The Red Cross has issue a Y2k alert. Elizabeth Dole is the president of Red Cross. There are those in the political circles that are aware and trying to share information. I am starting to feel that should anyone become too vocal about Y2k they will be quietly but quickly hushed.

I can not help but think that the present focus on Utah and the olympics will keep Sen. Bennett busy for a while.

I know I am paranoid.

-- Linda A. (adahi@muhlon.com), December 25, 1998

Answers

Paranoia: A chronic mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions of persecution and of one's own greatness, sometimes with hallucinations.

Cautious: Attentive to examine probable effects and consequences of acts so as to avoid danger; prudent; wary; careful.

A dictionary is a must-have reference.

None of us are paranoid -- only concerned and cautious, based on good reason. "Paranoid" is a peer-pressure tactic lobbed at a person who is showing beyond-the-sleeping-norm awareness and is therefore ridiculed as a threat to general stupor-conformity.

Whenever I have researched an issue and found reason for concern, I have immediately been labeled "paranoid" and belittled and ostracized. To my horrified amazement, each time, I've turned out to be correct and common-sense forewarned, while the gleeful-mean naysayers have had to live in their ill-gotten stew and consequences.

I would like nothing more than that nothing happen before, during, or after January 1, 2000, and pray that collective awareness and community ingenuity overcome the Y2K problem. Yet at the same time we are preparing for massive disruptions, because that is what reason leads us to forecast, based upon facts, current human behavior, and Y2K's progress thus far. With every day, our fears lessen and our feeling of self-reliancy grows, because we are actively preparing, which is the only smart & prudent thing to do as we live in an earthquake zone anyway. Of course, because we cannot bug out, we're still toast on an Infomagic scale.

But we are not paranoid and never have been. The truly paranoid people are the ones who are so insecure and devoid of any original thought that they quickly, with animosity, label *you* as paranoid at the slightest hint of "different" thinking.

Ashton & Leska in Cascadia, cautious, prudent, smart, and still trying to be helpful, but quiet in the outer world (now part of being prudent ;-)

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), December 25, 1998.

Bravo, Leska! I would love to have you as a neighbor! Hopefully, all my family, friends, neighbors, and church will come around to this way of thinking before it's too late! Granny Holly (*<>*)

-- Holly Allen (Holly3325@juno.com), December 25, 1998.

Dear Granny Holly, how we wish you were our neighbor too! Our neighbors are angry, brush-off spiteful people, and it is frightening. We have often daydreamed about living in a community of Forum Yourdoneers -- this is the first bunch in a long time I would be happy living with! What an excellent, practical, useful array of skills you all have. To finally find a kinship community -- but it's virtual poofspace -- always a kink in the pig's tail. Merry Christmas, Granny Holly, and may we all have a productive New Year ;-O

Ashton & Leska in Cascadia, who mourn real live true community
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), December 25, 1998.

Leeska and Ashton, I feel like I know you both from your many posts over the months. They are always inspiring. I know that your not prepaired well because of finances, but your prepaired very spiritually. Thats what I like about you both. I am prepaired to house a hundred. I have everthing, but, the true inspiration of people like you. If you e-mail me and you are interested I will open my compound to you both. At the present I will be housing about 36 people for the long haul. I'm located in Indiana. Mike

-- flierdude (mkessler0101@sprynet.com), December 25, 1998.

Dear Mike flierdude,
That is so kind of you to offer your shelter! It is wonderful that you have everything to secure your survival, plus a hundred more! *That* takes a lot of work! Plus true inspiration :-D Indiana Ark ;)

Our dilemma might be illustrative of lots of little ppls' pendulum job ponderings. We think, how can we move now -- what will we do to earn a living out in the boonies for the year before TSHTF? We don't have money or time extra enough to pull it off! How could we earn our keep in a compound, now or after Y2K?

Once committing to such a move, we'd be stuck -- what if the others in the community did not like us or feel we were pulling our weight? Aacckkies. \\ v.s. the dependency on the teetering infrastructure we are currently balancing. At least in the crazy world of today, we can exist amidst others yet carry on in our own private unnoticed 'space,' offending/iring nobody. Drats, that it has to change. But change it must.

It isn't exactly our choice not to "bug out." If we had the money and time, we would. That is certainly the most logical, desireable mode of preparation!

We're in a good location for our business of hospice caregiving. Close proximity to hospice pharmacy. The Drs are always changing & calibrating the meds, so it's a matter of time-saving and quick response for our patients. Our line of work is difficult but rewarding in the contact with God, and we are well-suited to our job, which we love (most of the time ;-)

Outside constraints: money, time, lots of physical stuff, i.e. necessary business supplies. Our patients don't have the tools for the job, and most families don't want to spend a sudden amount of money: "He's just going to die anyway," so WE supply the job, especially at first. We have a huge amount of stuff, like commodes, shower benches, music therapy, and all types of caregiving aids, that we need to use to do the job properly. We have a storage apartment and it is crammed floor to ceiling, 1000 square feet, with caregiving stuff, barely enough room to walk around!

We never rented a place/apt of our own until 1996, when the Floods forced us to evacuate a storage unit. Previously, 23 years, we lived=worked with our patients, and there weren't breaks in between patients: more patients than caregivers. We still live=work with our patients, but now, after several deaths in a row, we can escape for respite and recharging back into our own apt, and get ready for the next round. Or if it's unbearable, we can spell each other while one goes 'home' to recuperate. So it's working out well.

We've moved so much in this lifetime! And I'm tired of hauling stuff all over the place. Each patient has different needs, so essentially we move in with a customized load for each patient. It's a matter of sheer physical exhaustion, and lots of stuff, all important, indispensable to our business. Hospice caregiving does not pay a lot, but enough to survive on if the world stays as is. We are not in debt, have no children or pets, even gave away our last plants! We don't have any assets other than lots of used, but very necessary, business tools. In our line of work, living=working. Dying=working too :) No heaps of cash reserves :( So we pretty much have to keep working. We've been able to store enough rations to survive 3 months -- just a few more odds 'n ends and the inevitable Oh Yeahs! that we'll learn about throughout the next year. Our apt. is in a low-income complex which is well-maintained and very pleasant and orderly; however, resentment, anger, unfriendly and wild energies seethe just below the surface of most of the inhabitants. Not us: we're happy! peaceful, somewhat placid hard-working hermits :) Anyway it keeps the rent low enough to eeke by, and the security is good. In fact, beyond excellent. But in Y2K riots-looting-mayhem? Fire burns even the best defense.

So there you have it; that's where we're at. If we don't have our stuff, we can't do our job: no job, no eat, no pay bills, no can survive. We have plenty of other skills, but not enough $$ to buy land and commute while building. IF Y2K is not severe, we still will aim for the bug-out ideal, saving our pennies the rest of our life to pull it off eventually, when we're really old! Because obviously society cannot keep going like this.

It is so kind of you to offer to help us! The weird thing is, is that after a lifetime of high ideals and poverty and struggle and good deeds and huge accumulation of outstandingly good karma, we are finally doing OK! And here comes Y2K to derail our niche. I think all anybody can do for us is pray, which we all are doing now :)

If we got a lot of patients in 1999, we *might* be able to save enough to move, but then how would we earn a living after that? It's a matter of reserves. There will be so many ppl dying, nobody will pay us to ensure a wonderful passing. Guess everybody will be changing careers; we just don't know what our road will be. So, we're playing it by ear, praying, prepping, reading a lot. Thank you so much for offering! Just to know there's considerate fellows out there is a big boost.

I'm sure our quandry is similar to many who are living paycheck to paycheck and aren't sure how to juggle working/moving/adapting/re-earning a place in a new grouping.

Thank you, Mike flierdude, and Merry Christmas!
Ashton & Leska, daily looking for a responsible

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), December 25, 1998.

Elizabeth Dole (Red Cross) was just on Face The Nation. When asked if she would run for President in 2000, she responded You never, say never. She went on to say that there are several women in the pipeline and she thinks the country is ready for a woman President.

May be time to start e-mailing her about Y2K http://www.redcross.org/ sys/feedback/feedback.html or Y2000@usa.redcross.org.

See their Y2K Compliance status at http://www.redcross.org/Y2K.html. Among other things they say The American Red Cross Disaster Services Y2K Task Force has been looking at the Y2K problem from a disaster preparedness and response perspective and has published a Community Disaster Education brochure that contains a checklist of what people can do to prepare themselves for Y2K related or caused disasters. The Disaster Services Task Force is also undertaking a regular series of articles providing advice to Red Cross chapters on how to approach this problem and prepare for related events in their individual communities. The Task Force will continue to meet and publish information for chapters periodically. In addition, the topic will be addressed during the American Red Cross Disaster Services Leadership Conference in St. Louis from Jan 14-16, 1999.

Also check out the list of 1997-98 Govenors of the American Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org/governors/index.html -- a couple of the names are:

Madeleine Korbel Albright (Secretary of State)

William S. Cohen (Secretary of Defense)

They are also on the board for the 98-99 season: http://www.redcross.org/governors/index98.html

Humm...Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 27, 1998.