Random thoughts from the middle of the night.

I don't know about a lot of folks but I intend to wake up in the middle of the night sleep, usually around 3 to 4 AM, with my mind at full speed. Thinking about everything and nothing. It's not worry so much as the proverbial light bulb above your head coming on.

Usually the thoughts will be about things that have been at the back of my mind or things that inspired me, or my sub-consious revealed to me. It is truly random thougths. The following is what woke me up at 3:37 am and only allow me to cap nap until I had put in my miniumn 7 hours in bed with my feet elevated per doctors instructions.

Bugging out.

The inspiration for this thought was because of the recent wild fires in TX partiularly in Bastrop County. So many homes burned in a flash with the home owners saying that they only had time to grab dog and get. That all was lost in their homes.

About this same time I was reading a guest columnist in the Atlantic who was talking about living within range of the twin towers on 9-11 with the winds carrying burning debris onto the top ot thier building and the dust cloud from the colapse engulfed their building as well. He talked about the sense of panic and their walk out to safety and the days that followed with life like a refugee.

So this moring I woke up and a random thought was I realize that we live in a rented house surrounded by very dry trees and grass that just need a spark and this neighberhood would be toast. If you were to pull up our house on google earth you would see that most the homes in our neighborhood are engulfed in trees. Our own home is hard to find because the roof is almost covered by trees. My point is that one good spark or house fire and our entire area would be another Bastrop County.

The point I am belaboring is this that the interviews of the home owners in Bastrop and Palo Pinto counties as well as the editorial of the guest columnist in the "The Atlantic" reminded me that when the shit hits the fan it is hard to keep from panicing and leaving essential items you will need behind.



So I woke up this morning and realized that I needed to make a bug out list. A list that would remind me to grab those essential items on the way out of the door after being told we have 5 minutes to get out or die. I am keeping this list on a 3X5 card in a card case that I always carry and on my Iphone that is always on me or within hand's reach.

On this list you will not find things like grab the pictures off the wall or grandma's cookie jar but rather pull out the spare sleep apetna machine, put meds basket in bag, grab insulin from refrigrator, grab bug out clothes bag, pickup messenger bag with Ipad and spare chargers in it. pat pockets for keys and wallet as you walk out the door. All this can be done by going to the back bedroom and walking toward the front door and all either carried in one hand or over your shoulder.

This is figuring out what it is that you need to live for the next few days untill you know what you need to do next before you actually need it. Some might call it parnoia but I call it being prepared.

Another thought that came to me during the night.

I have lacked a certain amount of intiative lately or for a better word inspiration. A certain malaise that has come upon me that I need to jerk myself out of before I become a vegetable known as a couch potato. 

In short I forgotten what I promised myself when I retired. So I am renewing this promise to myself and dedicate better use of my time I have on this earth. I will endeavor to no longer sit in front of the TV watching Netflx documentaries and the History channel that is when I am not playing Angry Birds games on my ipad rest of the time.

Rather I will dedicate my days to reading, writing , photography, woodworking or shop time and getting off the couch and living instead of taking up space. No more excuses as to why I can't or worse yet no excuses at all for not doing anything but leaving a butt impression on the couch.

So dear reader, if there are any, I hope to share in the near future on-going projects in the shop, photos taken and of books read. To live the life you have and not merely wish for is the ideal.

Enough for now.