Staying in the hospital with family...

Friends, DO NOT leave your loved ones alone in the hospital. Even with the best, most well meaning staff they have other patients and can't jump on every request right away. You can fetch things, monitor equipment and alarms, help with physical & respiratory therapy, and generally make sure things get done when they should.

Set up shifts with relatives and trusted friends if you can't take off work. Sleep in the room at night. With strangers running in and out 24/7 the patient needs somebody familiar to talk to and watch out for their interests. DON'T let them feel alone.

Do you have a right to complain about the government if you don't vote?

I've always been of the opinion that if you don't vote you give up your right to complain about what elected leaders do. The argument that one person can't change anything doesn't hold water because a bunch of "one persons" can change an election.

But what if you don't believe either candidate should be in office? I've always held my nose and voted for the lesser of two evils. The problem with that is, the lesser of two evils is still evil and I'm not going to do it anymore.

So do you stay home and not vote at all? That's where I think you lose your right to complain. Usually there are enough races on the ballot to vote for the ones you believe in and leave the rest blank. I don't know about other states but Oklahoma does allow undervoting.

Show up, sign in, and vote for the candidates you believe in. Leave a particular race blank if you don't believe in either one. Don't vote for a third party nobody just to avoid candidate A and B. If 20% of the voters turn in their ballots with no vote for president, regardless of who wins both parties will start wondering what you're looking for. In four years you might just get it.

The giving spirit that came to be known as the Oklahoma Standard

17 years ago many lives were changed. Every year on this date people talk about where they were and how loud the explosion was and whether they knew any of the victims.

Well, that's not my focus today. I'm here to talk about what people GAVE, not what they saw or heard. I gave my time night and weekends as a radio operator for the Salvation Army but that's not what I want to spotlight. The first few nights I was assigned to a medical tent just east of the Murrah Building. Here I alternately marveled at the giving spirit of Oklahomans and listened to out-of-state rescuers marveling at the giving spirit of Oklahomans.

A firefighter from another state flew here on his own and didn't have anyone to meet him. An airline agent who found out why he was here offered her car and home for him to use while here.

A policeman from New York said he planned to come back later to look for a wife because of the compassion and friendship we showed.

My first or second night I relayed a request for sweats for rescuers to wear under their clothes because it was getting cold. Somebody had dropped a box off at the state emergency management office and it was in my hands within the hour.

A request for flashlight batteries brought cases upon cases of batteries. If you asked for food you got enough to feed a thousand hungry teenagers.

I answered the phone at the Salvation Army one day and it was Fedex wanting to know where to bring a box of hardhats sent from California.

You see, once the rest of the country saw what we were doing they joined in too. Any need was soon met, including prayer. Even without access to the news I could feel the spirit of the country. We knew that we had a very large support team behind us.

That's all I have to say and it's not for recognition of myself. I'm just proud to have been PART of something so wonderful.

Occupy activists are not terrorists...

I think some of the goals and methods of the occupy movement are wrong and immature but if the government can't link someone directly to terrorist or otherwise violent activity it should be criminal to put them on the no-fly list.

Mark Faulk was detained February 29th for 45 minutes for an "enhanced inspection" at Will Rogers Airport while trying to fly to New York for a film premiere. He was released in time to make his flight but they could have kept him as long as they wanted with no repercussions. His return trip was nearly identical even though he had been checked here. While the TSA refuses to tell Mark why he is on the no-fly list, his participation in Occupy OKC is the only thing that stands out. If a protester does something illegal it should be handled locally with criminal charges, not a federal "suspicious of being suspicious" list.

The no-fly list was established to stop known terrorists from getting on airplanes in the aftermath of 9/11/2001. If its purpose has migrated into a soviet style enemies of the state list who will be next?

If the simple act of protest has become an automatic terrorist indicator maybe it's time for all of us to join the next one. Freedom of speech and freedom of association were rights granted by God and then confirmed and protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Storm spotter tips EVERYONE should know...

Situational awareness: "It struck without warning" is rarely true. If you WANT storm warnings you can GET storm warnings. Don't depend on hearing sirens inside your house. A weather radio is best, a local TV station is good too. LOCAL, not CNN or Discovery.

A tornado watch means conditions are right for tornadoes to develop. A tornado warning means radar has indicated a tornado is imminent and/or someone has actually seen a tornado.

Radar does not show what's happening on the ground. That's where trained spotters come in. DON'T go looking for storms without training. You can be hurt or killed.

The "bent neck" rule: If you're bending your neck to look up at a funnel, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE!

Don't take cover under an overpass because it turns into a wind tunnel. A TV crew got away with it once. Others have died.

There are a lot of scary looking clouds. There are not that many tornadoes.

And it's not just about tornadoes. Flooding and lightning are the top two storm related killers.

Don't drive into water if you can't see the road under it. The water is deeper than you think. Turn around, don't drown.

Even if you're not close to the storm, if you can hear thunder you are close enough to be struck by lightning.

Know what's happening around you and know what you will do if something happens. Planning avoids panic.

Chuck