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Styling slightly north of Tulsa

 It probably depends on how you define 'the apocalypse'. It was a brief walk with the dogs this morning. Cooper's shoulder seemed to be bugging him a couple of days ago - so light duty for all! Thus I had simply slipped on a pair of garden Crocks and headed out. While Cooper & Carrie sniffed and peed on a mailbox my mind wandered to it being Friday the 13th, Riots planned for Trump's birthday, and Israel's attack on Iran. If a nuclear bomb landed on Tulsa could I really run in Crocks? Would there be time to change into my serious hiking shoes with the arch supports? What about the the shorts? - Do you wanna be the guy in the Mickey Mouse tee shirt, shorts and Crocks describing to the reporter gal "Well I was walking the dogs and just over those trees there I saw the mushroom cloud and I said to myself, guys, I don't think that's rain!" Heck no you wanna be the guy in camo, minimum. Preferably with the fully loaded Jeep, solar water still and generator strapped to the roof with Deb yelling "Honey talk to her later we gotta make it to the mountains by dawn!" I mean ya wanna at least look like you're taking it serious. Course if it's The Rapture Crocks could work. They go with everything. Not good for walking but I understand there isn't a whole lot required. Add in a nice white robe some rosary beads while Googling how to say the Rosary on your phone - you're covered. Or at least the doorman won't turn you away on sight. Financial apocalypse/reset I don't know perhaps a business suit and sensible shoes?! (I like "reset" it sounds so nice and cas - "Oh, just burn those dollar thingies we're using bottle caps now!") Thankfully the dogs didn't take advantage of my distraction. There were cookies at home for good dogs and they hadn't heard of the tariffs and shrinking box size - yet.

  I guess I think about these things at this level because it's what I grew up with. As a boomer I grew up with mom bemoaning that "white bread was no longer a dime but nineteen cents! Not the good Wonder Bread but the store brand!! Why it's almost cheaper to give the kids each a quarter for the school lunch!!!" (Yea, pizza Friday!) Nuclear attack drills, we never did those at my schools but we had the Soviets and you had to watch the evening news before the good shows came on TV. There was Vietnam and Israel was certainly fighting with somebody - I honestly forget who. Rapture, well we were Catholic and I was a kid so my theological depth was knowing when to stand, when to kneel and when to pretend I was singing. Now don't get my casual demeanor wrong. You should be growing a garden!

  A garden, if say we all start wearing masks again, will feed your soul as well as your belly. The food aspect is core but picking your neighbors apple tree and making apple butter bonds you with those neighbors. You may have no control over bombs or riots but you damned sure can decide that the volunteer cucumber plant that is strangling the peppers has got to go. Kennedy may be threatening the red dye in your large bag of M&Ms but he's OK with those tomatoes, and who knows maybe he's right. Growing a garden isn't cheap but much of that expense does shift the cost of food from the liability side of the balance sheet to the asset side. Good soil is definitely an investment.  Perhaps most importantly you can definitely wear Crocks in a garden.  

Doug A. 

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