I wrote this on the Halloween Thread but wanted to say more about it so I’m moving it here.
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Fears of a Pandemic Prepper (in stages — some of the middle ones may occur in a different order depending on your personal situation)
I can’t think of a stage 11.
This is my personal belief now — I came here about 8 months ago ready to work at stages 1 through 3. I can personally handle about a 6 now but it is causing a lot of problems emotionally. Anything past a 6 — I just can’t think about. I’m not a guns and ammo kind of person and it is too hard. But back when I started thinking about the possibility of a pandemic, I couldn’t even imagine being at a stage 4 and I’m there now.
Anyhow, what I wanted to say more about these stages was, when you talk to people about a pandemic, you need to know what stage they are at. If they are operating at stage 1 or 2, then discussing what will happen if the utilities fail will be regarded as hysterical fears.
And finally, having written and posted what I did this morning, I realized that I have never contacted county officials here to see if there is a plan, and what the plan is. So I finally did it — I called the Department of Health and just kept asking questions until I was finally transferred to a lovely, sweet woman in Dept. of Emeregncy Services. I am absolutely sure from talking to her that there is no plan. I don’t think there is a secret plan. From talking to her, she is at a level 1 on my above scale.
She said that people get all freaked out when they hear “pandemic influenza” but they need to realise it is just the flu, the same strain as always, only more people will get it so they have to wash their hands, stay home when sick. I spoke with her some about that, but I remembered something from anon_22′s post, and I just tried to be kind, sympathetic to her, engage her in a conversation (not innundated her and berate her) and saw it as my goal just to raise her level of awareness from stage 1 to stage 2. (Actually, it isn’t just like the regular flu, because it would be a new strain, and would require more hospitaliazation and dr’s visits, right?)
I hope I got her thinking a little bit, but more importantly, I left the door open to a future conversation, and hope she didn’t write me off. (Though I am truly disappointed that she didn’t see any need for any public seminars, etc.)
ACM - I have started looking for your posts. You and I seem to be very much on the same wavelength, as your above posts just demonstrated to me. What I’d give to be your neighbor!!!
P.S. I’m at a three, trying hard to get to a four.
Or, that you went through all the stages in preparing and you get blindsided and get the dang bug—die and never have a chance to use them.
Hey there anonymous! That’s not something I’d describe as a fear, exactly — irony would be more like it! (-: But so true. You can only plan for so much and of course there’s always dumb luck. But, there’s always the thing about the babies - you HAVE to plan when you have kids, you just have to.
Are you a new anonymous or an old one? If you are a new one, welcome, and go ahead and choose a name if you wish so we can tell you apart from all the other anonymouses.
Madam Spinner — I wish I were EVERYONE’s neighbor. Neighborhood of Flu Wiki! Thanks for your kind words.
I had a meeting with the County Administrator yesterday to see what the county was doing in preparation for BF and to talk to him about what I was doing - hopefully to get a little support for my information dissemination program. I found him in the middle of a county-wide “bomb threat” situation for all the schools. (We made CNN. Fortunately, no bombs were found.) But the bottom line was that he is up to his eyeballs in everyday stuff and while he thought that BF was a threat, a serious threat, it wasnt today’s biggest issue. And I had to agree with him.
I am going to put an article in the local paper every week, probably for the next 26 weeks or so. It gets delivered to every home in the county. Im trying to get the paper to reprint Dr. Woodson’s home health care booklet for distribution (don’t have a lot of hope of succeeding, though). The Library put together a display for Pandemic Awareness Week, with several hundred PF booklets to give out to patrons. And the county has agreed to put BF info in their quarterly Supervisors’ Notes flyer that goes to everyone in the county, as long as I write it.
As for the county plan - nyet. The general attitude is every man for himself, everyone is responsible for handling his own problems. No stockpiling of food or water. And he felt that too much exposure to the topic could make people more likely to ignore it. (They are ignoring it now. What could a little more exposure hurt?)
The fire dept and EMS volunteers “all have their own emergency gear.” (What about extra gloves and masks? They are already proving difficult to buy,” said I. Only a wrinkled brow in response.
When I asked him if he could do something to organize and motivate the business leaders in the community, he suggested that I speak at the Chamber of Commerce’s next meeting. I said that I thought he would be better at dealing with those folks (his peers) than I, but he said that he had “no authority to make them do anything” so at best he would see if they would let me come. He also declined to even make copies of flyers and handouts, even if I wrote them and distributed them, and wouldnt even consider asking his assistant to put together a video briefing on the computer for me, with info I put together. Since I have already socked a lot of my own time and money into such projects, I was not thrilled.
But I will continue to write, bitch, and moan. I believe that Chinese Water Torture does work in the end.
Saving lives, one drop at a time….
I have mentioned before that I have set aside some provisions that can help a neighbor or two for a couple of weeks, but there are 30,000 people in my town. If at least 6,000 of them are already having trouble making ends meet, we are going to have some serious social problems when the supply chains are disrupted. Then there are the other 24,000 or so to consider who have may have a bit of disposable income, but who have not even begun to prep. They will be facing the same dilemmas as the poor, but maybe a week or two later.
Do I fear the chaos and despair that could erupt from a situation like this? Absolutely. Is it wrong to be afraid and plan for this possibility? Absolutely not.
Let me state as emphatically as possible that the motivation for my own preps was fear, and it continues to be fear. It started with a simple evaluation of supply chain breakdown and took off from there. I feared that my family would have to do without food, OTC medications, toiletries, and essential household supplies. My fear then extended to actually contracting the flu, so I began prepping for a lengthy sheleter in place exercise. Finally, I am beginning to experience the fear that we may very well be on the verge of an event that could change the course of human events in many unpleasant ways. Yes, it is somewhat unpredicatable in timing and magnitude, but it is not at all unimaginable.
Regardless of how you perceive the future of life on this planet, you really do need some degree of fear to motivate you or just to keep you from making bad choices. Flu Wikie has helped me to understand and fear some of the things that I previously did not understand. But it has also helped me to become more confident in my chances for survivial. That is what pandemic awareness is all about. It does not take much of an imagination to see how quicky things could turn ugly, but it takes the collective insights of all you posters on Flu Wikie to help us see the various sides of each potential crisis and work toward viable solutions. Keep up the good work.
A few more words about fear. In my estimation, it is simply a matter of acknowledging the risks that we face in this world and devising a strategy for managing them. For some of us, lack of information causes anxiety. At least, this holds true for me.
Overall, I would have to say that even though I do not like to be pessimistic, I very much want to understand both the probabilities and the possibilities associated with a severe pandemic. Without this information, my decision-making capabilities are diminished and my fear is increased. When I am informed, I can take appropriate preventive measures and feel a bit more confident in my family’s chances of survivial.
Miss Spider — sorry I confused you with Madame Spinner! Can’t imagine why…(-:
SandleTramp — I can only empathize, stick to it; I also have likened myself to water torture!
Dr. Dave — I agree that lack of information is causing anxiety, in me, it is feeling that others — planners — those I am counting on for my own safety — lack correct information.
My point in writing the above list wasn’t so much to discuss fear though — it was more to look at what people’s assumptions are regarding a pandemic. I am seeing (probably obvious to most of you but new to me) that when people are at about my level 1 through 3 — they are thinking of a low Case Fatality Rate. In essense, they are thinking of a 1968-like pandemic. They will agree with you that a pandemic is a serious issue, but they probably won’t see the urgency in planning for it all that much.
I realized this when I looked at Fairfax County VA’s pandemic plan released last month — that they were planning assuming a .22 % CFR. That’s really bad — but it wouldn’t even cause schools to close (not for very long). Monotreme went through all the State’s plans recently and saw that most were planning for about a .2 or .4 % CFR and only a few had been planning for something more severe — 2% to (God Forbid) 10% CFR. a 1918 - like pandemic.
I want to point this out for any newbies here - it is the realization that there may bell be a higher CFR than .2% that pushes people up (my) scale to 4 and 5 and 6 and starts people thinking about breakdown of society and so on.
And for everyone trying to talk to people about pandemics, it helps to think about what their assumptions are. I truly believe you can only move (most) people up my scale one number at a time. Unless you have a medical degree or are an epidemiologist, which confers instant authority and will get you permission to bring someone up about 3 levels fast! (-:
Average Concerned Mom: You don’t have to work in the medical profession to fear a pandemic. All you have to do be is a consumer with a basic understanding of the fragility of our supply chains and our just-in-time delivery systems. What happens when someone gets sick for any reason? Is there an “understudy” for everyone who holds a job? No. What happens when all the available understudies are already on-stage? Does the show still go on? With whom? The stage manager? Not likely.
At the present time do you have electricity, natural gas, running water, a local government, regular garbage pickup, a police force, a medical center, a grocery store, a hardware store, a drug store, a bank, insurance, and a highway department? If so, then the mere prospect of losing any these of these things should raise your fear level to a 7. No medical professional required.
add to Adjustment Reactions wikipage?
Fear is good.
Fear is a gift.
I really hope more people work through their adjustment reactions and take action.
The sooner the better.
Especially for me as a first responder.
It may make my life easier down the road.
ACM, my reactions didn’t follow your order but I’ve seriously considered elements in almost all of the steps you’ve described. I assume there will be pandemic in waves, with indeterminate level of services, etc., inbetween — meaning don’t count on much —, and possibility of things getting VERY bad. It’s impossible to prep for every possible scenario. Some possible outcomes are so bad that they’re unplannable. On the other hand it’s possible that I will be surprised.
The future is never what you think it will be. Even if the events occur as expected, they feel different, have different attributes than planned. Think about getting married, or having kids. Are any of these things as you imagined they would be?
My approach has been to cover the basics plus areas that are worth doing anyway and that have enriched my life or support my beliefs (but that I forgot to pay attention to, for a while). If a mob of 5,000 hungry people attacks my house, I have no ‘prepped’ response to that. Such things I will deal with at the time. It could the “game over” at that point, or maybe something unexpected happens.
Some things such as supply chain interruptions will impact everyone, but much of the impact is likely to be local. It will vary same as how much snowfall you get vs. other parts of your town, state or the country.
Yes, I still worry about the worst case analyses. I will continue to refine my plans, thanks to this forum and all of the good people here.
I’m only at stage 6. Truly hope 7 thru 10 will not be reality!
Dr. Dave, I think you may have misunderstood me. I don’t think you need a medical degree to be concerned about a pandemic. I do think a medical degree (or some kind of viral/microbiological/epidemiological degree and field) confers more credibility on what a person says, in terms of influencing others to consider that a pandemic could be a catastrophe.
When you make the 10-step DVD, maybe an alternate #10 ending would be in order — one where instead of nightmares, you realize that it’s going to be bad, but you’ve done all you can, so you have faith in your Higher Power & in what you’ve done and what you’ve learned, and you’re as ready as you can be to face what’s coming. So you breathe deeply, keep prepping & enjoy life in the meantime.
that’s about what i have left at this point, I’m-workin-on-it, is faith that i’ve done just about all i can at this point, and hopefully will have done most everything possible by the time it happens, and that the Universe will somehow take care of the rest. what else is there, really? it’s impossible to live in a state of constant threat-alert, which i’m sure many of us do. however, after having done most everything one could, it’s time to surrender to what will be.
maybe that’s a cop-out. if this holds out for another year, i’ll be sittin pretty somewhere high and lofty and more remote you can bet your ass, but for now, i’ve done what i can givin what i’ve got.
i’m ongoingly for some time now in varying fluctuating degrees of phases 5–9.
Average Concerned Mom – at 16:40
11. Resignation: You have prepped as best you can, you have planned for every aspect of what may come, you have back up plans and back up to the back up plans. You have done all you can
So now you chill out and say a small pray every night “Lord let me be as nutty as everyone thinks I am and that this never happens”.
blackbird – at 19:21 “If a mob of 5,000 hungry people attacks my house…”
The first couple thousand will die with .223 rounds in them, the next three thousand will die with 9mm rounds in them. But really, you have to figure that after the first couple of people fall, the cannibals will drag away the fresh meat.
That one needs to be on the quote thread.
LOL
No wonder the newbies get scared when they read here.
from ACM: 11. Resignation: You have prepped as best you can, you have planned for every aspect of what may come, you have back up plans and back up to the back up plans. You have done all you can. So now you chill out and say a small pray every night “Lord let me be as nutty as everyone thinks I am and that this never happens”.
This is hwere I am at. Well, I’m not totally prepped yet (still building up my food inventory; just can’t do a gun although I may regret it later). I do think it will happen at some point. I hope to be proven wrong. Wouldn’t you love to be a feature on your local news showing: “this crazy lady prepped for AF and it never happened. Now she has created a public sculpture from empty cans and petrified beans”
Let me see if I can type it from memory (ok, also looking at the URL window in my browser): http://www.fluwikie.com/pmwiki.php?n=Consequences.AdjustmentReactions
Let’s add stuff there, can we? Just copy from here (it’s all for the taking!), then others will format (it’s all about building on each other’s stuff!).
LauraB: I have two teenagers who will probably face at least one severe pandemic in their lifetimes. Even if this one turns out to be mild, a severe pandemic will eventually come along. So, even if I never experience the hardships of a severe pandemic in my lifetime, it is almost certain that they will. Therefore, I will continue to rotate and refresh my supplies in order to help my children. After I am gone, I hope they will carry on the tradition and remain ready to care for their own children.
anonymous at00:31, please stop your nasty post, totaly uncalled for, rude, crude and illmannerd.
I agree with most of the post here.
There is a scenerio that I am concerned with. Once it really breaks out, Islamic extremist will do everything they can to bring it to, and spread it around, every western society. For two reasons. One is the obvious of creating mayhem. The second is they may believe that it would force us to create a cure faster that if it is simply somewhat contained in a predominatly muslum country like Indonesia.
Cheapeake - There are two well-documented examples of human cannibalism in the 19th and 20th centuries:
“However, when about 1972, a medium-sized airplane crashed in the Andes near the border between Chile and Argentina, after several weeks of starvation and struggle for survival, the numerous survivors began to eat the body of the captain and others. Two men of the survivors of the airplane crash decided to venture down in the ice and snow, and finally saw a man with a horse, who helped to take them to a telephone. A military helicopter of Chile arrived and saved the rest of the people.” Read more here: http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/c/ca/cannibalism.html
and
“Sir John Franklin’s lost polar expedition and Donner Party of the American Westward Migration were example of human cannibalism.” Investigate here: http://members.aol.com/DanMRosen/donner/
These are both instances of desperate people starving to death attempting to survive any way they knew how. People do unimaginable things when they are desperate enough. I’m not saying cannibalism is likely, just that Anonymous at 00:31 is making a valid point, however incomprehensible, unlikely, or repulsive we may find it to our current sensibilities. May TWAWKI remain such that we never find ourselves facing such a dilemma. With rare exceptions, desperation always trumps civility.
12 - You realize that all of the above is true and may happen. You realize the only thing now once you are as prepped as you can be that you must get everyone else around you prepped. There is no other choice. If you sit and accept that you have done all you can, and they are not prepped, you may be doomed.
You cannot feed everyone. You cannot shoot everyone. You cannot run away from everyone. There are just too many people and not enough land. There is not enough home grown food nor a way to make that happen now to feed the masses who will have not.
You realize that your efforts to go to TPTB or the media or your individual neighbors has not worked….. so you go and try something else. Anything else… because in this lifeboat, we will either float together or sink together.
There may be no other way…..
This is the drum I now beat. On another thread I have been slapped for making my efforts known… hoping to show what I have done to ignite the efforts by others… to lead by example … to show that way.
I met w/ church leader yesterday - he was very open to my message - he was not aware of the problem. Now he is. I met with Local Health Officer - had a 2 hour lunch… we got to know each other better. He is a good man. He cares about the people in Town… about their health. He cares about so many health hazards focusing specifically on Panflu is difficult for him. But he is now fully aware of the catastrophe in the making and is thinking in those terms daily. He reads the Wiki.
I am having TV crew come on Thursday to do a story on Prep - hope i can steer them into the “bigger” story. I have the local Talk Radio station planning on having me come on. The local newspaper is now aware of the situation - they read the wiki. They will be publishing stories about it and how to prep tips.
I have raised the awareness in my little town from 2 to 10.
13 - I haven’t even begun to fight.
Goju-I admire your efforts, but not all of us can do what you are doing. Nor be willing to put a big “P” (prepper) on our foreheads with an address attached.
Secondly, I weigh the chances intuitively on which strategy to pursue, and I am not convinced that an “army of one” here and there will be enough.
And there are some pandemic scenarios in which me and mine will make it, but if I “out” myself, there are no pandemic scenarios in which me and mine will make it. (Chaos can sometimes work for you as well as against you).
So if I reveal myself, I am up aganst the wall. I have to be TOTALLY successful in my efforts locally. And how much time do I have to be successful? You see the dilemma.
Goju, I view you as an admirable warrior in the panflu war, but I fear you are on a suicide mission.
Goju — good job and keep it up!
Lugon — I don’t think this belongs on the wiki proper — not with all the guns and ammo, anyhow.
Regarding resignation/acceptance — I guess that can occur at any level. You can be at a level 1 — that’s where my Mom is — and feel that “I’m as prepared as I can be, let come what may”.
You can also be resigned to your fate in other areas of life. I mean, I could be hit by a truck while driving my car on the Beltway and no airbag or seatbelt could save me. So I could resign myself to that fate and not secure my seatbelt, and buy a car with no airbag (if they made them).
Or you could accurately realize the risks to you and yours; and take prudent preparations accordingly. The question lies in what exactly are the risks? If our authority figures are telling people who CALL THEM that the risks are of a mild pandemic, wash your hand, drink chicken soup, and stay home when sick; there is no major problem — then how can people be expected to take precautions against more worrisome scenarios?
I’m really not focused on fears at level 6 through 10. Though I sure do with someone would come right out and tell me — the oil - fuel - electrical industries in the United States are WELL prepared to continue operating in the midst of a severe pandemic. And I would love to actually see those plans — published on the web at least. Until then, I will continue to be concerned about it.
Dave: I’m with you. I have learned so much from this experience. I’ll never look at things quite the same way again. Hopefully my children are learning in a non-frightening way. I hope that they are well into adulthood before they ever have to think about this.
Goju - I like this:
You cannot feed everyone. You cannot shoot everyone. You cannot run away from everyone.
I agree more with MM on the risk of exposure (given that most people can’t/won’t prep) but you have defined the problem to be solved.
LauraB
In CT, there is 14 day waiting period to purchase a firearm - unless you have a pistol permit or a firearms hunting license. You MUST have the pistol permit to purchase a handgun. It takes about 3 months to get a permit. You do not need to have or buy a gun to get a permit.
I suggest that you start the permit process now, to have the option later. The hazard of taking the course is that you may find you like target shooting and have acquired a new hobby.
Not getting the permit means you have no option for 14 days for a long gun, or 3 months for a handgun. would you accept that for any of your other preps?
Calandriel at 9:18 Yes, I have read my history books. I still feel the comment was not called for. There is a sick humor thread.
Goju-“You cannot feed everyone. You cannot shoot everyone. You cannot run away from everyone”.
Goju, that was some great wordsmithing. But like all great wordsmithing there are caveats.
“You cannot feed everyone.”-No, but water availability more than likely will be the “deadfall” for most. And in a couple of weeks after the Grid goes down (in some areas) a majority of the population could be dead. And if the Grid doesn’t go down, there will be water and some supplies of food trickling in. Commerce will not have stopped totally.
“You cannot shoot everyone.”-No, but you might not have to. Just shoot a few, and they will move on to easier marks, and with the chaos of infection and mayhem they may never get back to you. Chaos can also be your friend.
“You can not run away from everyone.”-No, but you don’t need to. After a few weeks of catastrophic death totals (after the first wave) you will band with the canny and previously prepped like you. Everybody’s mind will be properly concentrated at that point. At that point you make deals, share supplies, form mutual assistance networks.
“You cannot feed everyone.”-No, but water availability more than likely will be the “deadfall” for most. And in a couple of weeks after the Grid goes down (in some areas) a majority of the population could be dead. And if the Grid doesn’t go down, there will be water and some supplies of food trickling in. Commerce will not have stopped totally.
Goju says - there is water all around. All they need to know is where it is, how to collect it and how to make it potable.
“You cannot shoot everyone.”-No, but you might not have to. Just shoot a few, and they will move on to easier marks, and with the chaos of infection and mayhem they may never get back to you. Chaos can also be your friend.
Goju says - they will be back in greater numbers and armed as well… and may leave you with a nice little fire bomb on the roof as a going away present.
“You can not run away from everyone.”-No, but you don’t need to. After a few weeks of catastrophic death totals (after the first wave) you will band with the canny and previously prepped like you. Everybody’s mind will be properly concentrated at that point. At that point you make deals, share supplies, form mutual assistance networks.
Goju says - They wont be dying that fast. The wave will wash slowly over the community. There are not that many prepped with which you can “barter”.
I have worked out so many senerios for this and I keep coming back to the same conclusion. The only way to get through this in one piece is by having everyone prepped. There is no other way. We here on FW and FT and CE and P4P and all the other Panflu sites are the ones who can lead the way of illumination for the rest to follow. Start at the top and work your way down. Start at the bottom and work your way up. Gather allies in your information campaign. Get the word out by any means possible.
It dowsnt matter if they know you have preps or not. Sooner or later “they” will come and “getcha”… so you might as well try to limit the odds now while there is still time and form a large perimiter of prep around you. If its big enough, maybe it will overlap mine and we will survive to come out the other side.
SIPCT – at 10:49
I have to admit that I am surprised by all the roadblocks that CT throws up against the legal ownership of firearms—seriously, these are not the folks I would be worried about having weapons. It is the gangstas on the street who can buy a weapon illegally that concern me more.
Here in AZ it is possible to purchase a handgun without a background check if one already has a CCW permit (as I have had for the past ten years). I am not planning on fortifying myself in the house surrounded by my weapons, but there have been two times that I can think of when having a weapon openly displayed in a hoster stopped criminal incidents.
Just my .02
Goju at 11:41-Two things;
Just as all politics are local the pandemic will be local, too. In some places your assessments may be more correct than mine. In the megacities I would fear firestorms most of all. There are no guarantees, other than the fact that once you reveal yourself as a prepper you will be target number one for beseechment or aggression, (probably in that order).
I believe that when looking at the various levels and types of pandemic situations that being prepared in depth as an “unknown” prepper will give you a greater chance of surviving.
By the way, here in the West there is not water all around for the having. People will die very quickly with the Grid down or become very sick (cryptosporidium, etc.) and then die. Somebody dead or very sick isn’t going to be assaulting your home.
If you are prepped, hypervigilant, and just a little bit lucky for the first few weeks of the pandemic your chances of surviving until the next year are greatly enhanced. And I don’t say this lightly.
Somebody has to survive, and it might as well be us. And I still will ANONYMOUSLY work for greater awareness in the public at large.
Chesapeake 10:54
We are discussing “the worst case” in so many ways…is this any different. It is another possibility. That’s what we do here is at Fluwikie, discuss possibilities and expand points of view.
In my mind…the crux of the matter is “the unknown”. Human beings have difficulty with this concept. We are at a scary movie…if will stay scary until we “see” the monster…then it won’t be so scary, just like at the movies because…we know.
Until then we are at the mercy of our mental ruminations.
I see my preparations as an opportunity to continue, whether for myself or others, via charity or force. IF bird flu comes the preps won’t go to waste and the human race will continue.
The first couple thousand will die with .223 rounds in them, the next three thousand will die with 9mm rounds in them. But really, you have to figure that after the first couple of people fall, the cannibals will drag away the fresh meat.
Sorry people, Yes, this is different than discussing just another possibility. IMO it’s tactless.
My parents are in their 70′s, they havent wanted the bird flu even mentioned to them, but I had dinner with them tonight and I tried not to talk about it, but they asked what I did with my day and I told them about a grinder I picked up cheap with all the attachments for french fries…and they know why I bought it because I much prefer modern items. They told me if they have to go back to work that hard to prepare foods and get water…they don’t want to live thru it, my boyfriends parents said the same thing last week. How are others of this age group feeling about it?
ACM
I have cleared all of your stages and now just keep adding to the collections of items to prolong SIP. Hoping for at least a years worth by the time TSHTF.
I can understand that for some people stage 4 and anything past that is almost inconceivable and it’s easy to keep it out in the perifery - not really thinking about it but still knowing its there. My advice is to sit down and make a list of what you have/don’t have, can/can’t do, will/won;t do to address each of the stages. At least then you’ll be able to make a plan to deal with them. Husband and I have both acknowledged what we think is the worst case scenario and it includes preparing for and dealing with all the sorts of horrific violence people can be capable of for whatever reason.
We have a plan and we feel better. We can sleep at night. We know the plan may fail- or need to be changed at any time- bjt at least there’s one in place.
It’s a lot less overwhelming once you get to that place.
Cinda, I agree with you…..I think I can imagine all the way up to step 13 if I had to, not that I could do anything about it, but I’ve cleared all the stages too & am now trying to ‘fill in holes’ like in energy that I haven’t considered practical until now because I couldn’t afford to consider it before. Once you’ve done all the basic planning, all you can do is go back over it & keep it modified to fit your present needs.
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 20:35 That’s where we are- and you hit it perfectly- filling in the holes- in some cases more like chinking the cracks. My stage 12 would be losing husband- he presents a problem from a purely physical standpoint-at 6′2 and 240 I’d never be able to move him by myself- but more because I know I could handle anything, even the worst of things if he is with me- without him……….. That is my biggest fear
Aw Jeez. ACM I think you hit the nail square on the head.
I too can imagine to 13. BUT. Due to DH being ill already, if the grid went, he would be lost. It’s taken me a long time to admit that. That is a scary reality that I don’t talk to him about. He is also my pillar. Then the kids. If anything happened to them, absolutely no. I would not want to come out on the other side. I have accepted that. Quite honestly, all my life I’ve felt like I won’t live to an old age. Maybe this is it. Who knows? I realize it is PC to never give up hope. And there is still some there. Hope that it won’t happen after all…or maybe it won’t be so bad…but coming here is such a shock from day to day life. I think about my 12yo daughter, coming out on the other side…you know there is a new vaccine for the HPV virus. They are recommending it for young girls. I’m thinking about getting it for her. Whatever I can do to help her. Is that sick? Thinking about what could happen to a young lady, unprotected in such a world.
Hey, everyone, I’m glad if people think I’ve captured people’s fears (in stages) more or less accurately.
I have to tell you I wrote this because of a nightmare someone said he had — the “suicide by prepper” thing of #10 — and I just thought — well, that would have to be the absolute worst imaginable thing — things get SO BAD that people attack you even though you don’t have anything.
I truly can not imagine the state of society getting worse than that and if anyone can, I’d rather not hear about it, I have enough bad dreams already.
Of course losing family members at any time and for any reason would be horrible and tragic in and of itself.
But now, please don’t go around thinking of me as some kind of fear-monger. I really meant this as something positive (believe it or not, and people’s comments about cannibilism notwithstanding). I am a very optimistic, almost Pollyanna person in real life. I am not setting these things out as if to say, I believe they are inevitible; first I have no idea, and second, I do have an idea — please note that the truly horrible scenarios come about when we discover that there is no plan! So if there is a plan, and a good one, well, things could be different.
And everyone can see that the plan must provide for the GRID TO STAY UP.
And for that grid to stay up, well, this is just my uninformed opinion of course, but people planning for that have got to be getting information to plan for a worst case scenario. Worst case meaning at least a 1918-type pandemic., with at least 2% CFR. This preparation wil cost considerable money however. (I presume.) I don’t know why power companies would be willing to spend that kind of money for something they don’t absolutely have to do. It isn’t in their budget after all.
And it has to happen together; not each state deciding for itself what level it cares to plan for, or which experts they care to listen to. It needs to be a central, Federal decision.
I can’t imagine anything more important for people to do than work somehow to encourage planners and government officials to be sure not to overlook this tiny little detail.
Then they need to publicize this great planning so the rest of us can go back to just worrying about fears 1 through 5.
(-:
Average Concerned Mom - you are an angel.
lohrewok – at 21:18 that was Cinda who made the comments you referenced, just to give credit where credit’s due! :-)
ACM, I’m GLAD you’re “almost Pollyanna” because it helps to have that upbeat optimism as a guide here — there’s plenty of stuff to pull us down. My sister (in her 60′s) actually got on here this AM and was reading something about health care workers feeling like they’d just stay home, and how they might be ‘required’ to be at work, etc. and it wasn’t a ‘scary’ thread if you’ve been around here awhile & have your filters in place. But to her it was exposing stuff she didn’t want to even think about and very scary.
This started when I’d mentioned to my family that they should have hard copies of medicines they take and medical conditions they have, so they can send the paperwork with their spouse to the hospital if they have to stay behind because hospitals could be set up as isolation areas so that only ‘sick’ get in, not family.
She replied that the hospitals wouldn’t ask for that sort of paperwork, that the check-in process starts with your insurance card & they ask more financial stuff and very little medical stuff, then you get admitted, get in a room, and then they ask you more specific medical stuff. I told her that in our current world that is right, but if the lower paid administrative staff stay home because they’re not paid enough to risk their lives seeing one pandemic patient after another, and the medical staff is limited as well, and the patient is too sick to give much accurate info, then your insurance card might not help much — they might triage at the door, put you in a room & have medical people poke & prod & ask questions then, without all the pomp and circumstance & waiver-signing they have you go through to get into a hospital now. I haven’t heard back from her……..this stuff IS scary & for those of us who thought through some of this stuff back in 1999, it’s STILL scary, because we realize how fragile a system we have, and when minimal care & concern is the norm today, then a problem like a pandemic arises, we can see how doomed we could be.
You just have to get to a place in your head where you’ve done what you can do (even I need to be making copies of our latest medical stuff & haven’t done that yet), and you look for other stuff you can do that you might have forgotten. Like chinking the cracks as Cinda said — I like that phrase! And part of doing that is to also keep your spirits up, keep perspective, and keep a balance between our fears & our fun.
11) The “bad guys” form groups under warlords. They end up killing other groups and themselves or quickly die off or their enemies kill them by sabotage /poisoning /contamination of their food they have stolen.
12) People join together to support each other. People come out of retirement to help and teach essential jobs.
13) Those with the most knowledge and tools begin to rebuild and reform society. Groups that support their members begin to grow and give mutual aid to each other. Society in mostly decentralized.
14) The environmental stress to the world is reduced.
15 and we all live happily ever after
Thw End. cue the music….
dang it….that should read The End (in pretty fancy lettering like on the Disney movie screens) then cue the music…..
yea - mahler’s funeral Dirge
Or in 2008 there is a new mortality in developed countries — people crushed to death by falling towers of canned beans. I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help it. We can pack our homes until we have little paths through the towering stacks and we’re still gonna go sometime.
I liked anon-22 comment that we need “more hands” not “more hospital beds” — I’m working on our county school boards to get them at least thinking about early school closures. That will be my bit. I am very comfortable with that task because I’ve been to lots of school board meetings and know all sorts of wingnuts show up with “Passion of the month” — “Uniforms!” “Harder Math” “Easier Math” “Uniforms!” “metal detectors” “more free time” “less free time” — and “uniforms!”
The whole notion of “SIP” is keeping social distance — but there are going to be opportunities to be heroic — or simply a decent “mensch” — so maybe #11 is coming to a realization that a life lived generously as possible is a life lived well.
Anybody new reads any of the “worst case scenario” threads, and they instantly think Y2K hype, and tune out.
That’s the unfortunate legacy of the “cry wolf” mindset on the part of people who really do NOT want to hear alternate realities.