Neighbors heard a loud boom and instantly a child started screaming. Neighbors didn’t actually see the lightning hit the boy on the bicycle, but the bolt hit right at the time the boy was passing by.

The ratio of getting struck by lightning and killed is 280,000:1. Most lightning fatalities take place outside, at recreational events like baseball games or on the golf course. If there is a lightning storm immediately seek refuge in either a building, hard topped vehicle, or if no shelter is near, crouch on the balls of your feet as low to the ground as possible in order to create the lowest profile, but dont lay flat on the ground.

Parents need to remember that even though they are in the home with their children they still need to be aware of the potential dangers to young ones. Parents should examine the home to see where hazards may be. Strangulation and suffocation hazards should be out of reach of young children. Cleaning fluids that look like punch and any other chemicals that can harm children or pets should be used carefully and kept away from inquisitive explorers, even leaving products accessible to go answer the phone quickly, etc., can be too long without supervision. Obviously swimming pools should be gated and/or covered because it only takes a few minutes without oxygen to the brain to cause permanent impairments or death.

My brother-in-law’s test results found he had swine flu. Suddenly, the airline, the hotel in Hawaii, the hospitals, and the local health department were very interested in them. By the time they knew, it was already mostly done. Can we afford to make a joke out of it and write it off as another fear tactic? No. It is not nearly that harmless.

Wal-Mart has agreed to a settlement amount of nearly $2 million dollars in the “Black Friday” incident that resulted in one death and injury to eleven others in their Nassau, New York store. By doing so they will not face criminal charges that were being sought, and could have only resulted in a $10,000 fine. What does this mean to the survivor’s family and others’ who were injured?

I know that our government wants to avoid panic. On the other hand, I don’t expect people in positions of authority to sit there and pretend that everything is fine. That is not crisis management. That is avoidance.

One good way to have a positive impact on your budget is to give your car a tune-up.

Next time you feel like crying over a splinter in your finger or your kid swallowing a penny, count your blessings. You could have a frakkin’ conifer sprouting in your vital organs, like this guy.

Reimbursement can be awarded for any work you may have missed as a result of this accident; for hospital bills incurred as well as the cost of total pain and suffering.

On average, car accidents cost each American $1000 per year. That’s a lot of headaches, stress, and “I-don’t-know-how-I’m-gonna-pay-for-that” you’d probably rather avoid.
To help you keep that hard-earned money where it belongs, here are five driving tips to avoid costly accidents…