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I keep hearing a public service bulletin on the radio, for a week or more.

It goes on about what you owe your baby. A southern grandpa's voice.

Then gets to the punch line.

"You owe it to your baby to nurse it for 6 months".

Every time I hear it, I think of the fact that it will offer a baby a chance to survive, if food is short.

I thought that the nursing of babies was "out" in the new age crowd.

No, I am not interested in the "should you or shouldn't you " part of the question, only the fact that it is a new ad and no way to tell who it is brought to you by, except the "this is a Public Announcement.

Exactly, Granny! Thank you. You think more intelligently than most local governments. PSAs or Public Service Announcements are aired for free and the cost is only what it takes to produce the spots and to duplicate and distribute the audiotapes or videotapes.

Every area has radio stations and tv stations; and so many locales even have public or community tv stations (I won't even get into the print media). Each of these venues are obligated to air PSAs. Local governments have dropped the ball, no, actually, many have not even bothered to enter the game.

People wonder (including me) why many folks don't take terror threats and other emergencies seriously, and it is because the local governments -- which are closer to the people -- are not saying a word. They are training the first responders and asking for professional volunteers, nurses, EMT workers, drs, auxillary police, etc., and that is good. But they are not making the general non-professional and/or non-partcipating populaces aware of how to be prepared in the most general of ways.

We are among the few here on TM as far as that goes. I know many of us get looks and comments from others who are within our social and familial spheres, but the majority of the American public, I would venture to guess, falls in that same "unawares" category. It seems to cross all social and economic boundries and the local governments are to blame. They can work with the entire spectrum of community-based groups whether social, business, political, fraternal, etc., to share the "awareness" workload even, but they are not doing that here where I am. From what I have been hearing, it is far-spread. For crying out loud, it doesn't take too much money or elbow grease to get the word out.

Our governments are all preparing to respond to disasters just in case, and it is about time that all people prepare to shelter with food and water just in case. We know that if something should happen in any one community, that the local responders will try to mediate the disaster, but who will provide the food and water to the folks who did not know to prepare or to those who poo-poohed preparation talk while the government concentrates on disaster recovery?

As horrific and wide-ranging as 911 was, it was limited physically to 4 areas. States all over the U.S. responded with contributions of food and water, etc. While we can hope that nothing ever will eclipse that diaster and prevent such teamwork, we really shouldn't rely on that always being the case. Because if something more widespread does ever happen, than some folks may be on their own. That is the word that local govs should be getting out to their constituentcies.