|
Chapter 5
Not a single reporter left my yard,
most of them taking refuge from the growing sun’s rays and the resulting
temperature that was climbing. It
had been an extraordinarily hot this summer and as the fall season was
approaching, the heat index hadn’t responded yet.
Even at 8 o’clock in the morning, it was heating up pretty fast.
When I opened the door, they all got up to follow my lead.
Amy Streeter was the first to approach me, as the others started
working their way to the front door where I was standing.
“Where would you like to sit, Mr. Simms?”
“I thought of all the speeches where politicians spend way too
much time talking, to the point of making redundant remarks or
contradicting themselves, and as I still had to go to open the store I
figured short and sweet was best. “Right
here Miss Streeter. This is
fine. I really don’t have a
real long time, so what is it you want?”
“We heard your speech yesterday about your economic ideas, and
they seem so simple, yet very effective. Where
did you arrive at these philosophies?”
“I believe in fundamentals every
time. It wasn’t a speech
Miss Streeter, just responded to Senator Douglas’s request for
questions. I see it as plain
writing on the wall. The
economy hasn’t changed fundamentally just the medium of trade, and the
size, maybe products, the system has never changed.
I believe we want that system of free enterprise to continue to
work for us. I believe if we
do want a democracy, it does need to continue.
The free enterprise system is the fundamental workings of a
democracy, giving everyone the chance to be independent, whether they help
others by working for their company, or working for themselves in their
little mole hill. I am a
president. I am just a
president of a small company. It
is nothing but a mole hill. It
might not be much, but it’s ours.”
Amy continues, “So what other
solutions do you have? Are
your views mostly on the economy, or do you have other areas that you have
interests and similar feelings about?”
“As someone you would appreciate being in your line of work as a
reporter, I am a “news junkie”, Miss Streeter.
Pick a subject.” She
thought for a moment, and then asked, “What about FEMA?”
Their response to Hurricane Katrina was disorganized, slow.
What would you do with FEMA?”
“It is pretty fundamental there too.
All small towns in rural
America
have it down. They have an
all-sheriff’s channel, and dispatch center for any emergency with a
person that has the pulse on the system.
She has the fire departments, police, ambulance, all working
together, showing up at the same scene, in the right places, and this is a
channel anyone in the county can listen to with their programmable
scanners. Who knows, a retired
fire chief might be down the road and is willing to go up the hill to the
scene of an accident and help. He
has a scanner, and an old radio that still works.
He radios in and tells her he will first respond.”
“All municipalities run this way
Mr. Simms. So what are you
suggesting?” “Well Amy, I
would be in an area within minutes of a predictable disaster like a
hurricane, and roll in with a big truck, self contained generator and a
powerful radio transmitter. They
can tune in to the local channels, and assume the roll of dispatcher with
the equipment that was lost, and with a team of dispatchers, maps posted
on the walls of each area in detail as well as where everything is in
relation to each other, as well as a chart of responder groups as they
arrive and can be ready for service. I
would have everyone working together with this dispatcher to identify the
problem areas. Then let her
organize the resources that are in the area such as fire, military,
rescue, police, even residents and the press.
Then have them respond with a level of alert based on numbers at
risk. Our government is
fundamentally built on serving the people, the masses first and
individuals second. A priority
level is determined and the system responds as it can.
In a disaster everyone should be gotten to.”
Another idea for FEMA is to have a chart of responders they can
show at their press conferences. List
the responders, military, fire fighters, everyone that calls and says they
will be there. They are put on
a grid chart, with days of disaster across the top and the responders
listed down the left side. Disaster
happens Monday, They call Tuesday, will be there Wednesday, don’t show
up until Thursday, this is not FEMA’s fault and that can be seen now by
everyone in the country on a schedule.
They see who made the promises, and can see how steadfast they are
to those promises. If they
have a valid excuse, put the director of those emergency personnel on your
television show so he or she can tell the country why they were a day
late. Volunteers are to
provide a commitment date that they will be there!
Go to a construction site and see their scheduling, and you would
understand. They can get
miracles done with good organization in thirty days.
They have a job, and everyone shows up to fill that job.
In a disaster the job starts now. Encourage the help, and a
schedule change is not the end of the world, unless it is a responder that
is a first line of defense, such as the military, state and local response
departments such as fire or police, or FEMA, you get the picture.”
This is all very interesting stuff.
So you think that if we would just look at the fundamentals for
many of these things, we would find most of the answers?”
“Yes I do Miss Streeter.” The
world is changing, but the fundamental approach is all still very much the
same, just with some really cool new tools…I still use the old adage,
“KISS”, “keep it simple, silly…” (The
crowd chuckles) “That’s cute.
So do you have anything you want to add Mr. Simms?”
“No Miss Streeter, and hope you got the answers you were wanting.
I have a store to open, so I better get on my way.
Thanks everyone. By the
way, everyone calls me Goldie.” And
with that I closed the door and got ready for work.
Who knows what would come out of this.
The excitement of seeing the news tonight took on a whole new
meaning…
|
