There are days, weeks and months set aside for any number of good causes and reasons, so it's easy to disregard most of them unless there's a personal reason for vigilance.
Some, however, need to be given at least a nod of acknowledgment, including one that came and went last week: National Hurricane Preparedness Week.
Generally speaking, Maryland doesn't take the kind of hits from hurricanes and tropical storms as places like Florida and Sea Islands of Georgia and the Carolinas, but from time to time we get blasted.
It's worth keeping in mind that the inlet separating Ocean City from Assateague Island was cut in 36 hours by what is known as the Great Hurricane of 1933. Fresher in many minds in these parts are storms with more human names: Agnes in 1972, Floyd in 1999, Isabel in 2003, Lee in 2011 and Sandy last year.
Sometimes the winds are crushing. More likely in these parts, the rain is what does most of the damage. In many years, there is no hit from a tropical system at all in these parts. Still, taking a few precautions like having some bottled water on hand along with a flashlight and some extra batteries is well worth doing. A battery powered radio is a good idea, even in this age of cell phone hyper-connectivity. Also, it doesn't hurt to check in advance to find out what buildings (often schools) are likely to be used as shelters, if there's an emergency.
This year, the National Weather Service is predicting a very active tropical storm season. Only time will tell if the prediction is right, but the best thing to do is take a few precautions, just in case.