As we near Memorial Day weekend - thoughts of families gathered celebrating with delectable BBQs, sometimes long-winded story-telling, inevitable laughter and splashing sounds from swimming pools filled with kids in this year’s new bathing suit float through the mind.

Flash to a horrifying statistic: did you know that drowning is the 2nd most common accidental death among children between the ages of 1 and 14.

Join Safe Kids USA in their campaign to wipe out childhood drownings by making a pledge (no money involved) this Memorial Day to wipe out childhood drownings. Parent or not, it is all of our responsibility if we are with children by a pool.

Go to: http://tiny.cc/o5SXZ Let’s do all we can to change these stats. Drownings are preventable!

Now sit back, enjoy the breeze and the sun, the laughter and the love, the food and the friendship…and have a great weekend!

Ernest Hemingway once asked: “But did thee feel the earth move?”

I don’t think he was talking about earthquakes, but for those of you in Southern California, did you feel it? A 4.7 earthquake shook Southern California last night!

Are you ready? Are you prepared?
In the last month, we have had 5 earthquakes! Two weeks ago there was an earthquake in Malibu - it was on a NEW fault!

May is Family Safety Month!

Make sure your family is safe! A number of companies out there have special products or disaster preparedness kits or can set up a private consultation to assess your needs.

Cari at www.emergencycafe.com is one of them. Contact her or look up someone else in your area.

So next time you feel the “earth move under (your) feet” (Carole King), you can stand solid in knowing what to do and that you are prepared to keep your family safe.