Re the kids in camp, I was going to suggest you listen to the Alan Sherman song, “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh”. However I realized you are too young to have any frame of reference for a summer camp where they actually set the campers down and made them WRITE a LETTER home to their parents, which would then be put in an envelope, with a stamp, and be carried off by a “mailman”. Primitive.
Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, God trapped you in the elevator for a minute so that you wouldn't be driving along the road at the exact second a tree would have fallen to crush your minivan. You never know.
Tornado’s are the worse. Well, not as bad as earthquakes, there’s no running away from that, but the destructive nature of the thing is amazing. So much damage in such a short time. My sister lives in Oklahoma. In a mobile home. You know where this is going huh? 10 years ago she got struck. Well, the whole place did. At the time they were in a communal shelter about 5 miles away. I watched her local news (from KC) and told her what was going on. I’m the one that told her that the estate had been hit. Not much later the news helicopters flew over the sight and I called to warn her what I’d seen. Total destruction. Told her to be prepared. Truth is, you can’t be prepared to see everything you own either destroyed or all over the place. I quickly went to our local thrift store to buy clothes for then then booked it down. I spent 5 days going through her area helping her find things. She was luckier than most, we found a lot. We also found a boat. In a tree. Well, I did. I said “ah, Tammy, do you own a boat?” She didn’t. I think we looked at that thing for 5 minutes.. In the end she ended up better than before it started. A bigger, better home. Their own shelter. They bought the two properties next to them because those people had had enough. She still lives there and every year I do reports to her as they hide in the shelter. More than a few times a year. I think she’s NUTS for staying but that’s where all her family is. Her daughter bought one of the properties next to her and she loves having her grandkids right there. She’s a glutton for punishment. Mind you, we’re not in much better shape here. I once watched one go across the street from me destroying everything on that side, not touching mine. Bottom line, with global warming, there IS no place that’s safe right now. I’m glad you and yours came through this one okay.
It’s in the top 5 of strange things that I’ve seen. At least she has a shelter on the property now. To this day she refuses to make a pot roast in the crockpot because that’s what she was cooking that day. BTW, found the crockpot WITH the roast still in it. Weirdest shit ever
I was hoping to hear your friend got his shots, just in case. One of my friends had to go through the same process after a bat got into her house and didn’t know how long it had been there. Of course, if it was a vampire it may have turned your friend so you may not want to invite him into your house, just to be on the safe side.😂
My understanding of vampire rules is that, if I don't invite him in, he hadn't enter. I'll have to see if he lets himself into my home next time or gets stuck at the door.
Bats living in the attic above my room are very friendly - they don't wander into the house, only going out in the evenings, when it's hunting time. Thanks to them there are fewer mosquitoes, so I appreciate their neighbourhood.
I'm glad not to have such extreme weather conditions in my area. But from time to time a rainstorm can be serious. Luckily, our family's house is located on the hill ridge and all of bigger trees were cut down, so for now the risk of it collapsing on our roof has been minimalized. But sometimes large tree branches fall down in the valley where the garden ends. As there's mainly grass and little to no instalations, the only thing we get from that is more wood to burn in the fireplace.
About electricity shortages - when the power is about to be reinstated, it is returing in phases, with some houses getting it seconds earlier than us. The association I have with it is that the whole village is looking as if a huge party is being held there.
Never been more grateful we've eradicated rabies in Britain! I love bats. My childhood home had a nest - or is it a roost? - of them in the roof. Mostly pipistrelles (fruit bats). We used to enjoy sitting on the front step or the balcony at dusk to watch them swoop out to go bug hunting. Our eldest cat brought one in once (he had no teeth by then!), but I rescued it, poor thing.
As I understand it, that's the reason the UK has such stringent quarantine laws for domesticated animals. "I got my dog his rabies shot" isn't good enough. They aren't taking any chances.
My sympathies to your friend getting the rabies shots. They are a continuing ordeal that requires you to go to the ER to get the follow-up shots several times. At least that’s how it was when I got them 30 years ago for not knowing the difference between a feral cat and a barn cat.
I went through a derecho once. Even for a SkyWarn weather observer like me, it was unsettling. Our power was out for three days. It wasn't like we lived in the country. We lived in the county seat.
Our village in Illinois also looks like a war zone from that storm system. So many trees and electrical stuff downed and there are still folks without power. They called it an E2 tornado. We were lucky, just one downed large tree branch and were safely at home when it hit. We watched the rain and high winds from a window, which was stupid but it was really cool to see all those bent over trees. So many good people are helping clean up the mess - from h.s. football players to neighbors to services from other towns in Illinois. The sound of chain saws is loud and often.
---Good thing I wasn't in that stuck elevator - I'm so claustrophobic I'd have been freaking out.
---Our daughter and husband had to get rabies shots because of the same inside bat scenario as your friend. "Just in case" they were told. They didn't find the shots painful, just got annoyed with the number of shots they had to get. They had 3 cats who hadn't had their rabies shots, so they could have been quarantined or even put down, but they were fortunate the county folks let them be.
Glad you came out of that storm okay. It was a bad one. I had no idea bats were such a big deal. I wasn't afraid of them before, but I am now. There are no other pests that require me to get shots just by showing up.
*Less than 1% of bats have rabies. The odds of you getting bit by a bat AND getting rabies is tiny small.
*People are paranoid about bats—for many reasons that don’t exist—and therefore hospitals would rather take the safe approach. Raccoons and dogs have rabies MUCH more frequently than bats!
*Bats loose in your house will find someplace dark to hide. Close the door after turning on the lights and opening window and screen, and with luck the bat will fly out when it’s dark. If you want to be kind you could put a shallow dish of water on the dresser, or similar, so they can get a drink if needed and still fly off (they can’t fly from the floor).
*Bats in all of America are very small—not like the flying foxes you see in Australia. Most in the US are smaller than the length of middle finger.
*Bats are not swooping down to bite you, they fly in swoops outside—your ceilings aren’t tall enough for them, so it may appear to a nervous person that they are “attacking”.
*Bats are not pests or vermin. They are mammals and incredibly beneficial to humans by pollinating and killing harmful/annoying insects—like mosquitoes.
*If you want facts about all kinds of bats please visit **Bat World Sanctuary** on the web. They have cameras on at night and you can see all their rescue bats flying around (any bats they are able to release are). It is truly amazing!!🥰
UGH the storm hit here too. Power out from Friday to Monday late afternoon. Lost the contents of the upstairs fridge but managed to save the big basement freezer.
Couldn’t help but laugh while I read this. You definitely have a great sense of humor!
Bat on the loose in the house?? Burn down the house or move to the next town 😅
I also liked the bit about how the doctors say they’re doing a health check-up on the kids, but really doing a wellness check-up on James 😂
The new book looks great - pre-ordered!
Someday, the doctors will trust me. Maybe by the time Waffle is in college. Thanks for the pre-order!
Re the kids in camp, I was going to suggest you listen to the Alan Sherman song, “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh”. However I realized you are too young to have any frame of reference for a summer camp where they actually set the campers down and made them WRITE a LETTER home to their parents, which would then be put in an envelope, with a stamp, and be carried off by a “mailman”. Primitive.
There's YouTube for a reason. Sounds hilarious. I'll have to look it up.
I haven't thought of that song in years! 😆
That’s a classic!
I admire your restraint in using “hospital” and “no patience” in the same paragraph and not making the obvious dad joke and stooping to my humor level
Now I'm kicking myself for missing it.
Perhaps in the grand scheme of things, God trapped you in the elevator for a minute so that you wouldn't be driving along the road at the exact second a tree would have fallen to crush your minivan. You never know.
Fair point. It was basically a metal bunker.
Tornado’s are the worse. Well, not as bad as earthquakes, there’s no running away from that, but the destructive nature of the thing is amazing. So much damage in such a short time. My sister lives in Oklahoma. In a mobile home. You know where this is going huh? 10 years ago she got struck. Well, the whole place did. At the time they were in a communal shelter about 5 miles away. I watched her local news (from KC) and told her what was going on. I’m the one that told her that the estate had been hit. Not much later the news helicopters flew over the sight and I called to warn her what I’d seen. Total destruction. Told her to be prepared. Truth is, you can’t be prepared to see everything you own either destroyed or all over the place. I quickly went to our local thrift store to buy clothes for then then booked it down. I spent 5 days going through her area helping her find things. She was luckier than most, we found a lot. We also found a boat. In a tree. Well, I did. I said “ah, Tammy, do you own a boat?” She didn’t. I think we looked at that thing for 5 minutes.. In the end she ended up better than before it started. A bigger, better home. Their own shelter. They bought the two properties next to them because those people had had enough. She still lives there and every year I do reports to her as they hide in the shelter. More than a few times a year. I think she’s NUTS for staying but that’s where all her family is. Her daughter bought one of the properties next to her and she loves having her grandkids right there. She’s a glutton for punishment. Mind you, we’re not in much better shape here. I once watched one go across the street from me destroying everything on that side, not touching mine. Bottom line, with global warming, there IS no place that’s safe right now. I’m glad you and yours came through this one okay.
She's made of tougher stuff than me. One boat in a tree and I'd be out of there for good.
It’s in the top 5 of strange things that I’ve seen. At least she has a shelter on the property now. To this day she refuses to make a pot roast in the crockpot because that’s what she was cooking that day. BTW, found the crockpot WITH the roast still in it. Weirdest shit ever
I was hoping to hear your friend got his shots, just in case. One of my friends had to go through the same process after a bat got into her house and didn’t know how long it had been there. Of course, if it was a vampire it may have turned your friend so you may not want to invite him into your house, just to be on the safe side.😂
My understanding of vampire rules is that, if I don't invite him in, he hadn't enter. I'll have to see if he lets himself into my home next time or gets stuck at the door.
Bats living in the attic above my room are very friendly - they don't wander into the house, only going out in the evenings, when it's hunting time. Thanks to them there are fewer mosquitoes, so I appreciate their neighbourhood.
I'm glad not to have such extreme weather conditions in my area. But from time to time a rainstorm can be serious. Luckily, our family's house is located on the hill ridge and all of bigger trees were cut down, so for now the risk of it collapsing on our roof has been minimalized. But sometimes large tree branches fall down in the valley where the garden ends. As there's mainly grass and little to no instalations, the only thing we get from that is more wood to burn in the fireplace.
About electricity shortages - when the power is about to be reinstated, it is returing in phases, with some houses getting it seconds earlier than us. The association I have with it is that the whole village is looking as if a huge party is being held there.
Living on a treeless hill was a good move. Now just build a wall around it and you'll have a proper castle.
Never been more grateful we've eradicated rabies in Britain! I love bats. My childhood home had a nest - or is it a roost? - of them in the roof. Mostly pipistrelles (fruit bats). We used to enjoy sitting on the front step or the balcony at dusk to watch them swoop out to go bug hunting. Our eldest cat brought one in once (he had no teeth by then!), but I rescued it, poor thing.
I did not know it was eradicated there. We'll have to make sure no rabid bats sneak onto a transatlantic flights.
As I understand it, that's the reason the UK has such stringent quarantine laws for domesticated animals. "I got my dog his rabies shot" isn't good enough. They aren't taking any chances.
Yep, pretty much.
We’re expecting our first child so now I have a valid reason to buy your children’s books!
Yes! Time to ruin another generation. They'll be so safe from zombies and ostriches.
My sympathies to your friend getting the rabies shots. They are a continuing ordeal that requires you to go to the ER to get the follow-up shots several times. At least that’s how it was when I got them 30 years ago for not knowing the difference between a feral cat and a barn cat.
Clearly both cats and bats are never to be trusted.
I went through a derecho once. Even for a SkyWarn weather observer like me, it was unsettling. Our power was out for three days. It wasn't like we lived in the country. We lived in the county seat.
I'm glad you're all okay.
Losing power is terrible. It turns out there's not much separating is from living like we're in the 1800s.
Our village in Illinois also looks like a war zone from that storm system. So many trees and electrical stuff downed and there are still folks without power. They called it an E2 tornado. We were lucky, just one downed large tree branch and were safely at home when it hit. We watched the rain and high winds from a window, which was stupid but it was really cool to see all those bent over trees. So many good people are helping clean up the mess - from h.s. football players to neighbors to services from other towns in Illinois. The sound of chain saws is loud and often.
---Good thing I wasn't in that stuck elevator - I'm so claustrophobic I'd have been freaking out.
---Our daughter and husband had to get rabies shots because of the same inside bat scenario as your friend. "Just in case" they were told. They didn't find the shots painful, just got annoyed with the number of shots they had to get. They had 3 cats who hadn't had their rabies shots, so they could have been quarantined or even put down, but they were fortunate the county folks let them be.
Glad you came out of that storm okay. It was a bad one. I had no idea bats were such a big deal. I wasn't afraid of them before, but I am now. There are no other pests that require me to get shots just by showing up.
🦇Positive notes on bats.🦇
*Less than 1% of bats have rabies. The odds of you getting bit by a bat AND getting rabies is tiny small.
*People are paranoid about bats—for many reasons that don’t exist—and therefore hospitals would rather take the safe approach. Raccoons and dogs have rabies MUCH more frequently than bats!
*Bats loose in your house will find someplace dark to hide. Close the door after turning on the lights and opening window and screen, and with luck the bat will fly out when it’s dark. If you want to be kind you could put a shallow dish of water on the dresser, or similar, so they can get a drink if needed and still fly off (they can’t fly from the floor).
*Bats in all of America are very small—not like the flying foxes you see in Australia. Most in the US are smaller than the length of middle finger.
*Bats are not swooping down to bite you, they fly in swoops outside—your ceilings aren’t tall enough for them, so it may appear to a nervous person that they are “attacking”.
*Bats are not pests or vermin. They are mammals and incredibly beneficial to humans by pollinating and killing harmful/annoying insects—like mosquitoes.
*If you want facts about all kinds of bats please visit **Bat World Sanctuary** on the web. They have cameras on at night and you can see all their rescue bats flying around (any bats they are able to release are). It is truly amazing!!🥰
UGH the storm hit here too. Power out from Friday to Monday late afternoon. Lost the contents of the upstairs fridge but managed to save the big basement freezer.