Were you chosen to survive a pandemic?
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference?
Are you special because you “get it”?
What made you become a prepper?
How did you get here?
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this?
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate?
Why are we the preppers and others are not?
I’m just along for the ride man…
but on a cerebral note… I come from midwest country stock. having a pantry is normal. the culture also includes a bit of the survivalist creed, I’m not exactly sure why.
since my living is based on the tourist industry… I became “aware” when that was threatened
other than that, I’m capable of working something to it’s conclusion and finding the fix (or lack of one) So like many other’s I’ve looked long and hard at H5N1 and reached the conclusion shared by most of you
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic?
NO but i will do my best to survive it with my family
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference?
Yes and no - i do not believe i was “meant” to be here… I have “chosen” my path
Are you special because you “get it”?
No - I am just lucky to have seen the info, followed the news and understand the consequences. (and believe it could happen)
What made you become a prepper?
Qinghai, Niman, Zoo in jakarta last year.
How did you get here?
Been following FW for a year. Posted my conference notes and saw the impact here. This site has great interactivity.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this?
NO absolutely not. (dear God, please don’t strike me down for saying that))
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate?
It was all those dumb sci fi flicks from the ‘50s
Why are we the preppers and others are not?
Maybe an ability to “picture” a future event… maybe the ability to accept that it could all end. Maybe because we look up out of our plates once in a while and take a good look around. Maybe its midlife crisis….. where’s my can of beef stew?
I began to understand the gravity of H5N1 last year from a friend who works at the State Department and keeps his finger on the pulse of everything. I don’t feel special, and I don’t feel “chosen” to survive. I’m just a realist and a fighter, and I don’t want to look my kids in the eye and say, “I knew this could be coming, and I did nothing to try to save us.”
I don’t think horrific things are “acts of God.” (Who would want anything to do with God in such a case?) I think a virus is doing what all species strive to do, evolve to succeed and survive (precisely my intent).
I suspect most fluwikians are self-starters; they seek information and weigh facts for themselves rather than depending on TBTB or the MSM to think for them. Who lives and who dies will be determined by many factors, not excluding blind luck; here at Flu Wiki we strive to better our odds. Hubris, however technologically advanced we are as a species, will not serve us.
Dreams mostly. And from the ones I have had in the last 3 nights it is going to be ugly and quick. (I decided not to post them on the Dream thread. There really isn’t any good in doing so). 8-|
This may sound strange, but I was a big (still am years later) fan of George Romero’s films, esp. Dawn of the Dead. I always wondered what it would be like to survive a pandemic, what you would need to be prepared, etc.
I know that this is not the most cerebral reason, but despite my extensive and expensive education, it is still my reason nonetheless. : )
Some have suggested that people like us are born pessimists. I don’t know, and I’m not sure there have been tests, but the last test I read said optimists live longer. It must be lack of prep stress. I just recently ordered my own gear for working in a hospital during a pandemic. The whole time I typed in my credit card number I was angry I had to prepare myself, while the fools who run the show are at a polo fund raiser. I think things are backwards—I have always hurricane prepped—but I’ve added more because while we focus on flu the world is spinning and now we have shows like Jericho. In some ways that will make a lot of people prep over anything we’re doing. I personally am waiting for a soap opera with a prep line. Then we can all rest easy.
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic?
No
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference?
Maybe after the fact (if I survive) I can help pick up whatever pieces there are left.Gots to be some use in an old tired country RN
Are you special because you “get it”?
No, just better read,maybe?
What made you become a prepper?
Reading here and other flu sites. (But, IMHO, this is the best)
How did you get here?
Google, I think,maybe Oprah. ;-)
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this?
no
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate?
Fate. I read something years ago that sparked my sense of dread, and have had half an eye out for more info.
Why are we the preppers and others are not?
Maybe I`ve read The Stand, Lucifer`s Hammer, Time Enough for Love,etc. way too often. Maybe I have an overactive imagination.
I think we are better to see possible danger and be prepared than allot of people and that is why we are here. I remember when I learned about tsunamis when I was in sixth grade, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t mandatory for seaside homes to be built on stilts, I remember thinking that within my lifetime I would see a tsunami. Years ago I was laid off from my job and had two small children to support, with almost no income for months, we were fine. I had the cupboards and freezer so full we didn’t even notice the shortage. I remember in the days before Katrina epically the night before I actually cried because I saw it coming. I knew it was going to be bad, and I was helpless.
I don’t think we are chosen, it’s just the characteristics of our personality that have brought us together.
InKy – at 14:57 so without giving any clue, is this person saying much about the avian flu, like what do they expect down the road (of course without any timeline) like do they expect it to be very unkind to the population?
Very good questions, even better answers…..I’ll share later
Spok - Some interesting questions you have here.
1) I haven’t survived it yet.
2) I think I’m here to help others.
3) I’m not special. I am just aware of what is happening around me.
4) I’m not stupid.
5) I googled AI. Out of the listings, I picked this site first and the rest is history. I now consider this group to be my extended family.
6) YES
7) Why not me?
8) We are are not afraid to venture outside the box.
spok, Are you trying to get the people here to write a book for you? gina
I’ve lost contact with my friend in recent months, but he said what others have said since, that there is/was great concern at the highest levels. His own personal sense in the fall of ‘05 was that we had maybe a year or two to get ready. Nothing new to report. I’ve learned much more since here. (This friend is a pretty savvy guy. We sat at Reagan International one day early this year and as we watched people advancing through the security checkpoint and carrying their soft drinks aboard, he remarked that the safety precautions were a joke. Anybody with a soda bottle full of liquid could blow up a plane.) He’s relocated to the country now.
Oops - my comment at 15:46 was a reply to Gary Near Death Valley at 15:25.
Inky thanks for any information,,,,it does seem that TPTB at least at the lower levels,have information. I have a friend that works in the EPA, that says the same thing,,,it is going to be bad,,,in fact that person has said that he/she will be in a lock down in a building in Washington DC when avian arrives in this country. No time limit of course, but they are already having drills about that.
Why are we the preppers and others are not?
Super-sized amygdalas and hyper-responsive hypothalami.
I might’ve experienced the Black Plague in a past life.
That would be nice!
I do feel as though my life’s sort of been set-up for me to be inclined to be aware of a threat like this.
That sounds a bit silly.
I’m paying attention, and yet there could be a looming crisis of another sort completely, that I’ve only remotely heard of, and been entirely uninterested in, and that could jump up and bite me in the ass at some point. Y’know? How special would I be then?
I have always been inclined tho never willing to invest so much time and energy. The men on my father’s side of the family think like this, though not to an extreme. They’re just very self-reliant-minded. My father told me repeatedly as I was growing-up that “Adaptation is survival.”
a websearch.
Higher? I’m thinking “inherent”.
Creative thought?
I enjoyed InKy’s response to this question:
“I suspect most fluwikians are self-starters; they seek information and weigh facts for themselves rather than depending on TBTB or the MSM to think for them.”
I have not had television in a place since I was a young girl living at home….and that was before cable and have always harbored a mistrust on some level of authority and ‘tptb’ in general, including the media. This frees-up the possibility of having my own thoughts without their having been tainted, even on a subconscious level, to the same degree that the thoughts of someone who watches alot of television may be.
I have always walked the path that seemed right, according to my values, even if this meant I’d have to walk it alone.
Flubies are by nature independent thinkers and “self-starters”/early adopters.
I would love to see a study done!
Birds of a feather flock together.
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic?
-I feel I was chosen to live at this time, but perhaps to survive or not survive a pandemic.
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? -I do have a reason to be here and to make a difference, it may not just be to help others become better prepared.
Are you special because you “get it”? -Some may think so.
What made you become a prepper? -Always loved it, and has been instilled in me as a child, when parents would can and rotate food.
How did you get here? -Love to research everything
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? -Yes
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate? -Ready to listen and do
Why are we the preppers and others are not? -Perhaps personality, I’m a doer.
Special? Nope not me.
Paranoid, Anal, and OCD? YUPPPERRR! LOL
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic? I don’t know if I will be chosen to survive. At this point in my life, it matters not. What does matter is who will survive because I prepped, got others to prep and made manuals on sick rooms and SIP etc.
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? Yep, I’m meant to be here and it was my choice somehow.
Are you special because you “get it”? I don’t think it makes me special, but I do know that many people listen and few hear. I choose to hear.
What made you become a prepper? I refuse to be a victim of stupidity to the extent that I can control. Too many things can go wrong in this world, and to not be prepared is just plain stupid IMHO.
How did you get here? through some word of mouth advertishing.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? Directing it? No. Letting it happen? Yes.
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate? Why NOT me? Ever since I laid eyes on the H5N1 in print, I knew that THIS would be the event that changes life as we know it. That was in 97 or 98. Been watching the inevitable ever since.
Why are we the preppers and others are not? I would rather be a survivor than a victim. I would rather be a victim than a volunteer.
Hurricane Alley RN – at 15:35
“spok, Are you trying to get the people here to write a book for you?”
I’m just thought they were good questions that needed to be asked. For whatever reason we all ended up here together. If we ask questions like: Why don’t people get it? Then why are we the ones who do “get it”?
I can understand why a pandemic is not on people’s radar and I don’t think it’s fair to bash them. There is so much misinformation out there and people are just not as tuned in as we are. If people don’t have fluwiki, how can they sort through the news? We’ve all seen the news that gives people peace of mind.
Sometimes this knowledge feels like a burden and I wonder why me? Was it dumb luck through random events that got me so tuned in? Could I have been, just as easily tuned out? Or do I have angel on my shoulder directing me down the correct path? It feels as though I was meant to prep and to save my family.
I have never felt so right about something in my whole life. Where does a gut feeling like that come from? Is it a gift of vision? And if so, why was the gift not given to everyone?
spok – at 18:11 Sometimes this knowledge feels like a burden and I wonder why me? Was it dumb luck through random events that got me so tuned in? Could I have been, just as easily tuned out? Or do I have angel on my shoulder directing me down the correct path? It feels as though I was meant to prep and to save my family.
It IS a burden. One we can’t put down.
The pandemic will be a real ego buster. I keep thinking that I’m doing what feels right and not to do so would make life unbearable. That being said I do look around me at the grocery store to see if anyone else is prepping; today I think I saw a prepper based on all the toilet paper bought. I also see other baskets & I feel they have no idea what’s coming. That’s where my ego is challenged. They are doing what’s right for them but I can’t help judge their decisions and wish I could redirect them. Isn’t that the height of arrogance. But on the other hand I don’t want these same people coming to my door begging later. I look around my neighborhood (fortunately I don’t live in the city) but even more so when I’m in the city I look at houses and try to imagine what this pandemic will look like. I feel I need to get my ego in check so I can deal with the unfortuates during a pandemic and not be judgemental. Does anyone else have these thoughts?
you know I’ve been told all my life , we are all here for a reason, and until that reason has been taken care of, accomplished, or what ever, we will be here. I’ve always wondered what mine was, I have no children, (did raise three boys though.)and I haven’t done anything to be remotely famous or remembered for, so I do wonder what my mission in life is . but no I don’t think I am special or different, well maybe if we all looked each other in the eyes we might all see a Rebel, in some way , shape or form. I’ve never conformed to society like a girl should, heavens,I ride motorcycles, used to anyway. LOL and still do any chance I get. and I’ve been told by everyone , girls don’t do that. and your gonna die. well yea I spent four months in hospital but aint’ dead yet. so guess I’m like everyone else, along for the great adventure. and will see it through till what ever. yup so I will say, my eyes are open, and I’m preppin so I guess we’re all in this together and maybe there is a reason. Most of the people I see on here are pretty smart and well I do have common sense so I’m ready for broom detail. LOLOL just don’t loose your sense of humor. never.
I don’t know if there is a reason, and all this is not just random. I don’t know if I will survive a pandemic.
What makes me special? I don’t take No for an answer, that’s what!
I’m a stubborn so-and-so who refuses to think the things that I’m told I’m supposed to think. If you know what I mean!
I’m an avid student of history and science and I know pandemics have happened many times in the past. I always wondered when another one would happen, and realized it was sheer, dumb luck that one hasn’t happened in my lifetime. There are no scientific advances that can exempt us from another pandemic (either AI, or something else) someday.
I’ve been following stories about emerging diseases for years and saw an article about Fluwiki on the CNN website in March. Reading the posts and realizing just how fragile our infrastructure is turned me into a prepper. It only makes sense to me to have some preparations in case of any type of emergency.
No, I don’t feel special or chosen. And I just pray the next pandemic doesn’t happen during my life time!
I certainly don’t feel special or “destined” for anything. While I may be better prepped than most for what may lie ahead, it does not insure my survival, or my family’s. I am just doing the best I can to fight an unknown enemy and protect what I care most about - my family. I am doing my best to get others to prep, but have only had a few converts. What got me to prep? It’s been building up for ages, although I always had a well stocked pantry anyway. But things this past winter started really heating up, saw Osterholm on Oprah (a show I NEVER watch so maybe that’s fate) and spent three weeks locked down in my house with different family members having all kinds of illnesses that kept them out of school and work. There was no “ah-ha” moment, but I realized that the best way to stop stressing about H5N1 was to prep for it.
I think all of us participating on this wiki are special. A famous psychologist, William Stern , http://tinyurl.com/r8ej9 studied intelligence.
“Stern’s general definition of intelligence was “a general capacity of an individual consciously to adjust his thinking to new requirements,…a general mental adaptability to new problems and conditions of life.”
Most of us our here because we have curiousity and the abilty to think for ourselves in a critical way. Too many other folks out there do not or are not able to look deeper then what the media tells us that TPTB are saying.
Many here have taken the next step from what can I do to save myself, to how can I help others. Creative problem solving and the ability to face hard facts sets us apart.
lady biker – at 19:03 your posts are always worth seeking out because they’re as good for the soul as Nutella, maybe even better since they don’t disappear!
I feel scared to death that I am now responsible for others, other then my family. I signed up for several different news updates via the internet at work after 9/11 and an article here and there would pop out at me about avian flu, one day in March I decided to investigate more and here I am. I’m not special or chosen, I just refuse to give up without a fight, in this and anything else.
Today I was talking to my boss about it, she and her husband have 4 kids in the 20–28 age group and a couple of grandkids now. She thinks if its her and her familys time to go, nothing can be done about it. I can’t comprehend that attitude, I’m gonna go out kicking and screaming myself.
I talked about the office coming up with a business continueing plan and she said it would be a waste of time if anything I told her was true, why bother, we are an internet business for goodness sake. We could adapt and change to become a real resource during a pandemic if they were willing to think outside the box…its sooo frustrating.
I just don’t know what to say anymore. I am so VERY GLAD that you are all here on the wiki and thankful that dem, mel,pogge, anon_22 and the reveres started this. Something of this mangnitude needs the hive mind/mastermind group to comeup with ideas and solutions.
If I haven’t said it recently, Thank you.
I’m here because I was fortunate to read this article in TIME magazine Feb 23,1998-it was the cover story for that week.
link: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987857,00.html
“The Flu Hunters”
“When a mysterious and deadly flu virus struck Hong Kong last year, medical detectives from around the world, fearing a repeat of the 1918 epidemic that killed more than 20 million, sprang into action.”
snip
[Johan] Hultin [part of the team that discovered H1N1 in a frozen body of a victim of the 1918 pandemic] ….another pandemic, he believes, is inevitable. He has given his wife instructions on what to do to survive it: retreat to their mountain cabin until the onslaught passes.”
By ERIK LARSON/HONG KONG
Posted Monday, Feb. 23, 1998″
Anyone who is that knowledge about virii and is that worried about it made me sit up and pay attention. I have followed H5N1 since that feb 1998 day.
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic? “chosen” dunno
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? yep (even if that means to learn & to take the knowledge out of here)
Are you special because you “get it”? if special means uncommon…yes
What made you become a prepper? Raised that way & married into that way.
How did you get here? Had a dream (there goes any credibility) and did a google search.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? Survival and getting people to a place where they can help others… yes. Causing it, no.
Why you? I dunno… feels sorta like close encounters & the mash potato scene somethimes. Was it Knowledge? don’t think so Wisdom? nope Fate? sigh, looks that way.
Why are we the preppers and others are not? We are either ahead of the curve, &/or intuitively vigilant. Also, people use to live this way… prepared to take care of themselves. Use to be, even when I was a child, people kept supplies on hand… not out of fear, but as a way of life. I’d say we’ve generally changed as a society to live in a push button world, at your fingertips type lifestyle. Some see it as prudent, others see it as paranoid.
okay… I want to add to the chosen to survive question: I’m banking everything on “surviving.” I am only looking at myself as a survivor. I can’t afford to look at it in any other way--- but as a survivor. That is why I am here learning, and doing everything I can to survive. I guess it may be “chosen”. But more chosen to help others. If I get it, if I can get to a place of preparation & understanding… then I will be able to help my family. Already, this has had a ripple effect. My husband took the info and it is being incorporated in his company. My kids are asking questions at work and school. Awareness is being raised beyond myself.
Can I go again? thanks…
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic?
Absolutely no doubt about it!!!
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference?
Yes Absolutely - I am going to make a difference - heck I’ve already made a difference.
Are you special because you “get it”?
Totally special - in every way - a gigantic threat and i am jumping up and down cause i got it!
What made you become a prepper?
H5N1 and the threat to my kids coughing or starving or freezing to death
How did you get here?
Qinghai lake, Niman, CE/FC, FT, P4P and now FW
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this?
Yes - the power of life and human survival
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate?
It is meant to be because that is the way it is. If were meant to be some other way, it would be.
Why are we the preppers and others are not?
We can see another future, an alternate reality to the widely held belief that we are safe from harm and nothing can hurt us. It will happen to some other guy somewhere else at some other time.
No illusions that my family and I WILL survive, but I’m sure going to fight like hell trying my best.
Have always had a very acute ability to anticipate possible dangers. Sometimes this makes me a bit of a worry wart, but it also has “saved the day” many times. My family is the same way, so I figure it is somewhat genetic. Even though it is tiring on the brain to be thinking about the “what if’s” in life all the time, I figure evolution selected this trait for a good reason. ;)
“Were you chosen to survive a pandemic?” I don’t know, I haven’t survived one yet.
“Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference?” If I wasn’t meant to be here, I wouldn’t be here. As for making a difference, I can only hope if I do it’s a positive difference.
“Are you special because you “get it”?” If I am, it’s a specialness I would like to share.
“What made you become a prepper?” Logic. Disasters happen; those who prepare for disaster have a better chance of survival than those who don’t; I wish to survive: QED, I’m a prepper.
“How did you get here?” The stork brought me. ^__^ If you mean how did I get to FW, I googled my way here.
“Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this?” I feel no thing.
“Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate?” Natural caution and ability to anticipate problems and consequences combined with knowledge of bird flu.
“Why are we the preppers and others are not?” Because we have a different mind-set than others.
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic? I believe so.
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? Yes.
Are you special because you “get it”? Maybe.
What made you become a prepper? Reading Flu Wiki.
How did you get here? First read about avian flu in 2004. A dire warning from the WHO. There’s something about that phrase “dire warning” that disturbs me. A year later, early Fall 2005, I read a blurb on a political blog. Perhaps Talking Points Memo or digby. Hmmm….can’t remember.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? That is a mystery to me.
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate? All three.
Why are we the preppers and others are not? Something got our attention.
The truth is half the time I feel that I was delusional to take steps to prep. The other half I think those who don’t are. Which is the truth? Depends on what tomorrow brings.
You know, the world IS actually going to hell in a handbasket. Before today, I could not think of a safer place to be than Amish schoolhouse. Well, you know the news. Tell me the world is not insane.
I have no great will to survive or to die. I prep for the same reason I don’t try to beat a train at a crossing.
Any higher power directing all of this must have a warped sense of humor or be downright evil.
Any other questions?
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic? Unknown, giving myself the opportunity to survive.
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? No.
Are you special because you “get it”? Not sure any of us get “anything”, we each hold an individual point of view that leads us to our actions.
What made you become a prepper? To evolve in consciencousness one must be alive because the duality of the earthly experience gives a platform for progression/expansion. Therefore to progress I must live…not because I enjoy, treasure or desire this existence…but because this physical form is required to learn the eternal lessons of life.
How did you get here? Referred.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? Karma balancing the earth as it moves forward in consciencousness is the source of all action/reaction…on the micro and macro level.
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate? Destiny
Why are we the preppers and others are not? Expansion requires the ability to see different point of views. If one is not capable of “seeing” then the experience must take place on a limited plane.
The long answer is…we don’t know. It may or may not come. But if you have taken the initiative to prepare for living in any circumstance, then you can move forward with confidence and embrace your experience completely.
I am ready…for what and when is immaterial.
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic? I don’t know if I will be chosen or not- I was always chosen last.
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? Difference-No, I was meant to keep things the same.
Are you special because you “get it”? Yes, prepping is just getting this, getting that.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? “All of this” is different for different people- some see death; some see care and sacrifice. We choice to see what we wish and why “the innocent suffer” is a very age-old question dating back to at least Job. And we should avoid religion here. So short answer- Your heart and soul matter more than your temporary physical body or you net worth. The “higher power’ is not in the physical things and conditions of our bodies but in our love and compassion. So in “His” he directs their hands in love.
Prepping Gal– at 18:41
Does anyone else have these thoughts?
Your question is at the core of my sanity.
I don’t know if I was chosen to survive a pandemic, but I have been through enough weird things in my life to know that I am a survivor (and by all accounts a fierce defender of my loved ones).
It’s deja vu all over again . . . I feel like I have been here before.
I like the quote from Starbuck in the last chapter of this season’s BG: “We will fight until we can’t.”
EnoughAlready! “close encounters and the mashed potato scene”
EXACTLY!
you nailed that one right good.
Chosen??….No….I Choose.
Chosen don’t know about that, but my death date is not till 2034 (but do not know what month and never checked it). Had a heart attack at age 44 and KNEW I was not going to kick the bucket that time either, because of the 2034 thing……we all have our own time to live and a time to die. But what counts is what we do with ourselves from birth till death…and when the avian comes,,,we will really be able to help others as most wont have any help.
don’t know about chosen to survive, which I could know that is true. Leo: don’t think pessimist so much as many here seem like me, I really think it is more realist than pessimist. I don’t have denial in my way that there is a serious possibility of a devestating pandemic so I prepare for that potentiality in the same way I prep for other potentialities of similiar level of possibility. There are many well informed people who have not prepped because of their denial.
I think I just have less denial. I didn’t have the greatest childhood in the world so I prepared me to be open to and take seriously threats to safety and well being and to plan for them when I can
I also have a temprement that questions and is curious. WHen I saw the government (non) response to Katrina I thought “shit they don’t have this handled, we can’t rely on the government”. SO I started prepping before I even knew that pandemic flu was specific threat.
I then heard about avian flu in far east, did some research. Found fluwikie via google, read mostly at first about 1918. Am big history and anthropology (human prehistory)publlic Heath buff, student of human nature and psych..often strike me how history DOES repeat itself especially if we DO NOT LEARN from past mistakes. That I had never known much about the pandemic in 1918 floored me…
I am single, reasonably young, parents died in last few years so I am without family and feel REALLY vulnerable. I think it is that state that leads me to be vigilent about my own safety, having no one else who worries about me to be really honest. Katrina hit me at a vulnerable point and the above flowed. So I am a prepper due to temperment (curious, interested, questioning), interest (have a BS in microbio and some grad nursing school also), and timing in my life. I don’t feel special or chosen but I do feel kind of, well, MOVED that I know about this, moved and RESPONSIBLE. I am so glad for the existence of fluwikie and the caliber of dialogue here…
I am getting my life in order and backing away from some other volunteer responsibilities, freeing myself up to do more about this outside of myself now that I am prepped.
don’t know about chosen to survive, which I could know that is true. Leo: don’t think pessimist so much as many here seem like me, I really think it is more realist than pessimist. I don’t have denial in my way that there is a serious possibility of a devestating pandemic so I prepare for that potentiality in the same way I prep for other potentialities of similiar level of possibility. There are many well informed people who have not prepped because of their denial.
I think I just have less denial. I didn’t have the greatest childhood in the world so I prepared me to be open to and take seriously threats to safety and well being and to plan for them when I can
I also have a temprement that questions and is curious. WHen I saw the government (non) response to Katrina I thought “shit they don’t have this handled, we can’t rely on the government”. SO I started prepping before I even knew that pandemic flu was specific threat.
I then heard about avian flu in far east, did some research. Found fluwikie via google, read mostly at first about 1918. Am big history and anthropology (human prehistory)publlic Heath buff, student of human nature and psych..often strike me how history DOES repeat itself especially if we DO NOT LEARN from past mistakes. That I had never known much about the pandemic in 1918 floored me…
I am single, reasonably young, parents died in last few years so I am without family and feel REALLY vulnerable. I think it is that state that leads me to be vigilent about my own safety, having no one else who worries about me to be really honest. Katrina hit me at a vulnerable point and the above flowed. So I am a prepper due to temperment (curious, interested, questioning), interest (have a BS in microbio and some grad nursing school also), and timing in my life. I don’t feel special or chosen but I do feel kind of, well, MOVED that I know about this, moved and RESPONSIBLE. I am so glad for the existence of fluwikie and the caliber of dialogue here…
I am getting my life in order and backing away from some other volunteer responsibilities, freeing myself up to do more about this outside of myself now that I am prepped.
don’t know about chosen to survive, which I could know that is true. Leo: don’t think pessimist so much as many here seem like me, I really think it is more realist than pessimist. I don’t have denial in my way that there is a serious possibility of a devestating pandemic so I prepare for that potentiality in the same way I prep for other potentialities of similiar level of possibility. There are many well informed people who have not prepped because of their denial.
I think I just have less denial. I didn’t have the greatest childhood in the world so I prepared me to be open to and take seriously threats to safety and well being and to plan for them when I can
I also have a temprement that questions and is curious. WHen I saw the government (non) response to Katrina I thought “shit they don’t have this handled, we can’t rely on the government”. SO I started prepping before I even knew that pandemic flu was specific threat.
I then heard about avian flu in far east, did some research. Found fluwikie via google, read mostly at first about 1918. Am big history and anthropology (human prehistory)publlic Heath buff, student of human nature and psych..often strike me how history DOES repeat itself especially if we DO NOT LEARN from past mistakes. That I had never known much about the pandemic in 1918 floored me…
I am single, reasonably young, parents died in last few years so I am without family and feel REALLY vulnerable. I think it is that state that leads me to be vigilent about my own safety, having no one else who worries about me to be really honest. Katrina hit me at a vulnerable point and the above flowed. So I am a prepper due to temperment (curious, interested, questioning), interest (have a BS in microbio and some grad nursing school also), and timing in my life. I don’t feel special or chosen but I do feel kind of, well, MOVED that I know about this, moved and RESPONSIBLE. I am so glad for the existence of fluwikie and the caliber of dialogue here…
I am getting my life in order and backing away from some other volunteer responsibilities, freeing myself up to do more about this outside of myself now that I am prepped.
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic? I don’t buy raffle tickets to win because I am not that lucky - I make donations to charities whenever I purchase one. But this is not a raffle so I do have a chance of winning if I buy all the right tickets - count me in on this one. Chosen, no, prepared to fight for it - yes.
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? If I don’t make a difference to one person every day just by sharing a smile, I feel as if my day was not used to its fullest.
Are you special because you “get it”? I am fortunate that I have had the opportunity to investigate the options and make informed decisions. I can ‘fight or flight’ it, and I have chosen to fight. Fortunately I am also an influencer so others will at least hear me out even if they choose to do nothing.
What made you become a prepper? As I said above, because I have had the opportunity to make informed decisions and have chosen to prepare myself for a b**y big fight!
How did you get here? By googling for avian flu and all roads seemed to lead to here.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? If there is (and I remain undecided) then I consider myself blessed that I have been given the option to choose my next steps.
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate? Well actually it was work! Doing BCP investigations about what we need to prepare for … the rest is history.
Why are we the preppers and others are not? Choices, options, inexperience and idleness. Risk takers, superstitious, caught by the hype, nutters. Sensible, paranoid, fearful, bored, the ‘in’ thing to do. For me, good old common sense prevailed. Others have the right to choose.
Actually, all I want is the world’s biggest party when we have our FW reunion ;−0
AnnieB Actually, all I want is the world’s biggest party when we have our FW reunion ;−0
Now, that’s a great image to hold on to. It deserves to go on the “quotes” thread.
Were you chosen to survive a pandemic? Not especially. But perhaps in the 6 degrees of separation someone I have alerted is.
Do you feel as though you were meant to be here and to make a difference? Yes, I make a difference every day where I work.
Are you special because you “get it”? Nope - just a realist and had grandparents that survived the 1918 epidemic, parents who survived the 1957 flu and I survived the 1968 flu.
What made you become a prepper? I am a native Texan. We don’t depend on the government for much down here. Rather we depend upon ourselves and our neighbors. One side of my family arrived in the “colonies” in 1740 and the other side arrived in 1812. My family arrived in Texas in 1850. Guess I come from a long, long line of preppers/survivors.
How did you get here? Googling avian flu.
Do you feel there is a higher power that is directing all of this? In my humble opinion, there is ALWAYS a higher power directing our lives. That higher power may be God, Goddess, Buddha or whoever. I don’t believe in “random acts of chaos.” Everything in this life happens for a reason. We may not always know what that reason is at the time - but it will slowly be revealed to us.
Why you? Was it Knowledge? Wisdom? Fate? All three plus a family background of independence, curiosity, and not willing to take no for an answer.
Why are we the preppers and others are not? I refer you to the Ant and the Grasshopper tale.
Annie B - I can’t WAIT for that party.
answers:
1. I hope so. I guess time will tell, won’t it? I don’t feel chosen so much as “called” to prepare for what lies ahead.
2. Yes!
3. Everyone around me certainly thinks I’m “special” -LOL! I have never had a keen intellect or been great in school. I do think I posess a ton of common sense and am very practical. I consider myself “street smart”.
4. You don’t have to be a Harvard graduate to hear a train coming.
5. Dr. Woodson’s manual was featured on Spiritdaily.com in Fall 2005. FluWiki was cited as a reference in the footnotes. Been here ever since.
6. Directing, yes. Desiring, no.
7. A little of each, and including prudence.
8. I’m unique in many areas of my life, including diligent follow-thru in disaster planning. I have of history of thinking outside the box and I definately don’t run with the rest of the housewives on the block. I’m not the status quo when it comes to anything in my life, including finances, family size, educational choices, religious adherence, and child rearing. AI is just another box under the tree, I guess.
bump
I am just as special as the next person. Unfortunately, nature is saying that there are just too damn many people here now. I can’t argue with that. Nature is the higher power.
The potential pandemic flu caught my attention completely. Luckily I am at a time in life where I have some time and can pay attention to trying to take care of myself. After I saw the Oprah show, I started studying things more with fluwikie. I am working on making some major changes to be even more self-sufficient. Those “pandemic dream” nightmares are fairly powerful personal motivators, also.
If I have prepared mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially, and actually survive the next pandemic, I will still only be as special as the next person. Irregardless of preparations, survival may all boil down to dumb luck or a random act of kindness.
I’m not special.
That’s why I’m prepping.
I am planning worst case that my family gets pandemic flu, and have thus stocked up on Anti-virals, and anti-biotics for secondary pneumonia. My family has got pnuemonia vax.
I am planning on the next-to worst case that pandemic flu will occur, with a high CFR, so we are stocking up on N95 Masks, gloves, etc. to minimize our exposure to the virus.
I am planning for our family to SIP, have enough supplies to ride out supply interruptions (food, water, gas, elec) etc.
Chosen? no. Special? Only to my loved ones. Life is one d*mned thing after another … AI is just one more challenge to deal with. Higher power? no. Prepping? because I want my family to have the best opportunity to survive.
…my slogan:
“Wash your hands twice. Wash your hands- then wash them again.Wash your hands not once, but twice.”
No…sorry…it goes:
“Wash your hands twice. Wash your hands- then wash your hands again. Wash your hands not once, but twice.”
I grew up afraid of the flu, from stories Grandpa told. I figured anything that scared him must be pretty awful. I’ve been waiting for the ‘big’ flu all my life.
What sort of advice did he give?
Tell us a story, Please.
(one with a moral, perhaps)
Did he say what killed them-“Mr. Jones had to go to work…and everybody knew not to go around to their place “etc..?
Oh, gosh Blue-there’s an old thread with stories from everybody that I bet you’d love. Basically, my great grandma force fed the family strawberries and strawberry preserves til they swore they’d turn red.(Family of ten- not one case of flu!) Everybody stayed home- except my grandpa who was the oldest at 8 or so and his dad. They rode around to “neighbors” (farming community- neighbors were not close)going in opposite directions from each other (on horseback). Grandpa thought his Dad did more, but all Grandpa did was basically carry water from wells and firewood up to porches. Sometimes he’d have to break ice. He said people were too weak to go out and get water. There was no church or school. The first to actually die (according to my grandpa) was the doctor in the nearest town, quickly followed by the undertaker. On Sundays the men of the community would gather and go around burying the dead people. Grandpa said oftentimes they would then bury someone the next Sunday who had been doing the burying the week before.
Somewhere around the same time- but it may all be muddled together after all these years- he remembered going out and shooting and burying pigs in the fields. For some reason they couldn’t be taken to market and were too expensive to feed. His family were extremely poor but always self reliant. Until the year before he died Grandpa kept a 5 acre “garden” that he worked by hand. He basically taught me that “you’re on your own” and he wasn’t ever afraid of anything that I could tell- except the flu, which he swore would come back around.
(Hats off to kc_quiet’s Grandpa, and Great-Grandparents)
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