Here it is the end of October and I feel personally that I've entered the proverbial Twilight Zone. My preps are almostalmostalmostalmost done (a couple fill-in-the-gaps trips to Sam's Club and the sporting goods store) and now I'm waiting to see what happens. I've done all I could, within good reason and conscience, to raise awareness among neighbors, family, friends, church and community. Now, things I told folks a year ago are starting to materialize in the press, particularly the USA Today story of a week ago and the IBM news today. Whereas before I was spending hours on the net looking for info about prep supplies to buy and looking for info to convince others, now I'm just spot-checking to see how the wind is blowing and whether the sheeple are beginning to raise their heads and sniff the air. As we enter the End Game period, we'll see things come true or not materialize, but the basic result, I think, is that everyone around us is going to start getting serious about Y2k and this is just going to get/look/sound/feel weird. Made a trip to Cape Cod from Virginia last week and stocked my 85-year-old grandmother's basement with water, food, batteries. She, of course, doesn't think anything is going to happen. I fear for the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of old folks like her, vulnerable, dependent, uninformed. A healthy person can only last three days without water; how long would it take for an octogenarian or nonagenarian in frail health to die from dehydration? How about the infirm or sick of all ages? In some cases, it's gonna get surreal.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), October 21, 1999

Answers

Kurt, the frail elderly also take 3 days to die from dehydration. When a person can no longer swallow, know the end is within 3 days.

Yep, surreal to the max, but thanks to this Forum we're emotionally, mentally, spiritually prepped. We also are watching to see which way the wind blows ... and for whom the Bell tolls ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), October 21, 1999.

More like The Tunnel Of Light.

-- Ocotillo (peeling@out.===), October 21, 1999.

Have hope. Last spring I had casually brought up Y2K with my dental hygenist and she had naysayed. Yesterday, she took me by surprise and brought the subject up again, She said she knew I was heavy on the internet and would have read everything on the subject.

She is now preparing.

She then told me of what I was not convinced of which are the cults within Christianity forming associating Y2K with religious apocalpse. I thought that was FBI hype. She lost a family friend due to such. It seems those cults are very real. They are "yuppies" going cuckoo. In this case the showy suburban home was ditched and 160 acres with a 100 sq foot shack on it purchased. They moved their four daughters out there, whom they're homeschooling, and await apocalypse.

What I told her, and believe, is that her friends are a tad bit extreme. (That was her opinion too.) It'll be very, VERY, nasty but not TEOTWAWKI. I told her to be prepared especially for the time period of The Day Before Panic plus shortages due to the bug (Our non-compliant ports), the roll over of the grids (Which still leaves the nation with power plants), and to cancel direct deposit. Best to have ones paycheck hot in hand.

(She can cure gum disease. I think in using "value judgements" this is an important woman to have surviving on for the nation. I tried to motivate her last spring! She had been one of my targets.)

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), October 21, 1999.

Kurt,

I'm in the Twilight Zone because no one seems to notice any impending disaster. Yikes. I'm glad you stocked up for your grandmother. This is a lousy time to be old!

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), October 21, 1999.

Good name for it, Kurt, the Twilight Zone. Just watching and waiting, except that every now and then I panic and buy a little more food. I'm also glad you found your way to this forum from csy2k.

I agree that things are starting to happen. My son spent last weekend here....he's in the IT section of a bank. His comment: "Everyone's lying about being ready." We discussed preps -- his and mine. His roommate says it will be nothing. Son's roommate's parents bought him a kerosene heater......they don't think it will be nothing.

My neighbor could fit in as the sterotype WV mountain woman. She's about 50, has a daughter and grand daughter. Daughter (20) is working on her 3rd or 4th man. I looked at them and then went out and bought them a 30 day supply of food. Didn't include pheasant under glass, but they won't starve for that long.

Twilight zone, ummhm.

-- de (delewis@inetone.net), October 21, 1999.

I've been in the Twilight Zone for 18 months. Preps and done preps. We are living in amazing historical times,...Y2K or no Y2K. Record your observations. Understand that we are present at one of the most incredible paradigm shifts. Hang on. Hell of a ride. As my baby sister says: "Get a helmet, strap in!"

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), October 21, 1999.

Mara Wayne says"Now is a lousy time to be old." Now you tell me! Is it too late to reschedule my birthday? Is there any significance to this guy offering to expire my cookies?

-- Lumber Jack (johnsellis@webtv.net), October 21, 1999.

..."expire my cookies."

LOL :-)

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), October 22, 1999.