Howdy all,

I have several 'awareness barometers' I use to measure the local state of awareness. Allow me to preface by mentioning I live in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Calling this place conservative would be a conservative statement. Around here they roll up the streets on Saturday night just to make sure it's done by Sunday. There are 11 methodist churches within 10 minutes of my house.

I walked into my favorite farm supply store on Sat afternoon, intending to buy some chicken feed and another aladin lantern. (LOVE those aladins, what a nice piece of equipment!). They normally stock a few of the lamps, but were sold out. "Uh Oh" I said, and picked up every last mantle they had.

Then I walked back to the Generator isle, actually a few shelves in one isle by the water pumps and pressure washers. I have been keeping an eye on those Colemans for a year now to see when they start moving. The shelves were bare. "UH OH uh oh" I said. I looked around to see if they had been moved, and finally surfaced enough from my stupidity to see I was standing in a main isle populated with several dozen LARGE generators of a style and quality never seen in that store before. Honda and vanguard motors everywhere, smallest was 5500 watts on up to 11000. Biggum Buckums.

Salesman came up and aksed if I needed help. I broke into conversation by pointing to the gennies and saying "You folks must be selling a lot of these to have so many on hand".

His reply: "We've been having a hard time getting them. Have to shop around a lot to restock. Once we get them in they are gone in a few days. Can't keep them here, people are buying them like hotcakes".

I said: "No problem figuring out why, it's Y2K".

He replied: "yup" (man of few words)

I have been measuring the reports of hard to find generators and aladin lanterns against our local stores, and always found the reports did not strictly apply to our area. BING......that's over.

While there I bought all the mantles I could find, and all the 'stabil' fuel stablizer. I told my friends, and in our usual hope to stay ahead of the curve we are arranging our fuel storage NOW, ahead of our schedule.

-- Art Welling (artw@lancnews.infi.net), February 01, 1999

Answers

Thanks, Art. Good info.

Going to my local Farm and Fleet and WalMart tomorrow to scope out the same thing.

PS...you have Alladins ON SHELF?? Wow. Not around here. Maybe I need to go 45 minutes away to Amish country and see what gives there.

Blessings...Mercy ( in No. Indiana)

-- Mercy (prepare@now.com), February 01, 1999.

Awareness update:

I stopped back at same place tonight to pick up dis, dat, and da utter ting.

While there I hunted the PVC components I wanted to make a special bucket for my 6 inch wide 350 foot deep well. A clerk there, about 70 yaers old, helped me with the PVC pipe. I mentioned I didn't need a 10' section, 5' would do. He asked if I was fixing a drain or something. I told him what it was for, a well bucket, and did he know what that was? He said no, but he could figure it out. Then he said "You worried about that thing at the end of the year?"

He also said he thought "They were just trying to get us all worried". It not what he said that matters, but that Y2K was the first thing that popped instantly to his mind when I mentioned getting water from the well.

That clearly means others were there ahead of me. If the 70 yo plumbing clerk instantly connects well buckets and y2k then awareness must be skyrocketing around here.

-- art welling (artw@lancnews.infi.net), February 01, 1999.

Same here in SE Va. Places are having a hard time keeping kerosene lamps and generators in stock. I was behind an elderly lady in Lowe's the other day and she was buying various things and said " I have to stock up now. Might not have power this time next year, you know". I think the average person is much more aware (and worried) than would be generally thought. Kitty in Chesapeake, VA

-- Kitty in VA (kittyfelton@webtv.net), February 01, 1999.