Soft Paws: The work of dog control officers

By Dick Brooks

For Capital Region Independent Media

Having grown up in the middle years of the last century, I was introduced to a couple of phrases or mottos that have served me well. 

One came from my favorite television show and was the motto of Davy Crockett, one of my childhood heroes, the other two heroes being Mickey Mantle and Yogi Bear. Davy used to say, “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead.” This has worked well for me as I aged; in fact the older I get, the easier it is to be absolutely sure that I’m right. 

The other motto was drilled into my consciousness during our weekly Boy Scout meetings — “Be Prepared.” Wanting to impress Scoutmaster Fairchild, I learned 57 ways to use my Scout bandanna, everything from binding up wounds to making a stretcher for injured squirrels. I made a survival kit out of an old Band Aid box and carried it everywhere — you never knew when the school bus might go out of control and crash in the wilderness, and the survival of all my friends might depend on my ability to tell which way was north while keeping them fed with fish caught with fishing gear from my kit, cooked over a warming fire started by the waterproofed matches I had dipped in paraffin before adding them to the kit.

As a mature adult, I have continued to try to be prepared for any and all emergencies that might rear its nasty head. I have an emergency box in the cellar with candles, flashlights, batteries, first-aid stuff, a crank-operated radio and a supply of water and food.

The box that lives in the back of Casper the Friendly Kia has everything needed to survive under any condition. There are emergency blankets, an entrenching tool, a bowie knife, fishing gear, a large first-aid kit, a flexible saw, candles, flares, hand warmers, instant ice packs, a small air compressor, granola bars, water, a folding bucket, a leatherman tool kit, and sundry other interesting and useful items.

I am ready for almost anything! I can and have survived hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, fires and floods because I’m prepared — or at least I thought I was. NASA just informed me through the television news that there are hunks of space junk the size of a school bus that could be about to enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

If there’s a big storm headed our way, we know a few days before that it’s coming and where it’s going to hit, we can get prepared. NASA says some of this space junk is likely to land someday soon somewhere between Newfoundland and Argentina — not too specific, are they? 

How is an old Boy Scout supposed to be prepared for this? To comfort us, NASA says that you are more likely to be hit by lightning than by this hunk of high-cost garbage.  Having known folks who were hit by lightning, I don’t take a lot of comfort in these odds. 

Then there’s the disconcerting fact that if that chunk doesn’t get me, there’s over 20,000 other hunks of space junk just waiting for their turn to take a crack at me. I realize that paranoia is not healthy, but neither is getting nailed by a school bus falling a bazillion miles an hour. 

If you drive through town and see an old guy walking around his yard wearing a racing helmet, don’t be alarmed, it’s just me being prepared.

Who knew Chicken Little was right!

Thought for the week — Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain. And most do.  

Until next week, may you and yours be happy and well.

Reach columnist Dick Brooks at Whittle12124@yahoo.com.