First things First:
#1 – I would like some feedback and your thoughts from everyone. EVERY family is different. Some are weathering this well. Some are having difficult times. I will not share anyone’s thoughts without sanitizing the e-mail and who it is from.
#1 – I spent a year studying disasters under the program at UNC-CH. We are doing the “right” thing. Do not pay a lot of attention to the news. From what I have seen & read; there is WAY too much sensationalism.
Isolation is the best & cheapest & quickest way to keep this virus from spreading. I think the best brains in the whole world are working to solve this disease. The UNC-CH program is called CPDM, Community Preparedness, and Disaster Management.
#1 – There are a LOT of worse diseases out there. The data shows that. (Ebola has a 50% death rate) This virus has between 0.8% & 3% death rate. (depends on which country and trusting the data from that country and the quality of health care that is available)
#1 – STOP WORRYING. Stay safe. Stay busy. Make the best of this situation. Keep up your studies and work on Scout Skills and Advancement. Be useful to your family & community.
C- How do you start a fire with 2 sticks?
D- Make sure that they are match sticks.
#2 – Look up your house’s Property Plat. Almost every county has that on the web. Notice how the surveyors use the compass for directions. Pace off your property lines. Try & find the property corners. They are usually a short Iron Post. (usually only about 2 ” tall)
A- What do you call a cat that puts band-aids on cuts?
B- A First Aid Kit_ten.
#3 – Read a “classic” book. One of my favs is “Call Of The Wild” by Jack London. Real good read about a dog. (the movie stinks)
A bit newer is “Red Storm Rising” by Tom Clancy. (a WW III thriller).
Arthur C Clark wrote a trilogy starting with “2001”. (The movie was great!)
“Ender’s Game” was written by a Greensboro, NC author, Orson Scott Card.
(movie – so, so.. not as good as the book)
A good non-fiction history book is: “Paul Revere’s Ride” by David Hackett Fisher.
E- What happened when the camper put a firecracker in the pancake mix?
F- He blew his stack.
#4 – Notice that these do not exactly multiply to make 300. But they are very close. 52.525 MHz is in the Ham Radio 6 meter Band. [50 * 6 = 300] 146.52 MHz is in the Ham 2 meter Band. [150 * 2 = 300]
#5 – This is SPRING time. The Dogwoods and Azaleas are in wonderful bloom. Think about planting & growing something. Start from seed? Take a cutting and root it? Divide the bulbs and transplant?
#6 – Start a compost pile. Grow your own soil to grow plants in. Take (almost) anything organic and put it in the pile to decompose. Use an old barrel, drum, or trash can. Or do it in a hole in the ground. Or just make a pile. Take kitchen leftovers and bury them under the compost pile to keep critters from digging them and eating the leftovers. Coffee grounds are excellent. Coffee shops usually will share the grounds for the asking. Leaves, wood chips, woodstove ashes, shredded newsprint; all make good compost. (avoid paper that is glossy or slick – it takes a lot longer to break down) I gauge how the pile is doing by how many earthworms are present in a shovel full. The more worms – the better.
G- Why wasn’t your sister afraid of the Lion that escaped from the Zoo?
H- She heard that it was a man-eating lion.
In this together,
Gaither
I- The frog double-parked his car.
J- Well, He got toad.
Campfire Tales: A Collection of Campfire Stories by Thomas Mercaldo