How come all this good stuff has to come in one month? Well, a little over a month with the Gainesville Hamfest and the GCARC 20th anniversary event. Then Special Event stations it seems every weekend, ARES nets, club nets, Statewide SET…it just keeps coming, and we still have Radio Day in Paris and the Hamfest in Ardmore. My guess is everyone is trying to get “it” all in before winter comes and the weather so far has been pretty accommodating. That is, except for the two SKYWARN activations in the dark of night. Oh yes, and don’t forget a couple of repeater revisions to our community.
If you wanted a chance to participate in Amateur Radio, this was/is the month to do it. And I didn’t even add in ham classes, testing at various locations, HF traffic nets and so on. It is a busy time for everyone. Add in family and other “opportunities” many of you have, and it’s hard not to get overloaded.
Take a breath and focus on the important. In our ARES team we encourage folks to take care of family first, especially in cases where we are activated or asked to mobilize in service to our communities. In a recent activation we had one of the grandkids spending some time with us. She has reached the age she is no longer a crib baby as she has mastered the “leg over” and is now sleeping in a big bed. As we were aware of a possible activation we were concerned how she would handle the approaching storms and, ultimately, was our safety plan adequate for her protection. Granma and I discussed the possibilities and she said she had it covered, not to worry. Sure enough, the call came and away I went. Darn if I didn’t come across a downed power pole and low hanging wires. That sight brought back some memories. In my mind I had it processed and a solution resolved in a few seconds. Reality, the fire crew on the scene had a call in to the Co-op and a safe detour was made around the hot line. I arrived home to find everyone snoozing away safe and sound.
Yes our lives can be chaotic, with lots of demands on our time and selves. Some is fun, some is because we can’t speak the NO word and some is because we want to be involved in serving others. In all this, keep a focus on your loved ones. In ARES we encourage this for several reasons, but the key is if you are distracted by a family need you won’t be focused on serving, and that can lead to operational problems or even safety issues. So keep a focus on what’s important, and then come help out. ARES can always use operators who are ready to serve our communities.
73
Rick
K5ECX