Ya gotta laugh and why I owe Koskinen one..

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Among the rather ingrained saver/preparedness thought patterns in my extended family, my mother could be termed a black sheep. (Or else a genetic pattern skipped a generation..*smile*) Since the beginning of last year my husband and I have been providing my parents with a variety of Year 2000 information, basically to no avail. My dad (retired electrician/motor repair) did pick up a generator, but that was due more to the northeast ice storm outages than anything else.

We were away last week and when we returned, mom related that our local newspaper had done a front page reprint of some of Mr. Koskinen's statements on global disruptions, the implication being that there were risks of problems impacting American imports, etc. with possible price rises in goods. Well. It seems that reading a government official putting forth the idea of potentially higher prices lit up in mom's consciousness like a neon sign. It's almost like she'd read a big advertisement which said,

SAVE MONEY BY BUYING NOW.

She's stocking up on canned food items, coffee and such, with determination now. After so long, this turn around left my husband and I rather stunned and then we had a good laugh! I'm relating this because perhaps the same idea of saving money because of global market price rises next year might be a motivational factor for others to use with those who are not concerned at all about U.S. Y2K failures.

Finally, (taking a deep breath here) I do owe a debt of gratitude:

Mr. Koskinen, "Thank you."

Bonnie, laughing over life's twists and turns.....

-- Bonnie Camp (bonniec@mail.odyssey.net), August 01, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the chuckle, Bonnie. I needed that. I don't think Mr. Koskinen would see the humor but maybe we could try explaining... nah, better to smile and run.

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), August 01, 1999.

Bonnie,

Thanks! I think you've hit upon a great, creative strategy here! My mom seems very fatalistic about what Y2k might bring. To put it in the context of saving money is something she will identify with immediately.

Thanks,

Mike

=================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mt4design@aol.com), August 01, 1999.


Bonnie, thanks for sharing your story. Maybe, just maybe John Koskinem was ratcheting up the Administration line one more peg.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), August 01, 1999.


Bonnie, thanks for sharing your story. Maybe, just maybe John Koskinen was subtly ratcheting up the Administration line one more peg.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), August 01, 1999.


Thanks, Bonnie,

My mom is a child of the depression. She's reluctantly following my advice, and that of my sister (as is my other, somewhat skeptical sister). The idea of saving a buck would move her much more than the thought of the real y2k potentiality.

JOJ

-- jumpoffjoe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), August 01, 1999.



Good idea Bonnie- my Mom has totally ignored EVERYTHING y2k I've told her/sent her- BUT- she does love a good sale......

-- farmer (hillsidefarm@drbs.net), August 01, 1999.

Bonnie, I tell people about food sales, but they don't see the need to stock up. One DGI computer programmer wondered where extra food items would be stored. He recently moved into a single level ranch house without a basement, so I could see his point. I told him to be creative and use his mind. (I have stashes in the strangest places.)

I guess some people might be ashamed to have guests see stacks of preparations cluttering up space and interfering with the ambience of their interior decorating.

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), August 01, 1999.


Alot of my "preps" are just looking through the flyers and buying plenty of what ever is on sale that I use. It can be seen as an investment.

Most people don't look at buying things in serious bulk at a good deal as an investment. Must be my good Scottish heritage.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), August 01, 1999.


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