Opus 2017-293: On the Street: Hide or Ignore?

I have been keeping track of Hurricane Harvey.  Since I am in the area being effected I have a little more concern than much of the country but I am far enough from the center to be safe.  We are now to the point where we get into the heart-warming stories of rescue and the sad stories of death and destruction.  Recently I was reading in Proverbs and came across this verse.

(Proverbs 27:12 KJV)  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

One of the things that comes clear in times like this is that a lot of people are suffering more than they need to.  All many of them needed to do was pay attention.

There isn’t much you can do when you home is right in the path of a level 4 hurricane.  You can batten down the hatches but you can’t fold up your house and put it in the trunk while you drive to Kansas.  I accept that.  Just as I can’t do a lot when someone is driving toward me on the wrong side of the road.  You do the best you can.  But if the person trying to drive me off the road is doing so at 1:00 A.M. on New Years morning and I am in my car because I wanted to get some more ice cream from the local all-night market, I am the one who put the ante in the kitty.  The home owner, who has known that the hurricane is coming for days, could have made a trip to the local home improvement store and bought some plywood, nails and even a hammer.  Then if things develop you are ready to board up your windows.  It is a little late to do it when the first branch gets blown through your window.

One of the biggest defenses against tragedy is to think and plan ahead.  We bought some property in Texas a few years ago.  We are from California where it never rains but we know places in that desert where floods have raged and destroyed.  So when we bought we investigated.  There are maps available that will tell you where the flood plains are and where the 100 year floods can expect to hit.  We also checked for local drainage systems.  A constant question was, “What if it floods”.  A few years ago there was another flood in the San Antonio area.  Houses were wiped out and people rescued.  It was like Harvey on a smaller scale.  This type of event is common in Texas.  Guess where our home is?  On top of a hill. 

When you see someone being pulled out of the windows of a submerged car, ask yourself, “How did they get there?”  The car did not drive itself.  Usually the water doesn’t rise 5 feet in 10 seconds.  The places where it does are clearly labeled in Texas with warning signs and depth gauges.  The radio and internet have been getting boring with their warnings about flash flooding.  I have only lived here a few months and I know that of the three roads from my house to a hospital there is only one that is safe in times of rain.

So let’s pull the people off the roofs and out of their cars.  Let’s give them a warm blanket, cot and a hot meal.  While we are doing that let’s engage our brains and look to the decisions we have been making as individuals and as a country.

Blessings to you and pray as much for the rescuers as you do the ones being rescued.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-192: Fight, Flight or Turtle?

Self defense anyone?

Those of us who believe that the Second Amendment gives us the right to defend ourselves, family and property sometimes get a little too Hollywood in our concept of what it would be like to actually pull a trigger.  In my childhood fantasies I remember being in the Foreign Legion and defending a desert fort against hoards of attacking Bedouins.  I remember being the forgotten member of the Three Musketeers and taking on Cardinal Richelieu’s entire army by myself.  We need to be able to separate our fantasy world from real life.

If you listen to self-defense “experts” they will reminder you that the gun is not primarily to shoot someone but to stop them from attacking.  I have heard them say that the first step in self defense is awareness and the second is avoidance.  I came across that thought recently as I was reading my Bible.

(Proverbs 27:12 NAS77)  A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty.

It is prudent to avoid evil rather than trying to John Wayne it.  We are naive to think that we can win a fight when we are out of shape and not only out of practice, but never had any practice.

So stay alert, avoid problems and know your limitations.

And, of course, keep your powder dry.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-187: Bug out or bug in?

On my other blog, Perpetual Proverbs, I try to avoid politics and cultural issues.  So when I come across something in the Bible that stirs my mind in those directions I bring it over to Medley of Worship.  As I was reading in Proverbs I came across this verse that made me think of those who are concerned with being prepared for potential disasters. 

(Proverbs 27:10 NAS77)  Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, And do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

Whether it is a minor issue like loss of power or a major issue like the breakdown of all civil order, one of the big questions people ask is, “Should I stay put and try to make it through or should I run to seek safety?”  In psychology it might be called, “fight or flight”.   This verse seems to give advice for those times.  Proverbs calls them “days of calamity.”

The advice here seems to be stay close to home and work with your neighbors.  Don’t try to make a long, dangerous trip to a distant relative.  That is obviously open to interpretation.  It would also depend on how far away relatives are.

“Days of calamity” are not a modern phenomena.  Barbarians, drought, famine, pestilence, locusts and economic collapse have been around a long time.

Get ready.

homo unius libri