I am sitting here in Flalaland awaiting the latest onslaught of Mother Nature. Whether it is Milton Bradley or Milton Berle, she seems to be playing a cruel joke on all of us. Sunday night at a neighborhood get-together, weather was the topic du jour. What do you think? Should we go or stay? I chuckled to myself. Weather is the one thing I have absolutely zero control over. Nada,zilch and yet we still fret. 

If we lived on the west coast of Florida, I would be doing some serious thinking about where I wanted to hang my hat in the future. The concept of rebuilding two, three, and four times just blows my mind. The idea of abandoning all hope also strikes one as a horrible Rubicon to cross. Talk about mixed emotions. 

People come here to escape the cold weather, which is fair enough. The two months from August 1 to October 1 are an acquired taste. Hot and humid can be worked around. For yours truly, it is a great way to maintain my weight. And besides, where would we go?

Up until two weeks ago, it might have been the hills of Georgia or North and South Carolina. We have visited Asheville, and it is or was idyllic. The Vanderbilts were on to something, and many followed suit. The Outer Banks? Not exactly. New Jersey, Long Island? How soon we forget Sandy. 

How about the deserts of California or Arizona? How many days straight of 100 degrees on the thermometer? I know, we will make our way to the mountains of California or Colorado. If you escape the fires, then you have to figure out how to get insurance on your little bit of heaven nestled in the woods. This is getting tough. 

The south and midwest breed a little thing called tornados as the rite of spring. The northwest has beautiful views of the Pacific but “The Big One” hits you may oceanfront property in Idaho. Could it be there is nowhere safe for TTG and the Divine Miss K?

Let’s go to the stats. The top two winners for safety are eastern Pennsylvania and Michigan. Huh? I am sure these are wonderful places but not exactly where I want to live my last. Cleveland, a Mecca? Maybe there is a message here. 

I think we have become more and more resistant to coping. Not just our physical environment  but maybe how we do things. We have become inured to life’s little troubles. If we have any little malady there is a doctor nearby who can cure anything. If he can’t, then there are specialists of every ilk.You don’t go to an orthopedic doc but only to one who knows feet or knees or hip joints. And by the way I want to see that guy yesterday. 

We redo our bodies. We redo our houses to avoid the worst curse of all…looking dated. I need a new car as a pick me up. Perhaps a jet away for a week or two to try to obviate my poor overworked and stressed out psyche. Oh God ,kids are a pain! I need a break. What happened to Suck It Up?

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal this AM. It was about that little thing we call the National Debt. It seems the Trumpster would add about $7 trillion to our national credit card. Smiley would only add $3.5 trillion. Just wonderful! No one wants to sit down and shoot us straight as to the disaster looming. We will fill in the details later. 

Over the years the toughest thing for yours truly is having to deal with something really distasteful.  Having to fire someone. Can we really afford to do this or that? Having to uproot not for whimsy but survival. Ok, you have cancer. How do we want to go forward? Do you help a child who is hooked on drugs or finally have them fend for themselves?  Do we treat a fatal disease or go into hospice? 

Of course, I could punt but this is where the rubber meets the road. As for weather, I have already said there is nothing we can do about it. As for so many other parts of our lives, we can meet conflict head-on or put it off for another day, but what good does that do?  It gnaws at you and keeps popping up at a most inopportune moment. But you know it is there.  Sooner or later, there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. As individuals or as a country, we really have to deal with it.

As always 

Ted The Great 

Factoids

California is the most disaster prone state in the union…for a lot of reasons. Throughout the US, although wildfires are the most common natural disaster, hurricanes inflict the most damage.

From 2003 to July 2023, the U.S. tallied 2,602 disaster declarations across all 50 states. California, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida,Nevada and Montana round out the top ten in that order. 

Congress has not updated our immigration policy since 1986. We have had a balanced budget only twice in the last fifty years.

• 1969: President Lyndon Johnson balanced the budget
• 1998–2001: President Bill Clinton balanced the budget 

People are told to evacuate but a large number cannot. Evacuation, like most disaster resilience actions is easier if you have wealth, health and extensive social networks. You don’t have a car or can’t afford the gas.You don’t have family and you can’t afford a hotel room. You are handicapped or just can’t travel due to illness.  It ain’t all cut and dry kids.