What, No Sticker?

[Diva]

Yesterday we participated in the Great Southern Californian Shakeout (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/13/quake.drill/index.html). At 9:45am two less than thrilled girls stopped by my door to hand me an open envelope. “Don’t open this until 10, Mkay?” I half nodded and waited until they were two doors down to look. Yeah, I suck. Whatever. Inside was some sort of earthquake scenario of what happened to my office. As if I’d care. Trust me… if an Earthquake hit the last thing I would be doing is surveying the damage. I’d be too busy hoofing it down nine flights of stairs. No fucking way would I be ‘holding tight’ in a non retrofitted building. If I’m really lucky the earthquake would have taken out the eight floors below me and I could simply walk out from the roof. From there I would walk the two miles home (if my car was crushed in the parking garage) and start pulling my cats out. Of course this all depends on if we manage to keep from falling off into the ocean. Ha ha…

What’s funny is that every time we’ve had a disaster (fire, poss. Plane crash, bomb threat, etc…) the disaster instructions went out the window. People went out of any stairwell that they could find and kept on going. Screw signing in and standing across the street. Lets face it… if a bomb went off do you really think crossing the street is going to keep you out of harms way? The last time this happened I rode the elevator to the parking garage (it was close to leaving time) and went home. I even waved and yelled to sign me in as I drove by. While helping injured people is high on my list of things to do… making sure everything’s okay at my home is a tad higher. Selfish? You betcha.

News
º Trooper cites pair for DUI in single traffic stop (http://my.earthlink.net/track?id=1018002&add=1&url=/article/str?guid=20081113/491bb450_3ca6_1552620081113-1490900669).
º Sexy strip-club sign angers neighbors (http://cbs2.com/watercooler/strip.club.billboard.2.863564.html).
º Beer truck driver accused of drunk driving (http://my.earthlink.net/track?id=1018002&add=1&url=/article/str?guid=20081113/491bb450_3ca6_1552620081113691801810).
º Weapons recovered in 'kill neighbors' plot (http://www.local6.com/news/17976409/detail.html).
º Pregnant man pregnant again (http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKTRE4AC8PQ20081114).
º Robber threatens to complain after getting no money (http://my.earthlink.net/track?id=1018002&add=1&url=/article/str?guid=20081113/491bb450_3ca6_1552620081113-930834567).
º Big salmon caught in CA (http://www.local6.com/travelgetaways/17970430/detail.html).
º Man busted for not paying 300-mile cab fare (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=nw20081114144305515C181520).
º Shoppers camp out for free chair (http://www.local6.com/news/17978910/detail.html).
º Astronauts to drink purified urine (http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKTRE4AD40620081114).
º Sixth foot finally washes up on beach (http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/12/canada.feet.mystery/index.html?iref=mpstoryview).
º Man accused of urinating on officer (http://my.earthlink.net/track?id=1018011&add=1&url=/article/str?guid=20081113/491d05d0_3ca6_1552620081114822641858).
º Bank robber leaves trail of spit (http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/article/20081104/NEWS01/811049981/0/ETPZONELT).
º Boy hits mom, offers $5 bribe (http://www.local6.com/news/17978821/detail.html).

Levity
º Video: HS Cheerleaders streak during football game (thanks Trek!) (http://www.faniq.com/blog/Video-Delta-Secondary-School-In-Canada-Is-Upset-About-High-School-Cheerleaders-Streaking-During-The-Football-Game-Blog-13651)
º WTF, BROCCOLI? (http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/2008/10/wtf-broccoli.html)
º Pictures of animals in the womb (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1077492/It-aint-half-snuggly-Mum-The-ground-breaking-pictures-animals-capturing-life-womb.html)
º Awesome Halloween street art (http://www.lataco.com/taco/happy-halloween-los-angeles-2)
º Video: Fat cat in a yogurt box (Cuteness!) (http://www.omgblog.com/2008/11/omg_how_cute_cat_in_yogurt_box.php)
º Sexy brunette by fence (http://www.hipka.com/pics/2301/gabriela-munzar-absolute-beauty-purebeautymag-hq-pink-t-shirt.html)

[Isotrip]

*Laying on ground dying*

Heeeelp!

*Sound of Diva walking over me*

[Bones]

When I worked for the Air Force we always had drills for fires, terrorist attacks, etc..... After dealing with my co-workers and myself I'm sure they regretted ever hiring civilians.

*Phone rings*
Me: Hello
Boss man: Where are you? We are supposed to meet in the south parking lot.
Me: I went home when the bell started ringing.
Boss man: Why?
Me: Because if we had actually been bombed or burnt down I wouldn't have a job anyway.
Boss man: That kinda makes sense.
Me: No shit. I'll see you tomorrow. Have the write up that I won't sign ready.

[Bassmama]

Considering what happened to the people who stayed in the twin towers on 9/11, my ass would be hauling as fast as possible, too. Stay? Bullshit- I'm gone.....

[NCeddie]

....While helping injured people is high on my list of things to do… making sure everything’s okay at my home is a tad higher.

I am certain in the event of a real crisis, you'd snag a few folks and toss them into your vehicle as you slung out of the parking lot--- you could be heading home AND doing your good deed for the day all at once!

I have never experienced an earthquake drill, but it reminded me of long ago in elementary school and going through bomb drills during the height of the Cold War [think backyard underground shelters, A-bombs, Cuban Missle Crisis]. We would suddenly be told a bomb had been launched, and we would hurl ourselves out of our seats, onto the floor and scramble under our desks. It was scary because of all the things we would overhear the grownups discussing or hear on newscasts. But the true irony of those drills was that our town is home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base-- full of B-52 bombers and warheads in that era-- which was high on the strike list should a Russian attack occur. School was less than 2 miles from the main gates. We would have been toast before we ever hit the floor!
Years later, My college roommate and I were discussing those drills. He grew up about 60 miles from me, and recollected that his teacher would shout out, "a bomb has hit Seymour Johnson!" at the start of their drills. Some comfort! I'm just glad I did not know about that back when.

On a side note, just after midnight on 24 January 1961, we very nearly did meet the Hereafter! A B-52 bomber suffered structural failure and disintegrated in mid-air and crashed out in the county just down the road and around a curve from my aunt and uncle's farm. Three crew members ejected safely, another five crewmen perished. The B-52 was transporting two model MARK 39 nuclear devices! One bomb's parachute opened and it was recovered intact. The second bomb's parachute failed and it fell, breaking apart in a neighboring farmer's field at an estimated speed of mach 1. Military Operations cordoned off the area and conducted a massive search for the longest time. Parts of that field are boggy, like quicksand, making deep excavation impossible. Of what they did find, the team surmised that five of the six safety devices had failed. They believe all the plutonium was recovered. To this day, that field remains fenced off and periodic radiation tests are performed. It is a bona fide Broken Arrow site.

Broken Arrow: n. a military term for an accident, mishap, or other unexpected event involving one or more nuclear weapons.

There is a website dedicated to this incident, giving both the undisputed facts and the mysteries and inconsistencies surrounding the aftermath of the incident.
For any who wish to read more, here is the LINK (http://www.ibiblio.org/bomb/).

This personal history lesson has been sponsored by--:angel:

[trekbugging]

near where i live is the only bomb ever dropped on american soil during wartime-- a plane during ww11 accidentially dropped a nuclear warhead and all the tnt wnet off and left a big crater in ground--but warhead was fine and didn't blow--or where i live might not have been here

eddie are you still at seymour johnson?

my parents live 12 miles from there and i visit them regularally-- my cousin was there for many years-- bomb loader but got out of AF 2 years ago after his 20

[trekbugging]

in Conn where i lived we weren't far from Groton sub base which during the cold war was on the list to get bombed--so my high school actually had a bomb shelter-- large basement with HUGE concrete coloumns holding whole school up-- where we did wrestling practice and sometime football if was raining or too cold outside-- the air raid sirens were tested every so often-- and then i moved to New jersey and the local fire department had the same air raid siren for calling volunteer fire guys--so first time i heard it i was scared we were under attack-- not that funny