Apocalypse

Harley says "I will be three years old next week!"

I must be behind the times again. I just heard there is going to be yet another apocalypse. I think I've survived 3 of these by now.

I am getting good at this!

Besides the various apocalypses, I've survived hurricanes, hangovers, earthquakes, boat sinkings, boat fire, house fire, floods and Peebles Hospital.

I've probably left something out.

Those of you from the Virgin Islands will get a giggle out of the Peebles Hospital snide.

Peebles Hospital is that awful place on Tortola in the Virgin Islands where I stayed for a month, most of it in ICU.  My blog about that nightmare, is very light on them... I had no idea who was reading the blog, so I couldn't really say what was really going on in that hell hole. I am just forever grateful, I managed to escape from there, still alive.

Many of my friends have not been so lucky. In the last 3 years, MS, LW, SM and  EM, all very close friends of mine, turned up at Peebles Hospital seeking help and died.  (I've used only 2 initials).

What are the odds? That's the 4 I know about... I haven't lived in the islands in 3 years, and have not been in touch with everybody I knew there.  But that is some really bad odds.

So now I prepare for the apocalypse which may or may not come.

Kind of like last night's brutal storm. I was invited to go out to dinner. This is extremely rare for me and a serious treat. I dug out my purple dress and jacket, ecstatic to have an excuse to wear them. Even though they are second-hand, nobody knows that when I put them on. Just for fun, I put on my cowboy boots.  My feet were too cold for sandals, my clogs were way too casual and well, when I tried on the cowboy boots, I decided funky would be fun. I fiddled with my hair and face, put on some earrings.  I practiced walking around in my old cowboy boots because I don't wear them everyday, but I might start. They have the cowboy heel, so they aren't the speediest walking boot, but I have done plenty of miles in them. They are 16 years old, made of good leather and molded perfectly to my feet.

They were bought on a very cold day 16 years ago in northern California. I was still living in the Caribbean, but was on a temporary assignment that put me in the states. My socks and sandals were doing nothing to cut through the brutal freezing temps.  I went out to buy shoes, but took a tour of a western cowboy boot store. Big mistake. The first pair I like and slipped on, fit me perfectly.  My feet warmed up considerably, so I bought them and wore them out of the store with my sandals tucked inside the big boot box. That was back in the days when my budget was far grander than now. The cost of those boots these days would probably support me two or three weeks on my current efficient budget. Funny how life changes when you least expect it.

But fate happened...

The storm was coming with the possibility of 70 mile per hour gusts and flash flooding. It just seemed like a silly time to leave the comfort of the woods to go to the big city for dinner. So I postponed. If trees are falling and power goes out, I would rather be stuck at my motorhome, not 20 miles away in a friend's car. But for 30 minutes, I looked great in my purple dress and western cowboy boots.

Now the apocalypse is coming and I am still learning to remember how to spell it correctly.

Let's see...  motorhome is more or less in good shape, I have a few extra provisions, some gas, some propane, some food.  The generator works if I put the new air filter on it. Oh I better go fill up my water tank, just in case. I think it's only half full at the moment.

I guess I could survive a few weeks after the apocalypse.

Maybe.

I think I will have some chocolate first. Rich dark chocolate.