be prepared

That's the adage, right? Today I'm securing the shutters to the house (another trip to the hardware store), putting away the plastic table & chairs, rolling in the seldom used bicycle, and tucking-in tiny plants into beds of bigger botanicals. We do what we need to do when we need to do it. No drama, just action.

The showroom is already prepped -- the staff looked after the business both last night & this morning. Computers & electronics are unplugged and stacked high, tools and customer files are stowed above the last flood line, three feet or higher. Our biggest concern now is looters; if a window blows out, which we confidently do not expect, grubby hands and sticky fingers may help themselves to the TV and stereo inventory. But that's Dave's concern. See, our showroom is made up of three independent businesses -- the TV Center (Dave Yates), Audio Video in Paradise (moi), and the Electronic Clinic (Anthony Taylor). Although our store may appear to be one large company that sells, installs and repairs electronics, the three of us operate under a co-op agreement which is no more than a hand shake... and it works. Our gear is safe; whatever the other guys want to do or not do is their business.

I'm heading to the store for one more pass thru the isles. My list includes cat food, wood screws, bread, cookies and a new pair of work gloves. If all we get is gusty winds and robust rain bands then Dean and I staying put. If the update indicates a closer pass to the Keys then my brother and I are ready to roll. I need not unpack from my last trip.

I hear an airplane over head, probably a turbo prop commercial airliner. That's good -- they're still flying in to get the last visitors out. At least we have time on our side. Others are not so lucky, like those on the fifth floor at Baptist Hospital in Miami. Gloria will be home soon, certainly not as early as this week, but she is in remission. Don told me a story last night over dinner that once again reveals the gentle side of the care she is getting at the hospital. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the number five button. A nurse who does not know him or Gloria slanted her eyes and said, "How it going?" It's not so much what you say but how you communicate; level five is the cancer ward, and there's a mouthful of words that need not be regurgitated when pressing button five. Don replied, "Good news!" She smiled and stepped out onto her floor saying, "then you'll be going home soon."

So if your glass is half empty or half full, just make sure you are prepared. The eye of any hurricane can take aim at you or your family, whether your storm has a name like "Ike" or "Cancer" or "Car Wreck." Take action early and just remember the Scout Motto: be prepared.