The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Resolve To Plan
Here we go again....
It's time for resolving.

by Dessa Rodeffer
Quill Editor/Publisher

5 January 2000

I told myself, sitting in Perkins restaurant January 1st, that I am not getting off to a very good start in making a good impression this year.

Here I was sitting in a public place where I had no intention of being.

My nephew had battery problems after working at Applebee's New Year's eve, so he had caught a ride to Stronghurst with his college roommate. Rather than drive themselves, the two boys decided to ride with a couple of girls who were attending a New Year's get-together at a girlfriend's near Stronghurst.

Somehow, some boys at the party accidently locked the girls keys in the trunk of the car, which caused problem number three.

Meanwhile, at home, I had stopped watching the New Year's celebrations around 3 a.m. thinking it would be a good morning to sleep in.

I was awakened with an S.O.S. by my nephew and his friend around 8:45 a.m. saying they were sorry, but they needed transportation back to Burlington and that Josh had to be at Hy Vee to work by 10 a.m.

No time to shower, I quickly piled my mother, my two grandchildren who had spent the night, my nephew, and Josh into the Jeep hoping I would not run into anyone I knew. After all, who would be up on New Year's morning.

We dropped Josh off at his home, James quickly removed the battery from his car and we drove to Auto Zone to check it out.

As we went inside the Auto Zone, I found Monty Waddell of Stronghurst taking care of some problems there. What luck.

Then the lady said the battery checked out as a good battery but just needed an hour charge. It's a free service, but we would have to wait the hour.

That left me with a family of hungry people. McDonald's would be a good place to not be seen, I thought, so off we went.

At McDonald's, I found Alicia Annegers of Stronghurst busy working saying they were not serving breakfast that day because of their later opening at 10 a.m.

I guess the only place left to eat breakfast was at Perkins. There was Michelle Link of Media, busy waiting tables and at the table beside us was Chris Robbins and his wife, of Biggsville.

It seems like the lesson of the millennium is to be ready and prepared for the worst, and if it doesn't happen, at least you won't be sitting with pie on your face.

And if it does happen, you will be prepared.

Now just how to do that is up to each of us.

I found there are several things we need to be ready for, including:

• Company: always keep the house as clean as possible, the beds with clean sheets, and the bathrooms clean, and something in the freezer you can pop in the microwave or oven.
• Electric Outage: Keep flashlights nearby, a few candles, and blankets, and a game or puzzle to play, and it wouldn't hurt to always have a gallon of water in the refrigerator. You just never know when the water will be shut off either.
• Car Problems: A can of gasoline for the car is a good thing to have in the garage as well as an Auto Starter.

This is a nifty little device that can start your car without jumper cables. Just plug it into your cigarette lighter and it is guaranteed to start your car within minutes in the coldest of weather. It can also run a cellular phone for 100 hours and even power up your laptop computer.

• Babysitting: Whether you are a parent or not you might find yourself entertaining children. Keep a basket of toys, a deck of cards, checkers, a puzzle, Legos, some books, Kool-ade, microwave popcorn, and you are about ready for any age.
• Health Problems: Isn't it better to prevent them to deal with them later. The best way is to eat healthy.

I was reminded on the kids place mats at Perkins that you should be eating five helpings of fruits and vegetables daily to be healthy.

Fish is also good to have in our diets, and we should limit high amounts of fat, sugar calories, and caffeine.

And of course, try to exercise and eliminate those bad habits. According to the American Cancer Society, "half of all men and one-third of all women will develop cancer during their lifetime....the risk can be greatly reduced by changes made in a person's lifestyle... quit smoking, or eating a better diet.

Regular checkups are important, too. The sooner cancer is found and the sooner treatment begins, the better a patient's chances are of a cure."

I'm not sure what your resolutions might be this year, but resolving to be prepared might be a good one for all of us.

Whether it is going over escape routes and emergency plans with our family in case of a fire, always keeping the car filled above a half a tank, or just being prepared for drop-ins at supper time, the year will go smoother if we try to prepare ahead.

Now excuse me while I go purchase an Auto Starter :just in case.