Daily writing prompt

What do you love about where you live?

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I live in a small city which is really closer to a suburb. We’re about 30 minutes north of Boston, 30-40 minutes east to the Atlantic ocean, less than half a mile from the Massachusetts/New Hampshire state line, about an hour south of the White Mountains and the New Hampshire lakes region. We have multiple major urban areas, sprawling suburbs, and rural communities complete with farmland, all within an hour or two’s drive.

Really… what’s not to love? This is the perfect place.

We have picturesque Spring times, gorgeous Summers (usually, the last few have been more or less ruined by constant rain, but when the sun comes out it’s gorgeous at least), and easily the most beautiful Autumns on the continent. Winters suck, but if you are the kind of crazy person who loves winter then I guess it’s pretty wonderful.

We have historic franchises in all four major professional sports. Personally I am a Bruins (NHL) and Red Sox (MLB) fanatic. We also have minor league sports within a reasonable distance, and there are major universities all over the place. Literally. In Boston there is a huge university in pretty much every neighborhood. It’s insane when they all have their students move in at the same time. The end of August through Labor Day weekend can be a bit of a travel nightmare in Boston. Still, that means there are major college sports teams everywhere. NCAA hockey in New England is more or less the best in the country (though the Minnesota/South Dakota region would probably argue with that statement). So if you love sports at a high level, this is the place to be.

There is as much history here as you can get in the US. I imagine folks in Europe, Asia, and Africa laugh hysterically at folks in the New World when they talk about history, but for what you can get here in the Americas, Boston and the surrounding area is the place to be. We have connections dating back to the 1600’s here, where most of the US only clearly dates back to the 1800’s (yes I know I am focusing on white folks, but that’s mostly because pre-white folks invading the land there wasn’t much in the way of permanence as far as civilizations go). My sister once taught elementary school in southern California. They teach state history there as well as US history. She told her co-workers that in Massachusetts we don’t teach state history. When they asked her why she told them that US history is Massachusetts history. There is no US without us.

There are other things to love about our neck of the woods here in greater Boston, affectionately known as The Hub of the Universe. My family is here. My step kids have moved a few hours away but they are still close enough to get to them when we need to see them. On a few occasions I’ve thought about thinking about moving away from here. Southern California would be my first choice if I left. Manhattan, apart from the effing Yankees and Rangers (and Mets and Islanders too), would be another choice. Annapolis, MD won us over on our one visit there. That would probably be my third choice. There are a bunch of places in Europe I could see myself moving to as well, and let’s not discount Australia (even though having christmas in summer time is somehow offensive). When you come down to it though… I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I love it here.

Except for the friggin’ winters.

Daily writing prompt

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

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This one is super simple. The positive emotion I feel most often is love. Love for Jen, loved by Jen. It’s the same with my two step kids, of course. I just don’t get to see them every day the way I do my beloved bride.

I was alone for a very long time. All the way into my mid-30’s. I was convinced that I was never going to find anyone and I was never going to feel love the way other people did. Then I met Jen and everything changed for the better. Even after all these years together I still can’t quite get over how lucky I am to have met such a wonderful person who could let me into her family and share her life with me.

So there you go. No vague questions and no avoidance style answers. Just plain straight shooting today.

I love you, Jen.

Daily writing prompt

How do you plan your goals?

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Did ChatGPT write this question? It doesn’t really make sense. Do people plan to make goals? I don’t think so. It doesn’t feel that way to me. I don’t wake up and say to myself, “I am going to set a goal today.” No. The question should have been how do you plan to reach the goals you set for yourself. That’s a question worthy of some discussion.

Okay, let’s say there is a goal I want to reach. Run a 5k, or eat a couple of vegetarian meals each week. What do I do to help myself reach those goals? For me personally, I use the agile process.

Simply put, you take your large goal and break it down into smaller goals and make each smaller goal a milestone toward the main goal, dig it? If the goal is to run a 5k, the smaller goals could be find a training app, find a place to train, set a schedule for trainings, work through the training app one step at a time. When all of the smaller goals have been reached, boom. You’ve achieved the larger goal. Google veggie recipes, choose a few recipes and add them to your dinner schedule, take the list of ingredients to the grocery store and get whatever you need, on the appropriate day prepare the meal, eat it. Boom, you’ve achieved your veggie meal goal.

Pretty groovy, eh? Kinda makes you want to set a goal for yourself so that you can try it out, doesn’t it? Go for it!

Daily writing prompt

Create an emergency preparedness plan.

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What kind of emergency?

For a house fire the plan is to get outside and meet on the street at the end of the driveway. Back in the dark days of the cold war in the 80’s the plan was to just go outside and hope that the Soviet warhead that destroys Boston, or Hanscomb Air Force Base, or Pease Air Force Base hit close enough that it rains radioactive debris on us enough to kill us quickly so that we don’t die slowly of radiation poisoning.

So, you know, the plan is pretty dependent on the emergency itself. Let’s ask Google Bard for some ideas, shall we? I asked, “what is a good emergency plan?”

A good emergency plan is one that is tailored to your specific needs and circumstances. It should include the following elements:

• A list of potential emergencies that could affect your area. This could include natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires, as well as man-made disasters such as fires, explosions, and terrorist attacks.
• A plan for what you will do in each type of emergency. This could include things like evacuating your home, sheltering in place, or taking shelter in a safe location.
• A list of important contact information, such as the phone numbers of emergency services, your insurance company, and your family members.
• A plan for how you will communicate with your family members during an emergency. This could include things like designating a meeting place, using a communication app, or creating a code word.
• A plan for how you will care for your pets during an emergency. This could include things like having a pet carrier, food, and water on hand, or designating a pet-friendly evacuation shelter.
• A list of supplies that you will need in case of an emergency. This could include things like food, water, first-aid supplies, and flashlights.

You should also practice your emergency plan regularly so that you know what to do if an emergency does occur.

Here are some additional tips for creating a good emergency plan:

• Get involved in your community’s emergency preparedness efforts. This could involve things like volunteering for a local emergency response team or attending disaster preparedness trainings.
• Stay informed about the latest emergency preparedness news and information. This could include things like following your local emergency management agency on social media or signing up for their e-mail list.
• Make sure your emergency plan is updated regularly. This is especially important if you move or if there are changes in your family’s circumstances.

By following these tips, you can create an emergency plan that will help you stay safe in the event of a disaster.

https://bard.google.com

Bard agrees that it needs to be specific to the emergency. Ain’t i smart? So hurricanes are tape up the windows and hide in the cellar, fires are get out through whatever means necessary and meet at the end of the driveway. Earthquakes don’t happen around here but if they do we get under a door frame and ride them out. For the pets the plan is to… grab the pets. For supplies it’s grab a water bottle from the Poland Springs dispenser, grab a few boxes of protein bars, grab the laptops (because, duh), grab a guitar (because, duh), and grab the car keys (the hybrid, preferably) and scoot the heck outa dodge.

How’s that for preparedness, eh? Quite a bit better than going outside and hoping for heavy fallout.