Feb. 11, 2003 ~ Three days
No doubt you have heard our government's recent suggestion that we all gear up for the possibility of war in our homeland. They say we should not panic, but it would be wise to have a three-day supply of food and water. We should also stock up on plastic sheeting and duct tape, so we can seal our doors and windows in the event of chemical or biological warfare. Right. This may be well-intentioned, and it may give people some sense of control, along with a feeling that they are doing something to prepare for bad days ahead. But how, exactly did they come up with this idea of "three days?" Why not four? Or ten? Or a month? I'm thinking about all this, trying to imagine what it would be like if we really did have something like biological warfare here. How long do you think it would take to tape up all your doors and windows? Would we really have enough notice, enough advance warning, to make any difference? And what about those vents from the toilets, the stove, etc.? No one has mentioned those, but shouldn't we seal those, too? Go outside and look on your roofs, and count all the little pipes and vents sticking up. Surely those would allow chemicals or bacteria into our homes. There are usually openings around our water lines, and let's not forget the dryer vents. Let's assume that we still have TV or radio broadcasts, and electricity (or that we stocked up on batteries, lots and lots of batteries), and we somehow get notice that it's time to tape everything up. We spend a few hours getting that done, and then what? We stay inside with our three day supply of stuff, hoping that everything is going to be all fixed up and A-OK before we run out of food or water. All the animals, the cows and horses and chickens and cats, they'd be on their own. I wonder what will be waiting for us when we take down the plastic sheeting. Personally, I think our house is old and has too many cracks and holes, known and unknown, and all this taping wouldn't really help much. I guess if it came right down to it, it's better to do something than nothing. It's human instinct to want to survive, even if it's only until tomorrow.
Or three tomorrows.
I think I may have figured out how our sweet innocent cows got loose the other day. This morning there were three good-sized deer grazing near the spot where the fence was down last week. As I stood there doing my "Awwwww..." routine, thinking how precious and cute they were, two of them stood up on their hind legs and started fighting, dancing to and fro, pawing viciously at each other. THAT sort of behavior could take down a fence in no time. The deer-o typically break a strand of wire, maybe two, on a regular basis, because they either go through or jump over the fences. Sometimes there are briars or brush or other things in the way, and they don't have a clean shot at it, and part of the fence comes down. It's a beautiful day today, and after this is posted, I think I'll go check that deer-o fenceline, just to be on the safe side. The walk will do me good.
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