Putting lipstick on a pig

I bet you think the theme of this post is political.  Nope, it isn't.  Though, it is interesting to note that all is well with the world when every day phrases are catapulted into fame as easily as ever by the media and good old fashioned exposure.

No - today's topic is pretty boring, so I thought a spiced up headline would be just the ticket.  Just call me the spin doctor.

I have dragged my eyes away from disturbing pictures of destruction on the TV and the internet in post-Ike times, just long enough to do some introspective thinking on my answer to the question "Are you prepared?"   I'm not.  Not in the least.   If my power went off for days, my water stopped running, and/or my house was invaded by water, dust, noxious fumes, dirt whatever - I am most certainly not prepared.   Food? Water? Roof over head? First Aid?  Safety?  News?  Connection to family?  

I'd like to be, so I fired up Google and here's what I got - a fine example of our tax dollars at work: Ready America.   I plowed thru it to learned that September - go figure - is National Preparedness Month.  I'm right on time!  There are helpful checklists - seriously helpful as I never would have thought of some of this stuff - as well as reasons to be prepared.  Here in Vegas, my disaster to worry about is earthquake.  Little ones happen all the time here, and of course "they" say, a big one could happen at any moment.  And it doesn't have to happen here, as a ripple effect of something in SoCal just hours away could be just as disastrous.  And I don't want to even think about the potential disaster of toxic nuclear waste trucking/training across Nevada into Yucca Mountain, just north of Vegas.

So, I've printed out the checklists and moved this project to get at least marginally prepared for disaster a little further up my "to do" list.  

I just hope I never have to use it.  My preparedness kit just sitting in the garage and gathering dust forever will be just fine with me.

On second thought....maybe the headline was perfect.