The purpose of Poetslife is to promote the art and discipline of American Tactical Civil Defense for families and small businesses and to contribute practical American civil defense preparedness guidance for all Americans through my articles in the The American Civil Defense Association (TACDA.ORG) Journal of Civil Defense and leadership as the volunteer Vice President of TACDA.

10/18/2013

Social Media Tools for Emergency Managers - TACDA









9/26/2013

about.me Identity Social Media

about.me is a new identity social media network where you create a simple page about yourself and then connect to others. They took the old "about me" section of blog or Web pages, put it in hyperdrive, and created a template to help you add photos, apps, links, social media connections, and other things that may interest you or others about you.
My Bruce Curley about.me page was so easy to create it reminded me of the last line of  Robert Frost's great poem "The Pasture" "I sha'n't be gone long.-- you come too." 
You sha'n't be long creating it...you build one, too!

The Pasture

BY ROBERT FROST
I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):
I sha'n't be gone long.—You come too.

I'm going out to fetch the little calf
That's standing by the mother. It's so young,
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.

I sha'n't be gone long.—You come too.

 

 





9/16/2013

WaterBricks for Emergencies


WaterBricks are a great way to store water, food, even  ammo, or to build furniture or shelter when needed. I have used them for some time and find them rugged, easy to fill, carry and stack, and very dependable. WaterBricks can be cross stacked and interlocked for easy storage and to build furniture or shelter.
I am on a well so I have to have a good source of emergency water, and these are the best water storage items I've ever found. They are like water LEGOs that stay in place, don't leak, and protect water for a very long time. I highly recommend WaterBricks, especially for those who are not connected to city water.
Note: These bricks can be frozen. This is important to extending frozen food life during a power outage. And, if you need to keep insulin cold for a diabetic, this can be a lifesaver in the first few hours and days of the loss of power.
You can order Waterbricks here. (online)
877 420 Water (phone)
1011 Crown Park Circle, Suite 100, Winter Garden, FL, www.WaterBrick.org

WaterBrick Features                                               Benefits

Notched Lid with Full Gasket
Notched design allows for an easy to open lid while the heavy duty full gasket provides a tight seal
Wide Lid Opening
An average adult can easily reach in for stored contents
Carry Handle
Offers easy comfort especially when carrying long distances on foot and, if necessary, is easily detachable
HDPE Plastic Resin
BPA free containers for water and food.  Made of resin that meets
FDA standards. Not for fuels or oils 
Ultra Violet Protectant
Non-bio degradable 15 year life or longer
Interlocking Male and Female Components
For stability and easy stacking while in transit on a pallet and when used as containers for water or food. Offers a smaller foot print thus saving storage space
Exterior Textured and Designed
Made to look like a real building block, rounded corners with texture & color to be aesthetically pleasing while showing like a finished product, all-in-one

AND...they can be used as sandbags to protect our military members: WaterBrick Sandbags.


9/13/2013

We have a New Life Now

We Have a New Life Now

 

We are 9/11

But we are more than 9/11.

We had a physical and spiritual life

Before that day.

And we have a New Life now.

 

As with the innocent 9/11 civilians,

We were murdered that day

By Jihadi’s who sucker-punched

Us with flesh melting jet fuel

And granite stone projectiles

That many think ended our lives.

 

But Americans leave no Americans behind.

Not their wounded or dead bodies,

Nor their memories, nor their stories.

This is why, children, we honor

Chief Army Warrant Officer William Ruth

And  Navy Lt. Commander Ronald J. Vauk

And all who went to work on 9/11

 

 

Only to be taken from us due to

Vicious, cunning, murdering Jihadi’s

Who know well their 1400-year legacy

Killing Christians, Jews, Hindus,

Pagans, atheists, or anyone else

Who does not submit, convert, or die,

When they strike in Mohammad’s name

To arbitrarily decide who lives, and who dies.

According to their craven earthly ideology.

 

Chief Warrant Officer Ruth

Was a Marine Corps Pilot who in Vietnam

Evacuated the dead and wounded

Under heavy enemy fire

Went on to earn a Master’s degree

When he returned from the war.

He taught social studies and history

For 30 years to middle school students

But was pulled from the classroom

In the best tradition of the citizen soldier

To fight in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

 

He presided one time

As Commander of the Mt. Airy VFW

Before God called him home,

Serving to the last minute

After a life of non-stop service.

  

Lt. Vauk graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy,

Served on the submarines U.S.S. Lipscomb

And U.S.S. Oklahoma City,

Was a supervisor in submarine technology

At the Johns Hopkins University

Applied Physics Laboratory,

And was the Watch Commander

At the Pentagon Command Center

On the phone trying to get jets to scramble

When the Jihadi-hijacked plane

Hit the Pentagon like a cruise missile,

As he served to the last minute

After a life of non-stop service.

 

Hear, Children, what they say from Heaven:

“We both left children behind

But we now preside with millions

Of Saints guarding the Gates of Heaven

And we are patiently waiting for you.

When your faith is weak

Know we stand post guarding

The gates of earth against the onslaught

Of the Jihadi’s who even today

Burn down Christian churches

And continue to rape, oppress and murder

Wherever they can find an opening

To slaughter the Holy Innocents.”

 

Remember always, children,

To cry out to these Heavenly Saints,

 

Chief Army Warrant Officer William Ruth

Navy Lt. Commander Ronald J. Vauk

And all who have been martyred

In this 1400 year old war, and pray:

“Jesus, help us to know how

To defeat them and their ideology

And be worthy of Your Crucifixition.”

 

Both men fought in a 2000 year old line

That bookends from Charles the Hammer Martel

At Tours in 732 A.D.

And Polish King of Poland John Soboliski

At the Gates of Vienna in 1632 AD

These men join a long line of heroes

Who have met the God’s Commands

And saved Christendom In a Code of Chivalry

That demands we protect women and children

 

We are 9/11.

But we are more than 9/11.

We had a physical and spiritual life

Before that day.

And we have a New Life now.

Let us celebrate our New Life together.




i







 Ronald vauk ArlingtonProfile: Ronald VaukRonald Vauk was a participant or observer in the following events:9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001: Navy Command Center Employees Killed While Trying to Get More Fighters Launched terrorist attack.  He was one of 189 killed at the Pentagon. 



Attack Location: Pentagon 




Edward Earhart, Matthew Flocco, and their supervisor Lt. Nancy McKeown are inside the Pentagon, watching the televised footage of the burning World Trade Center. They belong to a small meteorological unit based in the Navy Command Center, located on the first floor of the building’s southwest face. McKeown asks her two young aides to bring up New York on the computer because the Command Center is going to send some fighter jets there, in case there is another attack on the city. She orders them to program weather updates for military aircraft converging on New York. However, very soon after this, the Command Center is directly impacted when the Pentagon is hit, and both Flocco and Earhart are killed. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/16/2001; READER'S DIGEST, 9/2002;CNN, 9/8/2002; NEWSDAY, 4/12/2006] Ronald Vauk, the watch commander in the Navy Command Center, is on the phone trying to get more fighters scrambled at the time the Pentagon is hit, though news reports say he wants them to protect Washington, not New York. [JOHN HOPKINS MAGAZINE, 11/2001; NEW YORK TIMES, 11/17/2001;BALTIMORE SUN, 9/11/2002] At 9:24 a.m., NORAD had ordered fighters at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to scramble (see 9:24 a.m. September 11, 2001), though these will not arrive over the Pentagon until after it is hit (see (Between 9:49 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.) Sptember 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 6/17/2004] According to Lt. Kevin Shaeffer, who works in the Command Center, just prior to the attack on the Pentagon, the watch section and watch leaders in the center are actively engaged in logging and recording the events going on in New York. He later says, “they all responded in exactly the way they were trained,” and, “Had the Command Center not been destroyed it surely would have been able to provide the highest levels of our Navy leadership with updates as to exactly what was occurring.” [CHIPS, 3/2003]
Navy reservist Ronald Vauk - who was killed two weeks ago when a hijacked jetliner crashed into the Pentagon - will be awarded the Purple Heart on Friday, the day before his body is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The medal will be presented to Vauk's wife, Jennifer. 
The 37-year-old graduate of the Naval Academy and a former submarine officer had begun his two-week reserve training at the Pentagon just the day before the 
Press Report: 27 September 2001:
A Mass of Christian burial for Ronald James Vauk of Mount Airy, who was killed at the Pentagon on September 11, will be offered at 12:45 p.m. Saturday at the Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Chapel.
Commander Vauk, 37, was beginning two weeks of annual active duty for the Naval Reserve and serving as watch commander in the Naval Command Center at the Pentagon when a hijacked plane struck the building. Since 1997, he had been an assistant group supervisor in submarine technology at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel.
Born in Nampa, Idaho, Vauk was a 1987 graduate of the Naval Academy, where he earned a degree in political science. He served on the submarines USS Glenard P. Lipscomb and the USS Oklahoma City, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander and receiving several medals and commendations. After about seven years of active duty, he entered the reserves and began working for Delex Corp. in Tyson's Corner, Virginia, where he was project manager for naval contracts.
A devoted family man, Commander Vauk also enjoyed woodworking and golf.
Visiting hours at Sterling Ashton Schwab Funeral Home, 736 Edmondson Ave., are from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.
He is survived by his wife of 14 years, the former Jennifer Mooney, who is expecting a child in November, and their 3-year-old son, Liam; four brothers, Charles Vauk of Boise, Idaho, David Vauk of Nampa, Gary Vauk of Grapevine, Texas, and Dennis Vauk of Houston; and four sisters, Teri Masterson of Carson City, Nev., Celia Shikuma of Huntington Beach, Calif., Lynne Caba of Nampa and Patricia Vauk of Minneapolis.
A Ronald James Vauk Memorial Fund for his wife and children has been  established in care of First Mariner Bank, 1801 S. Clinton St., Baltimore 21224. 
Press Report 30 September 2001:
Within view of the blackened Pentagon where he was killed September 11, Nampa native Ron Vauk was buried with full military honors Saturday in Arlington  National Cemetery.
About 300 mourners, many wearing Navy dress whites, filled a chapel on the grounds of Fort Myer to attend Vauk's funeral Mass and a graveside service afterward.
Vauk, who was born and grew up in Nampa, was one of 189 people who died when hijackers slammed a commercial jetliner into the Pentagon. A Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserves, Vauk was serving as the Watch Commander at the Naval Command Center and was just starting his second day of annual active duty.
Two weeks before he was killed, the 37-year-old father of one with a second child due in November prepared a resume for the Navy, his brother-in-law Chris DeBoy said in his eulogy.
"He listed his first goal to be the best father and husband he could be," DeBoy said. "Ron stood watch for the nation on September 11. Now he stands watch for all of us."
DeBoy said Vauk was a dedicated son. Every year he returned to Nampa to visit his parents, Hubert and Dorothy Vauk. He was talented, funny and a playful teaser.
A 1982 Nampa High School graduate, Vauk was the baby of the family who always won at Scrabble, DeBoy said.
With their 3-year-old son, Liam, in her arms, Vauk's wife, Jennifer, led the mourners out of the chapel into a gray afternoon.
There a military honor guard lifted Vauk's flag-draped metal casket onto a horse-drawn caisson. As the mourners followed in cars, the caisson slowly made its way to the burial site.
In front of the caisson was a 15-piece military band and a 21-member escort platoon, all decked out in Navy dress whites.
Seven dark horses, mounted by four riders, pulled the caisson. Five more sailors brought up the rear.
In a halting fashion, six sailors removed the casket from the caisson and carried it to the grave. As they did so, the sun peeked out from behind clouds.
The sailors set the casket down and lifted the flag from the coffin and held it horizontally.
Navy chaplain Darold Bigger said a prayer.
A seven-man firing team then shot a three-round volley. A lone bugler played "Taps."
The casket team slowly folded the flag with crisp movements, while the band played the Navy hymn.
"On behalf of a grateful nation and a proud Navy, we present you this flag," Rear Admiral Michael Loose said as he handed the folded Stars and Stripes to Jennifer Vauk.
When the ceremony ended, Jennifer and Liam, a pacifier in his mouth, walked to the casket with other family members, tearfully touched it and placed small red paper flowers on it.
In general, only military retirees, those who died in active duty, and their spouses can be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, though certain others may qualify for the honor.
After high school, Ron Vauk attended the U.S. Naval Academy and was an officer on the submarines USS Glenard P. Lipscomb and USS Oklahoma City. He left active duty in 1993.
At the time of his death, Vauk was employed at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, where he worked on submarine technology.
The Navy awarded Vauk the Purple Heart in a ceremony at the Johns Hopkins laboratory on Friday. Jennifer Vauk accepted the Purple Heart, and young Liam received a polished wooden box to hold his fathers' medals.
Local services
A local memorial Mass for Ron Vauk will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 1515 8th St. S., Nampa.
Lynn Caba, Ron Vauk's sister, is manager of the Wells Fargo main branch in Nampa. Her team members established and contributed to the Ron Vauk Benefit Fund to cover immediate expenses for his pregnant wife, Jennifer Vauk, and their 3-year-old son, Liam. Additional money will be used as an educational fund for Vauk's children. Donations are being accepted at any Wells Fargo branch.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Mike Loose salutes Jennifer Vauk and her son Liam, 3, after giving her a U.S. flag in honor of her husband, Lt. Commander Ron Vauk. 
Lieutenant Commander Ronald J. Vauk 
Lieutenant Commander Ronald James Vauk was on the second day of his annual two-week Navy Reserve stint at the Pentagon when the Boeing 757 plunged into the building Tuesday morning.
His family thought the damaged section housed mostly Army personnel. But by 7 that night, when there was still no word of him, relatives began to fear the worst. Then they learned that Vauk, of Mount Airy, Virginia, was assigned to the Naval Command   Center under the section that had been hit. Yesterday, the Navy listed him as missing.
He has a 3-year-old son, and his wife is pregnant with their second child. Vauk, who attended the U.S. Naval Academy and spent five years in the Navy before joining the reserves, works at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in research.
"I'm trying to hope for a miracle, like everyone else," said a sister, Pat Vauk, who arrived home from work yesterday to find the unwelcome sight of funeral flowers sitting on her table. "You try to hold out hope, but as time goes on, it gets harder."
Pat Vauk last saw her brother, whom she described as a "fabulous human being," on Friday, when she came to Baltimore from her Minneapolis home on business.
She said rescuers had been unable to penetrate the area where they believe her brother was working. The family -- he is the youngest of nine siblings -- is spread out across the country, and the others have been unable to come to Washington because of the commercial aviation ban.
"It's just not easy, not easy at all to go through this," she said.
 -- Jo Becker 


NOTE: Lieutenant Vauk was laid to rest in Section 64 of Arlington National Cemetery, in the shadows of the Pentagon.