Get ready

Man, oh, man:

The Blanco River water rose 40 feet, yes, FORTY FEET, so fast that people never had time to evacuate.  Homes wiped out, many feared dead, a dozen people missing.

That's about Wimberley, Texas, which my brother lives just outside of. I visited him week before last, and it rained every day. I did not mind -- vacation is vacation, and the company was good -- and right now I really do not mind. It turns out the rain while I was there was just a preview of coming attractions. The flooding they have is of biblical proportions, the governor calling it the worst in Texas history. Remember 1982 in Fort Wayne?

My brother's house is halfway up a hill, so the flood waters didn't reach him. He's probably lucky that his house didn't get washed into the flood waters, and he did lose power for 48 hours. Didn't phase him -- he just kicked on his backup generator. I think my brother probably gets kidded a little because he's so into preparedness -- he's got weeks worth of emergency food, water, first aid and other supplies. I'll bet anybody who has kidded him now wishes they had been just a little more prepared. Now he's talking about getting another generator to back up his generator in case it fails. Don't blame him.

We all here about prparedness, and some of us even think about it. Few of us actually follow through, though. According to the Red Cross, we should have a minimum of three days worth of emergency supplies for an evacuation and two weeks worth for in-home use. Here are the basic necessities.