do when you see a coyote. (Coyote fact sheet is here.)
  Coyotes are naturally timid animals, most frequently they are seen during the mating season which occurs from January through March, then again in the fall, September through November when the baby's leave the coyote pack. They are often seen as a matter of fact in urban areas, it is not uncommon to see coyotes traveling to and from their favorite hunting grounds through residential areas. Other than protecting pets and children there is no response or action needed when a sighting such as this occurs. Most coyotes see or hear us long before we see them, they will avoid humans at all costs.

Llama's can handle Coyote's with ease, with razor sharp hooves
and a fearless dominating personality, the predators are no
match for these natural watch "dogs". Actually better than
livestock dogs, just more persnickety. 

  There are some actions we can take to "scare" coyotes away, these actions are referred to as "hazing", meant to scare them away while doing no harm to them.
1) Don't run away, it can incite their natural instinct to chase, in this case chase us if we run.
2) Puff yourself up, appear as large as you can, wave your arms, beat on a can or log, shout loudly, stomp your feet.
3) Whistle's, air horns, drums, any way to make loud sharp noise.
4) Toss things at them, sticks, the dogs ball (I don't think they retrieve), anything you can get your hands on, toss it with no intent to injure.
5) Water hose available? Spray them, a spray bottle or squirt gun with a mixture of water and vinegar if they get close.
6) Carry a soft drink can, tin or aluminum, filled with rocks or pennies, and sealed up with tape. Shake it vigorously, it will startle them, they will leave. Read here to find ways to deal with a coyote after encountering one
Hazing works extremely well when the entire community participates and works together. Hazing will last for a long time if all food that attracts them is controlled, pet food, open garbage cans and even bar-b-ques will attract them. If the coyotes are feeding nearby, or if hazing does not scare them away, notify the police and the local wild life control divisions of the local government.
  Pets and small children must be protected from the threat of coyote attacks, never leave them unattended, cats and dogs should always be on leashes, most of the time when coyotes attacks dogs they are off leash. On a walk carry the can with pebbles in it, a whistle, or other type of noisemaker like an air horn, pepper spray and the vinegar/water squirt bottle work well on a walk. If possible continue to make loud noises if the animal does not retreat, walk backwards (do not turn your back on them) into your home or other protected area. If possible pick up and carry the child or pet, keep control of them. If a bite is sustained, suspect rabies and get immediate medical attention.
  Where do coyotes live? The coyote is native to North America, smaller than it's cousin the gray wolf, in fact the smallest of all of it's relatives the eastern and red wolf. The range of the coyote is complete saturation of North and Central America, sighted as far south as eastern Panama for the first time in 2013, Alaska is their furthest known northern range limit. The coyote is very adaptable and is able to adapt to any environment they find themselves in. There have been 19 coyote sub species identified, there are most likely more. The average male weight is 20-45 pounds 15-40 pounds is typical of females, fairly small animals, in the desert they appear small and scraggly. They live in small family units or in larger coyote packs of unrelated adults and coyote pups.

Coyote pups and an adult, they will leave the family and coyote
pack when they are about 6 month's old.

  The coyote has natural enemy's, humans being at the top of the list, then followed by cougars and gray wolves. A curious part of the coyotes existence is that they will mate with sometimes with gray, red or eastern wolves, seems a little Romeo and Juliet situation going on at times. The coyote howls, the pack of coyote's living across the river from us will raise a stink during fall and winter nights, it's a haunting sound. All of the animals take notice, pet dogs and cats as well as the peahens and peacocks across the road in the ranch. Another interesting fact is most wolves contain at least some level of coyote DNA, it makes the mind spin a bit. But where do coyotes live? Coyotes originally inhabited open spaces and the central plains when the US was first being occupied by the first Europeans. Their habitat is chosen dependent on food and water availability, suitable den locations for raising young is very important, as well as how many of their enemies are around competing for food. The coyote is not territorial outside of the mating season, and is much less aggressive than towards intruders than a wolf typically is. Coyotes will chase intruders off, scaring them and sparring, rarely results in terminal injury. Fights and problems increase during times of scarcity of food and water. The coyote habitat is much like the wolves, they use a den usually a hole in that has been abandoned by other animals. They use the den during gestation and while raising the coyote pups. The dens are typically located in valleys, canyons, coulees, in banks, bluffs and any abandoned buildings, tanks and vehicles. I worked at a place in the California desert where we found the remains of a coyote in a processing fan that had been left open for many years, abandoned manufacturing plants make a great habitat. They take good care of the coyote pups, if a flea infestation takes place the adults move the pups, the dens are continuously being maintained by the adults. They clean the den, dig it deeper, as well as adding more ways to enter and leave, they also add more rooms, the den is usually used for many years.
  Coyotes hunt in packs leaving the pups out of the hunt, success in taking down large prey depends mostly on the terrain and such situations as snow, ice and mud which challenges even the most fit adult. They hunt mice, squirrels, birds mostly caugt alone, the pack of coyotes only hunting together to take down large game. They are natural enimie's of porcupines, one of their rare preditors, only the experienced older animals attempt taking a porcupine. They will lay claim to their prey by urinating on it. Interesting the coyote will sometimes team up with the American Badger, helping each other dig up rodents and other prey. Coyotes and Badgers have been observed laying their heads on the badgers and licking their faces with no protest from the smaller animal. I can't get over how adaptable these animals are.
  The coyote carries (most likely) the largest number of illnesses, diseases and parasites due to it's large wild range and the extreme variety of food they consume. The viral diseases known to infect them are not limited to rabies, distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, equine endephalitis as well as oral papillomatosis (a white mass in the mouth covering the tongue and mucous membranes that resemble cauliflower. Read about their diseases here.
  They don't typically attack humans, during the period from 1976 to 2006 160 attacks on humans occurred, mostly interestingly enough in Los Angeles county. Two fatalities occurred, one in Glendale California and the second in Nova Scotia Canada. The majority of attacks took place in Southern California near the wild space and human inhabited suburbs.
  What about coyote attacks on dogs? I will take a long answer, coyotes are currently the number one most populist predator of livestock, they are responsible for the majority of sheep goat and cattle losses. In 2004 for example the National Agricultural Statistics service discovered coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of the 224,00 sheep deaths that occurred during that year. (Thanks to Wikipedia for that information). 90,000 coyotes are killed each year to protect livestock in the

Fine livestock protective dog, these dogs are fearless, I've
been bitten by two dogs, a wiener dog (Charlie) and
a dog just like this one, he was huge.

Western United States. Do coyotes attack dogs? If they are small enough not to present a danger to them they will, but normally will not take on a large dog. Livestock dogs trained to protect livestock from these predators work will in open ranges and contained pastures, they are recognized as an economic asset. In exceptional cases coyotes have been known to attack even big strong breeds such as rottweiler's, only in very exceptional case, typically larger dogs such as greyhounds are able to chase the smaller predators off and have been known in extreme cases to have killed coyotes. Smaller breeds do not fare as well, we must keep control of our smaller pets.
Learn about the relationship between Native Americans and the American Coyote.
  On our island due to the abundant rain we received last winter we had an explosion of baby rabbits. A mid stream island (small) was flooded, it was a rabbit paradise. All of those rabbits, some wild breeds and some domestic that were "set free", now all of them are one huge mixed population. We have a lot of rabbits now, the second generation from the baby's born during the spring are now having offspring of their own. With lots of greenery and an abundance of habitat for them to gain safety in. Every dog on the island are now tuned into the bunny's, they can not catch these guy's, coyotes can. We are now expecting a influx of coyotes until the rabbit population is reduced, then the larger predators will again leave. A friend was telling me about a fishing trip he was on in his boat,  he fishes every day), he was in a remote part of the river system when he saw a coyote swimming

Here he is, swimming, they do swim underwater as well. 

from one island to ours. As he approached the animal, it dove under water and swam to shore 30 feet away and re-surfaced at the shore line, running up the bank and into the hinterlands. They are extremely versatile animals, however they don't do well as pet coyotes. When they are pups training is easy, they interact well with people, the Native Americans of the Great Plains were known to domesticate them, they are playful and relate well to humans they are accustomed to, they do not trust strangers, there have been cases of coyotes having been trained to "point" and retrieve. As for me, coyotes are to me a very admirable animal, along with Raccoons and Crows being my favorite wild animals. That's the point, they are better left wild, it's like we have them as pets with the exception of not having any interaction with them other than observing. I personally think that is best for us and them.
  Thanks for reading, leave a comment or suggestion and share the blog with everyone. Thanks again.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

The boy and the rattlesnake, this is what to do if you see a rattlesnake, no on second thought don't do this

I was told a story a long time ago, I don't remember where I heard it or if someone told me the story of "The Native American Boy and the Rattlesnake." I awoke this morning thinking about some of the issues that we as a country are facing and this story came across my mind. As it was told to me, maybe you have heard this story as well it has been around for ever.

The first nights campfire, it was still warm at that time.

  The little boy was 12 years old, at 13 years he would become and adult, full grown man, first they were often told that they had to survive in the wilderness alone for a length of time, sometimes days and sometimes years. This particular boy was told to live on his wilderness survival skills for 3 days, not a long time, but it was not known how the elders chose the length of time a young boy needed to prove he could live on his wilderness survival skills. (A link explaining the Sioux ceremony.) He was told to hike to the top of a particular mountain in clear view of the where the village was at this point in time, in a beautiful valley bathed in the light of the early spring. The snow has melted, a little early, but it provided abundant water and the wildlife was exploding in life, it was a wonderful spring. The promise of a fruitful summer was clearly on the horizon. The boy put together his survival kit, an over the shoulder leather pouch large enough to carry all of his needed supplies, tools, food, water and warm clothing, the winter may return. He had his bow and quiver of arrows, the working knife his grandfather helped him make and the beads around his neck his grandmother gave him for luck. There was much pride amongst his family as he sprinted down the footpath into the trees and began up the steep slope that would continue for many miles. It would take the boy one full day from morning until the sun went down plus until noon the next to complete the journey to the top of the highest mountain in view. He would trot ten steps and walk ten steps, he and his father would travel in that manner when they were in the woods traveling. He went up and down hills and canyons, over rocks and creeks stopping only to eat and drink water, he was in a hurry to get to his destination.

That's where he was heading, the one on the left.

Noon on the second day he arrived at what would become his temporary camp, it was on top of the mountain as high as he could go, the place where the tops of majestic trees were blown away by lightning and the sign of heavy rain and snow were etched on the rocks and dirt canyon walls. He constructed a small lean too shelter and arraigned all of his belongings inside, his small amount of food was hung from a tree branch high enough to deter animals from enjoying a free meal. (How to build a shelter.) He then got down to business, for the next three days he was in a state of meditation, and memory of what he was taught to survive the wilderness alone. For he was truly alone, there was predicatively no one else any where close to where he was at the moment or will be until he has returned to the village. The last day arrived, time always goes faster than what any of us have ever imagined, it was time to pack up. He opened his eyes to a layer of snow on the ground 6 inches deep, his fire was smoldering almost out, the first task he took on was to gather a few pieces of fire wood. He returned to the fire with the wood, he bent down to begin to add it to the fire when he saw a snake curled up close to the warm earth. It was a rattlesnake, now he knew what to do if you see a rattlesnake in normal conditions, he thought this one was dead, until he heard a weak voice "help me, please." The boy looked around, no one was around, again he heard "help me please." The sound was coming from the rattlesnake, "I am dying, and surely will if you do not save me." The snake said, "I will freeze to death in this snow."

I am so different than those other guy's, believe me.

  "But you are a rattlesnake and I am afraid that by the size of your rattlesnake rattle you are big and powerful, your bite will surely kill me." The boy replied.
  "I am an honorable snake," the rattler replied adding "I promise if you place me under the big warm coat you are wearing and take me to the meadow below, I will not harm you." the serpent replied in a soft sing song voice, "I promise." he added. (treat snake bites.)
  The boy picked the snake up and placed him around his waist under his warm furry coat for the trip back down the mountain to where it was warm and the boy's village was. The boy would talk to the snake under his coat, the only reply he would recieve would be from the snake "I cannot hear you under this nice warm coat, perhaps we should not talk."
  The boy was OK with silence, after all what is there to say to a snake? They arrived at a spot to spend the night and the boy started a roaring fire, mainly to get the snake out from under his clothing so he could lay down and sleep, there was still snow on the ground and more on the way. The next morning the boy awoke and wrapped the large snake around his waist once again for the final leg of their trip. He would have liked to return to the village with the story of making friends with the rattler but the snake was not friendly at all. After hiking for several hours he was within a mile of the village, the sun was shining and the temperature was warm, just right to finally be rid of his companion.
  "I will let you on the ground right here, by this log and rock where you can find safety by going under them and you can warm in the sun." the boy said. He uncurled the snake from his waist, he was big and heavy, it would be good not to have to carry him any longer. The boy gently set the snake on the warm soil when he heard the rattlesnake rattle, lightning fast he was bitten by the underhanded con man, struck on the shin.
  "You said you would not bite me when we got here and I let you free." the boy said "you lied to me, you are dishonest." (Honesty explained here.)
  "You knew what I was when you picked me up," was the snakes reply "You assumed I was different than what you learned in your survival lessons, you were wrong."
 

They are OK when left alone, do not trust them. 

A lesson for today, not only for surviving in the wildness however surviving in the urban jungle as well. I have thought of this story many times over the past years, it has saved me from making some bad mistakes with people especially, animals sometimes. It is a good survival story, a really good lesson as well as food for thought. You knew what I was when you picked me up, it's like picking up a salt shaker in a restaurant before shaking it on my food I check to make sure the lids on tight, how many people do that? A lot I think, we've been conditioned by generations of pranksters. Left turn signal on and turn right? I have never though that was intentional, but it does happen and we are on guard for it. I know when I jump in the river there are sea lions, crabs, fish and other wild life swimming around in there as well, we accept the that as fact. You knew what I was when you picked me up, yes I did. (Truthfulness here.)
  The story in any version ends there, we don't find out if the boy lived, if he killed the snake (short sighted wouldn't you say?) we don't have an ending. After all why would a rational being commit a horrendous act like a rattlesnake bite with a clear chance of being killed immediately after that? A threat to do harm and know your own demise will be immediate, it does not make sense to me. So why did the boy help the snake? Human compassion, plain and simple, a bigger question is why did the snake bite him?
  Thanks for reading and yes this is a political parody, I do not comment, blog or discuss politics or religion, I don't do well with either. Leave a comment, tell me what you think or leave a suggestion or recall an encounter you've had.

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