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| OHCC LIVING | FEBRUARY 2022 | 7 Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Regardless of your situation, I hope you have someone that you care about. This year, I will be taking the time to care for my loved ones now and after my passing, which I hope is way out in the future. Some thoughts to accomplish that include: • Be prepared to take care of myself and my wife for at least 72-hours following a major disaster. • Review my supplies and replace anything that I have "borrowed" and not replaced from my emergency supplies. (Sometimes I use bandages or a flashlight and have not immediately replaced them). • Replace food items that need to be rotated into the house as they are getting close to their expiration date. • Check all my flashlights, lanterns, and devices that use batteries to see that they work. Replace batteries that may be corroded and plug in rechargeable batteries. • Give my fire extinguisher a good shaking to keep the mixture inside from condensing in the bottom of the extinguisher. If your fire extinguisher has a gauge on the outside (not all do) make sure it is in the "green" zone. If not, replace it and recycle the old one at a hazardous waste facility. • Do a walk-through of my home and make sure my larger pieces of furniture that could fall over in an earthquake are securely fastened to the wall. • Once I have been through all of this for myself… I'll have a conversation with my other family members and help them go through this same checklist. • Review the information I have on my Vial of Life form and update my list of medications. I also keep a copy of my advanced directive so emergency responders and my family members know what I wish in case I cannot explain my wishes. As I write this article, my brother sent me a copy of his revised Will, Trust, and advanced directive. He has designated me to handle specific things in case his wife cannot. He shared with me who has original documents and how these can be accessed. This reminded me that it has been years since my wife and I have reviewed our Will and Trust. No time like the present… and please stay safe! By Tom Porter, SERT President