Destiny Survival

            Survival Sally and Diane were visiting with one another while their husbands were out.

            “It sounds like somebody more talented than Schroeder the cat is at the piano in the next room, Diane,” said Survival Sally.

            “Oh, yes.  Jenny’s been taking piano lessons for some time now and really loves playing,” Diane said.

            “That’s wonderful.  You know, music students develop a part of their brain that many of us don’t.  They can also be quite good at math,” Sally said.

            “I hope so.  I was never very good at math.”

            “Me either,” Sally said.  “Speaking of music, Diane, did you see the little story in the December ‘Reader’s Digest’ about Operation Happy Note?”

            “No, tell me about it.”

            “A couple who owns a music store are sending musical instruments to our soldiers deployed overseas.  They’ve sent guitars, banjos, harmonicas—all kinds of things.  They’ve even sent instruction CD’s for those who want to learn to play instruments.  They’ve got a web site and are taking donations from people who want to help out.  I believe it’s operationhappynote.com.”

            “That sounds like a great idea,” Diane said.

            “What’s really neat is that soldiers who used to plug into iPods and shut themselves off from others are now playing instruments in groups with other soldiers.”

            “That’s wonderful.  I’m always after our kids to get off the computer or quit spending so much time playing video games.

            “You know, Diane, thinking of Operation Happy Note brings to mind how important it would be to have musical instruments on hand in a survival situation, such as during a winter storm.”

            “That’s a good idea, Sally,” said Diane.  “When I was growing up, we used to play games with my cousins or put jigsaw puzzles together when we had snow days and couldn’t go to school.  Once a few of us girls even tried putting on our own play.  We fixed popcorn and apples for our folks to eat while they watched us perform.  Of course, that was before computers.”

            “Yes, but computers need electricity to function, and there may be times when it won’t be there.  Even batteries need replaced or recharged when they’re used a lot, too.  I’m all for the old fashioned forms of entertainment.  They’re not only a good diversion, but, just like the soldiers playing music together, you can develop some togetherness.”

            “Yes, and that can be pretty important in a tough situation.  Besides, it just sounds like fun!” Diane said with a bright smile.

            “It would be a good idea to havd some small musical instruments and games, including cards, in any kind of preparedness stash you’re putting together.”