Big Bad Bill

BIG BAD BILL

If someone asks me, "I have some good news and some bad news to tell you. Which do you want to hear first?" I always say, "Tell me the bad news first." There are plenty of people who choose the opposite and have the good news delivered first. Some of these good news first people have told me that their motivation is to delay the arrival of bad news for as long as possible. I can't help but wonder about them. Do they think by stalling that the bad news will improve or disappear? If there is bad news coming I want to hear it first. I would never even be able to enjoy the good news while worrying about how bad the next news was going to be. So it would be the same as just getting bad news because the good news would have been ruined by my worry.

So I have some bad news and some good news and you are getting the bad news first. There is a major hurricane out there. The National Hurricane Center reports that Hurricane Bill is now a category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph. Bill is also big. At present he has hurricane force winds extending out 85 miles from his center and tropical storm force winds extending outward for up to 230 miles. Yes indeed Hurricane Bill is big and bad. Worse yet, most people along the eastern coastline are reporting that they are no where near ready for a hurricane.

Now here are two pieces of good news. The first is that so far Hurricane Bill has been antisocial. He has kept to himself on a northern tract in the Atlantic. The second piece of good news is we know he is out there and have some time to prepare.
If you live in Bermuda, Nova Scotia, or along the northeastern U.S. sea coast you have time to make some important decisions and preparations. You should start by collecting all your important paperwork and placing it in a waterproof container. The completion of this first step will give you some much needed piece of mind and that is the real good news.

If you know anyone in the threatened areas please forward them this information. Additional evacuation information available at www.wineandchocolateplan.com