Yesterday, I had to take someone to the airport. I haven’t been to the airport in a couple of years, but I didn’t expect to find the drive over to be much different than before. It was pretty much the same, except for one thing. All along the road next to the airport is a line of park and fly parking lots, just as there have always been. And like always, each one contained lots of cars and activity – except one. One lonely lot was almost completely devoid of cars or people. That lot had one really big sign that read, “CELL PHONE LOT”.

Cell phone lot? I immediately looked down at the ground to see if there were tiny cell phones “parked” in each parking space, but as far as I could tell, there were none. I could see, on the far side of the lot, another sign. It also read, in big, bold, letters, “CELL PHONE LOT”. Great, twice now, I’ve been told in big bold letters what this place was, but the big letters didn’t make it any clearer to me. I still had no idea what the heck a cell phone lot was. The only thing I could think of was that maybe airport security had gotten so tight, that now everyone was required to leave their cell phones behind while traveling, and this parking lot was the place to leave them.

After returning home, I ran a search on the internet for “cell phone lot” and found the answer to what this mysterious thing is. Apparently it’s common at airports, though I don’t know how long these things have been around. Here’s a good explanation of it from the Seatac airport web site.

There are more than 40 parking spots available. Drivers can wait in the lot until arriving passengers have deplaned, collected luggage and called to be picked up outside of Baggage Claim. Drivers must stay with their vehicles. The Cell Phone Lot not only provides a convenient place for waiting for arriving flights, but also helps keep traffic on the airport drives moving smoothly.

Ok, so, it’s a place where I can hang out and wait when picking up an arriving passenger, and when that passenger calls me on my cell phone, I can leave the lot and go pick her up. Makes sense now, and I like the concept. That’s a lot better than circling the airport a hundred times waiting for someone to come out of the baggage claim area.

Now, I’m not sure exactly what the sign should have said so that I would have understood the message, but some sort of short explanation would have been helpful. Maybe under the Cell Phone Lot sign, another sign that read “Waiting area for passenger pickup” or something similar would have clarified things a bit.

My point is that even though you think your message is loud and clear because you’ve shouted it loudly to everyone, doesn’t mean that anyone really understands what it is you are shouting about. If you look around and your parking lot is always empty (or no one seems to be understanding your message or taking the action you expected them to take), perhaps you should ask others if they understand your message. If they look for cell phones lying on the ground, maybe you should consider rewording your message to make it clearer, not bigger.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2007. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: airport web site, cell phones, cellular telephone
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You can get nearly all of these delivered to you (with free shipping for orders over $100) from Nitro-Pak and you can stock up on batteries at BatteriesPlus.com.

Now for the list:
Lighting

1. Lots and lots of batteries in every size. D-cell batteries are especially useful for portable T.V.s, large flashlights and emergency radios. I bought between 24 and 72 batteries of each type (AAA, AA, C, D, and 9-volt).
2. Flashlights. I suggest at least one for every room of the house. I have a couple of rechargeable flashlights plus about a dozen cheap plastic ones in various sizes. These are mainly just for quick navigation through a dark house.
3. Kerosene Lanterns. I suggest 2 or 3 of these as they will mainly be used for long-term room lighting. During power outages, people tend to congregate in just a few areas of the house, so long-term lighting in just these areas is probably sufficient. Flashlights can be used for navigating throughout the rest of the house. Make sure to stock up on lamp oil as well.
4. Candles. This is the last of the lighting supplies you might need. Candles are always handy to have around, but they are less useful than flashlights and lanterns.

Food and Water

1. MREs. These “Meals Ready to Eat” are lifesavers. You can actually buy these in bulk, and store them for 5-8 years (depending upon what temperature they are stored at). You don’t have to wait for the government to hand these out. You can buy them in advance and have them ready when you need them. These meals are pretty decent. They don’t require water for preparation (except for powdered drinks). They typically include appetizers (such as crackers and spread), a main entree such as roast, veggie burger, pasta, or omelette, a side dish such as mashed potatoes or trail mix, a dessert, napkins, utensils, and seasonings. These meals are pre-cooked and can be eaten hot or cold straight from the pouch. Trust me on this one. I would have done just about anything to have had these on hand immediately. Now, I do. By the way, you can learn a lot about these kinds of things when you or your friends date military singles or you have family in the military to share this kind of info with you. You can also get great ideas for survival food and water kits from army surplus stores like this one.
2. Water. That goes without saying, of course, but I quickly discovered that I didn’t have nearly as much water as I needed to have. You don’t realize how much water you consume until you don’t have it. You not only need it for drinking but also to help keep you cool. Without air conditioning, my house stayed above 100 degrees during Katrina. In addition, you’ll need enough for your pets as well. You can stock up on bottled and jug water, but there are other alternatives to consider. Emergency water pouches are easy to store and travel well. Water barrels can be purchased that allow you to store 30 gallons of water at a time. These barrels come with everything needed to keep the water fresh for years, and enable you to use it easily when the time is needed.
3. Water purification tablets and water testing kits to make water safe to drink.
4. Coleman stove and propane bottles for cooking

Cooling and Heating Devices

1. Battery powered fans. These are an absolute must! If disaster strikes during the hot summer months, the heat will be something you just cannot take (and of course can be deadly). I bought two 10-inch battery operated fans (here’s where you need lots of D cell batteries on hand). They were the biggest I could find that didn’t need electricity. You can usually find these at places like Walmart and even your grocery store.
2. Space blankets and hand warmers will help during cold-weather emergencies.

Communication Devices

1. Cell phone and battery operated cell phone charger. I found battery operated chargers at my local hardware store. They work for nearly all models of cell phones as they come with various connectors.
2. Hand crank or solar and battery powered emergency radio / flashlight/ siren / weather band. This is an absolute must and they are easy to find.
3. Battery operated T.V. This isn’t essential, but sometimes you just want to be able to see for yourself that there is still a world out there.
4. An old-fashioned corded phone that plugs into an outlet. This may be the only thing still working, when cordless phones won’t work with the power out, and cell towers are down.

First Aid and Tools

1. Standard first aid kits are a must in case of any emergencies.
2. A swiss army style knife can be useful in almost any circumstance.
3. An axe is handy for escaping through a roof during a flood. Ever tried cutting a hole through a roof with a knife? The axe is much easier and if you are needing to do something like this, you can’t waste time.

You can also find many, many more items that are useful to have on hand for emergencies, but the items I’ve listed above will at least make sure you have the essentials. For greater peace of mind, you may want to consider other products as well, but please consider having at least those essentials on hand. I know it seems like a waste of time and money to prepare for things that may never happen, but the difference it will make is beyond description. Hope this helps someone.

*

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2007. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cell phones, cellular telephone, Coleman, datestring, disasters, electricity, emergencies, emergency preparedness, emergency supplies, First Aid, hurricanes, on lamp oil, Samsung SGH-Z370 Unlocked Triband Camera Phone (Black) (Out of Stock), swiss army
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1. See! (Large, clear text and big buttons)
2. Hear!
3. Understand! (Simple to use, no gizmos)

The senior citizen population is HUGE and growing, yet the cell phone companies mostly ignore them completely. The only real choice I’ve been able to find is from a company called Jitterbug. I like the choices they have, and am ordering one for my father-in-law today. Still, there shouldn’t just be one company to choose from. So, c’mon cell phone companies, start making some phones that cater to the needs of senior citizens. It’s way past time.

UPDATE: The Jitterbug has been great. My father-in-law can easily use it and loves it. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it for anyone.

Jitterbug Phones

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2007. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: big numbers, cellular telephone, easy cell phones, father-in-law, large buttons, senior citizen cell phone
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So, this last week before Christmas, I still have to get some more groceries for the big dinner. We usually get together Christmas Eve so the kids can go off to the inlaws for Christmas Day. We’ll bake a ham, slice it up, make sandwiches, and have lots of finger foods to go with it. Everyone seems to prefer the snackies type Christmas dinner over the traditional dinner, since Thanksgiving dinner was just a few weeks ago.

My granddaughter is just a little over 1 year old, so this will be the first Christmas she’ll be able to enjoy. She still doesn’t really know what’s going on, but she does like the Christmas ornaments and lights, and she has a pretty decent grasp on the concept of opening a present and getting cool stuff. So, this year should be pretty fun. I think her favorite toy will be the toy cell phone I got for her. The kid is absolutely bonkers about two things – remote controls and phones. We had to give her her very own (old, no longer used) remote control to play with, but she still tries to grab the real ones whenever possible. And don’t get a phone anywhere within her reach! So, I found a nifty toy phone that lets you record a message, so when she hits a button, she actually hears someone (me) on the other end. It also does some other cool things, so I think she’s gonna go ga-ga over it.

Since we recently moved here, we didn’t go all out on the decorations this year, but next year we’ll be decorating the outside of the house, the front porch, and the back deck. There were just too many other things to do this year. But the inside of the house is nicely decorated and has a very nice ambience right now. Life is good.

What are y’all doing to get ready for Christmas (or whichever holiday you may be celebrating at this time of year)? Whatever it is you do, I hope all of you have a wonderful, joyful time, filled with great fun and lots of love this holiday season.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2006. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cellular telephone, Christmas, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving
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