So who's the crazy person now?

[CLT65]

I'm not a "prepper" per se, but growing up on the farm we always had extra. The freezer and pantry were always full. I like to have some extra just in case, and for years have encouraged my wife to stock up on just a little extra when she shops. Instead of buying just one tub of Adam's Peanut Butter at Costco, buy four and put them in the pantry. Buy an extra bag of beans and rice. No need to go overboard, just get some extra just in case.

We're not prepping for Commies invading, or bule-helmets, or aliens, but even in times like this it feels good to know we could get by without going to the grocery store for at least a couple weeks.

Has anyone else noticed tempers short and irritations flaring in their households? I have 4 kids, of whom 2 are teenagers. I've been working from home as much as I can. We home-school, so that's nothing new for us, but ALL of their extra-curricular activities have been canceled. They are NOT happy about this interruption to their lives.

On top of everything else, the internet went out last week. We don't even have TV (internet TV only). The repair guy finally fixed it yesterday. My kids have absolutely no idea what it's like to live without modern conveniences. I tell them we had one TV channel when I was a kid, and sometimes a 2nd if you turned the antenna just right. You watched what was on at the time or nothing at all, usually nothing, and the internet didn't exist. They look at me like I'm telling them about ancient Rome or something...

 

[CLT65]

Oh, and the TP thing? My wife just laughs. She orders things like TP and paper towels via Amazon by the case, so we've got a month's worth even before this craziness started. I told her that's a woman's worry anyhow. The typical guy uses about 5 squares per day, whereas the average woman uses about 5 rolls per day. I don't get it.

 

[Joe13]

Oh, and the TP thing? My wife just laughs. She orders things like TP and paper towels via Amazon by the case, so we've got a month's worth even before this craziness started. I told her that's a woman's worry anyhow. The typical guy uses about 5 squares per day, whereas the average woman uses about 5 rolls per day. I don't get it.

You would if you had to use it every time you had to pee

Got a wife and early 20's daughter at home, I bring up a six pack of TP and before I go thru a roll they've finished the pack almost lol.

We are normally a month ahead but with not getting any the last Two Costco trips we were a little lower then I'd like but I found enough to make me comfortable again

 

[Flymph]

My parents from the '20's. Learned a lot, watching my old man (and getting pressed into service). Osmosis is one of the most underestimated forces in the universe.
Although there are many elements of SHTF in this situation, I don't consider this something that will *really* test preparedness. I consider this a drill. People I talk to are really scared, and for the life of me, I do not understand why. (Make that my epitaph).

I'm afraid that people are this afraid... and psychotically obsessed with TP.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Most in the millennial generation (XY & Z) can't comprehend life without electronics, Gawd forbid the power goes out and we'll see who the smart ones are when it does... SMH

We taught our kids as much about life and how to live without stuff, as their brains (and attention spans) could absorb while they were at home. They have told us that they are thankful that we didn't hold their hands and tell them they were super special, that unicorns and snowflakes were real...

I'm a 53 year old Gen X. Missed being a Boomer by a year and a half. Calling me a millennial is bordering on fightin' words.... But even so, my 88 y/o mom still does say I'm super special.....

 

[NW Backpacker]

I sure hope that is the case. I gave up evangelizing preparedness to others years ago. Hopefully this was a wake up call to those that rejected the notion.

Hopefully those running the medical community will wake up as well. You'd think after 1918 and the other pandemics we've experienced that they'd have done a better job on this one.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/basics/past-pandemics.html

Health insurance premiums are YUGE, thanks to the "affordable" care act. The deductibles are huge. How much do they charge for an aspirin? What the heII are they doing with the $$?

 

[The Heretic]

After this is over, nobody will be ridiculing those who prep anymore.

Oh they will go back to ridiculing other people. It is human nature - and I am not being sarcastic - it really is just human nature to both put down other people and to be hypocritical. If you remind them how they acted during the COVID scare, they will just say "oh, that was different". Then the next time (windstorm, snowstorm, whatever), they will freak out in just the same exact way.

People did this before - e.g., Y2K, snow storms, etc. - and they will do it again.

I do hope my kids learn from this - I think they listened somewhat before, but didn't really take it that seriously. This time around they got first hand experience at witnessing how people react to a situation where people didn't need to panic, but did, and I hope it made enough of an impression to take it seriously in the future.

Imagine how much worse it would be if we had a 9+ earthquake; zero warning (besides current warnings), immediate loss of power, water, shelter, quick loss of food/supplies due to panic buying. Probable loss of life. Certain loss of ability to travel. By comparison, COVID is just a minor inconvenience for most people (at the moment - wait until the economics really come into play - 2020 is not going to be a good year).