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6C
Be prepared for next hurricane season
The “hurricane season" is
upon us.
'Hus past week, we survived
our first threat, with the poten¬
tial for more to come over the
course of the next five or six
months.
That said, 1 recall past experi¬
ences with hurricanes and trop¬
ical storms, and I won't he
unprepared again. Three valu¬
able lessons I learned from pre¬
vious skirmishes with these
storms: l> The television
doesn’t work without power (a
crushing blow ); 2) To children.
Monopoly game pieces are
good eatm’; and 3) Hardly any
TVs are batten operated
With that in mind. I am cur
rentlv in the midst of prepara¬
tions to alleviate the hellish
boredom that comes with being
without power, light, a micro¬
wave oven. TV, VCR, or A/C,
but with a bunch of people
stuck in a hot room with noth¬
ing to do.
My wife finds these lack of
modem amenities endearing, a
chance to interact and be cre¬
ative without the squawk of
contemporary convenience
She envisions inviting family
members over to our house to
sit around in the dark and talk,
engage in light-hearted banter,
play games or participate in
popular sing-a-longs like
“Kumbayah,” "Michael Row
the Boat Ashore" or "Yah Mo B
There” (which was, according
Miss Loretta 95 years young and going strong
Several years ago, I
befriended a woman in
Cincinnati, but then you
know that, don't you?
I’ve told you all about
Miss Loretta.
If you’re new to this
column. I’ll fill you in.
She is the w idow of a
Cincinnati policeman.
She did not many until
she was 37 because w hen
she was 20. her mother
died at 42 and left a pas
sel of children behind.
The youngest w as 2 years
old. so Mtss Loretta
stepped up and took over.
Only when the last child
— a boy — was raised
and on his own did she
allow herself to find love.
They were married for
only a few years when he
died suddenly of a heart
attack and left Miss
Loretta alone with no
children. Her niece,
Donna, is a blonde, blue¬
eyed angel and takes
good care of Miss
V
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i
LEN ROBBINS
Columnist
to news reports, one of Saddam
Hussein’s favorite methods of
torture).
Don't get me wrong I love
my family ; love being around
them. But I can’t be around
anybody for more than five
hours at a single sitting, even
niyscif. That’s why I take a
nap every four hours.
Thus, 1 have prepared a list¬
ing of some things you can do
during a hurricane to break up
the monotony, have some fun
and preserve your sanity.
You are welcome in
advance.
• Darts
Darts don’t require any
electricity. All you need is a
dart and a board, and if you
have children, a suit of rigid
armor.
While fun during the day¬
time, the merriment multiplies
with no lighting.
• Hide and seek
Kids love hide and seek,
and adults can too. if they
know how to play.
Here’s what I do. Right
before you’re about to play,
grab a good book and a Hash-
RONDARICH
Columnist
Loretta. We wnte each
other, something that few
people do any more. But
we re the old-fashioned
letter-writing kind, so we
stay in touch by words
actually written on a
page When on occasion.
I'm in Cincinnati, 1 see
Miss Loretta.
Hers hasn’t been an
easy life, but she doesn’t
complain. She looks at
only the good and talks
about that Nothing at all
about the tears that have
stained her cheeks or the
loneliness that has been
her most constant com¬
panion Her beloved Earl
died 50 years ago and she
still talks about him with
' w ■ 'Im
For the Forjytti County Newt
light. When you hide, lock
yourself in the bathroom or a
closet or in the attic. Those
boneheads won’t find you for
hours.
• Cards
If you're stuck in the house
for hours, you might as well
make a buck.
Break the piggy-banks, put
the candles on the dining
room table, and start a lengthy
round of Texas Hold ’Em
(Sidenotc: Most kids younger
than 6 don’t know the rules,
which could be an advantage
‘Her beloved Earl died 50 years ago
and she still talks about him with the
glow of a young girl newly in love.
She is amazing, that Miss Loretta.’
the glow of a young girl
newly in love She is
amazing, that Miss
Loretta
She wrote the other day.
and I had to laugh out
loud at one of her com¬
ments She was talking
about our friendship and
how she has my photo on
her wall and all my letters
stacked by her chair
Tm only 95 years
old," she straw led in her
familiar writing Only?
That should tell you a
great deal about her opti¬
mism on life
She continued, "All my
friends are gone My
fnends at church Even
if you can find some to play).
• Contests that provoke
sleep
1 love sleeping during
storms. Problem is, 1 always
have all these people running
around my house, yelling and
stuff. The goal is: Get every¬
body else to sleep too. For
children, you have to wear
them out. One way to do that
is contests. Some surefire sug¬
gestions include: Push-up or
pull-up contests (children are
notoriously weak); Night box¬
ing (a knockout is a form of
my pastor is gone It’s
good that I still have you
and IXmna." She seems
bewildered as to how a
95-year-old could lose so
many fnends and family
to death Yet, she seems
determined to keep on
going since she’s only 95.
I thought of Mama. She
thought differently than
Miss Loretta She would
say. “I'm 85 years old and
I’m too tired to go to
church I believe I'll just
stay home today "
I could tell from her
tone that she was set to
argue w ith me, expecting
a lecture on w hy she
needed to go to church.
sleep); Spinning contests (first
kid to pass out wins);
Drinking games (warm milk
laced with Benadryl).
For adults. I’d suggest the
following, in order; drinking
games (substituting Benadryl
with vodka), then spinning
contests, more drinking
games, then night boxing.
Remember: If you fail to pre¬
pare, you prepare to fail. Or is
it the other way around?
Len Robbins is the publisher of the
Clinch County News.
For there is, as you know
or will surely leam, an
invisible dividing line in
life where we become the
parents of our parents.
There w as a time when
she lectured me about
going to church, no
excuses allowed.
Instead. 1 said. “Well,
that's just fine, if you
want to stay home, you
just stay at home. I’ll
request prayer for you,
sinner that you are.”
“Don't you dare. If l
hear anything about you
puttin’ me on the prayer
list, you'll be the one in
need of prayer."
Mama pulled the age
card when it helped her
— senior discounts, too
tired to go to weddings of
people she didn't particu¬
larly like or she needed
her porch swept. Other
times, she dismissed it
such as in the case of,
“Everyone tells me how
good I look for my age
SUNDAY, JUNE 3,2012
and you know, they’re
right. Just look at
Beatrice. She’s younger
than me but she looks
older. She gives into her
aches and pains, too. 1
don’t."
But unlike Miss
Loretta, when Mama dis¬
cussed how many of her
loved ones were gone,
she understood. “Look
how old I am. That's the
sad thing about getting
old, you outlive people
you love."
Miss Loretta, though, is
going strong. She’s still
writing, walking, shop¬
ping and, importantly,
making plans for the next
10 years. That’s admira¬
ble optimism.
Ronda Rich is the best-sell¬
ing author of the forthcom¬
ing “There’s A Better Day
A-Comin. Please" visit
www.rondarich.com to sign
up for her weekly newslet¬
ter.