Thursday, August 31, 2006

Water Safety Tips for This Holiday Weekend

The close of summer is upon us and I’m sure there will be a lot of you enjoying lake festivities this weekend. I thought I’d pass along some tips for the safety of you and your family. I know some of these are common sense but here you go.

Make sure all children in your group know how to swim.

Swim in lifeguard supervised areas if at all possible. BUT YOU BE YOUR CHILDREN’S LIFEGUARD TOO.

Children and inexperienced swimmers should wear U.S. Coast Guard approved flotation devices.
(not blow up arm floaties, these can leak and deflate) some lakes require children under a certain age to wear life jackets.

Use feet first when entering water (not diving)

Set water rules for the whole family based on the swimming experience of each swimmer.

Don’t mix alcohol with swimming and boating. Boating while intoxicated fines are pretty hefty.

Watch for stumps and other hazzards since our lakes are low from lack of rain.

Never swim alone or let kids swim alone.

Those of you with babies and toddlers remember the old saying; a baby can drown in an inch of water.

My personal favorite – If it’s lightning, GET OUT OF THE WATER AND SEEK SHELTER INSIDE.

Have a great holiday weekend and God bless,
Bill

PS. Since posting this a few minutes ago, I've heard there has been a girl who drowned at an area lake. Please be careful.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Schools is in, slow down. The lice article is below this story.

The following story was sent to me by email from a good friend of mine. Take a few minutes to read it if you havn't seen it yet. I thought it was a good piece to post since school recently started. I have no idea who wrote it but I'll be sure to slow down. I can't imagine living with my self if I killed a kid because of stupidity.

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often?

When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand.

Bob? Bob from Church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was worse than the ticket. A cop catching a guy from his own church. A guy who happened to be a little eager to get home after a long day at the office. A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow.

Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw every Sunday, a man he'd never seen in uniform.

"Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this."

"Hello, Jack." No smile.

"Guess you caught me red-handed in a rush to see my wife and kids."

"Yeah, I guess." Bob seemed uncertain. Good.

"I've seen some long days at the office lately. I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit -just this once."

Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement. "Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?"
"I know what you mean. I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct." Ouch. This was not going in the right direction. Time to change tactics.

"What'd you clock me at?"

"Seventy. Would you sit back in your car please?"

"Now wait a minute here, Bob. I checked as soon as saw you. I was barely nudging 65." The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.

"Please, Jack, in the car"


Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard. He was in no rush to open the window.

The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled away on the pad.

Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license?

Whatever the reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat near this cop again. A tap on the door jerked his head to the left. There was Bob, a folded paper in hand Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches, just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.

"Thanks."

Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice.

Bob returned to his police car without a word. Jack watched his retreat in the mirror. Jack unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one going to cost?

Wait a minute. What was this?

Some kind of joke?

Certainly not a ticket. Jack began to read:

"Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter. She was six when killed by a car. You guessed it- a speeding driver. A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free. Free to hug his daughters, all three of them. I only had one, and I'm going to have to wait until Heaven before I can ever hug her again.

A thousand times I've tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now. Pray for me. And be careful, Jack, my son is all I have left."

"Bob"

Jack turned around in time to see Bob's car pull away and head down the road. Jack watched until it disappeared. A full 15 minutes later, he too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived.

Life is precious. Handle with care. This is an important message; please pass it along to your friends. Drive safely and carefully. Remember, cars are not the only things recalled by their maker.

Pass this on, you may save a life. Maybe not, but we'll never know if we don't try.

May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. "I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Reading, writing, arithmetic, & head lice…

With school starting, tis the season for outbreaks of head lice. I’ve compiled some helpful information for preventing head lice infestations for you and your kids. All of the information here can easily be found on the internet if you have more questions.

Most of the time lice spread from head to head contact during play-time at school or daycare.
The best way to prevent an infestation is to teach your kids the do’s and don’ts about lice and the methods of transmission.

Don’ts
Use friends brushes and combs.
Share hats or clothing such as scarves, hair bows or sports equipment.
Share towels.
Lie on beds, pillows or stuffed animals of other kids who have had a recent infestation.

If you find yourself with an infestation do the following.
Of course treat the person infested with an over the counter product for killing lice and follow all directions listed on that product.
Wash all washable clothing, bed sheets, blankets, pillows the person used two days prior to the treatment. Wash in at least 130 degree F and dry on high heat for more than 20 minutes.
You can also seal all items such as non-washables in a plastic bag for 2 weeks. Lice can’t live that long without a host to harvest blood from.
Throw away or soak in alcohol all non-electrical items such as brushes and combs used by the infested person.
Vacuum furniture and carpet, although risk of transmission through this route is limited.

If you need more information just go to Google and type head lice. You’ll end up with more information than you could possibly use.

God bless, and I wish you well,
Bill

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

You may learn from this too...

Yesterday at work we had a lady and her 10-year-old girl walk in to our office. She claimed she was trying to raise money to fix her car and buy food for her grandkids. Needles to say my first impressions were here we go with another scam. She continued with her story about her grandson who has cancer and how down on her luck she was. Our secretary came into the office that I share with 2 other people and asked if we wanted to help her out. One lady gave a couple of bucks and I threw in a few. Now stay with me, I’m not telling this story to toot my own horn. Anyway, after the lady left, the secretary came back in my office and said she has a really hard time giving money to people like that. They’re going to buy cigarettes and booze… you know the spill. All I could think of to say in reply is “what comes around goes around, and if she was scamming us, she’ll pay for it later.” What a dumb thing to say. After reflecting on the situation and realizing I had missed the perfect opportunity to witness to someone, I thought I’d pass this along.

What I should have said is this: “You know, I go to church and what we believe as Christians, is when someone asks for help, we’re supposed to help, not judge them by what we think they are. I too have those same first impressions as everyone else, and probably fail with the task of not judging on first impressions more than most. I’m human too.”

The next time I see someone in need I’ll try to remember this passage:

Luke 10:33-35
33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

God bless,
Bill

Monday, August 14, 2006

A danger you should know about

I’ve always thought commercial eye-drops (visine & murine) were a pretty harmless item to have around the house. After reading an article on how bad Tetrahydrozoline poisoning is, I thought I’d send out a message of warning for those of you who may have young children or grandchildren in your home.

Tetrahydrozoline poisoning through ingestion can have 1 or more of the following effects:
Lowering of body temperature.
Blurring vision.
Rapid heartbeat.
Nausea & vomiting.
Irritability.
Interfering with or halting breathing.
Causes seizures & tremors.
Elevating and lowering of blood pressure.
Coma.
Possible death.

If you suspect Tetrahydrozoline poisoning, call 911 or Poison Control; DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING, unless directed by Poison Control or a physician.

There is also a rumor floating around that a few drops in someone’s drink can induce a case of diarrhea as a joke or revenge. Total fiction. Don’t try it. There have been people who were prosecuted for accidentally killing someone by doing this.

Thought you might want to know.
God bless,
Bill

A VERY SHORT WRITING LESSON


It’s time to sit and start some writing now that things have settled down a bit. We just got back from softball nationals in Moline, Illinois last week, moving back to Mustang the week before, and I’m still playing catch up at work and abroad.

Cord, and her former softball team Oklahoma Force 95’s I think took 7th. Great job girls I’m proud of all of you!

While there I was reading How Fiction Works. It’s a writing book on fiction story writing. A good lesson from the book is when writing don’t be vague.
Here is an example:


She hid in stillness so the killer wouldn’t see her

Or

Sara slid herself under a blue Ford and held her breath as her pursuer passed by chasing stealthy shadows moaning her name.

Which one sounds better to you?

This is an example that I’ve made up. Hope it’s done well enough for you to learn something.

Next time will be the difference between showing and telling.

If you’re interested in writing pick up How Fiction Works it’s a good book.

God bless,
Bill