I'm a new poster, old time lurker, and I get this weird feeling like we're going back in time, as we go forward. People are more into planting gardens and getting to know their neighbors and here it is 2000 instead of 1900. Thank God for these wonders. Does anyone else feel this way? (I know you must!)

Y2K brought alot of my kamping knowledge back to the forefront. I think we still need to rely on our commen sense.

How are you all feeling now?

-- snikpoh (snikpoh@ecentral.com), January 16, 2000

Answers

snikpoh, I feel like we're going back, but not to the old West so much as the days before Noah. I'm in the suburbs in VA, and I chat online with folks all over the world, but don't know the names of my neighbors. I chatted with one neighbor maybe twice. The workplace is unethical, lots of backstabbing and mental illnesses. Families breaking up. Entitlement issues. I don't see the true humanity of the days of the old west here, where folks banded together against nature. Sorry to say that.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 16, 2000.

Hokie-

I hope I'm doing this right, emailing you instead of posting, but I'll do that too... I'm sorry to hear that you don't have much contact with your neighbors, Y2K was a Godsend for us, I live in the Paloma O'Riley country of Colorado and I think Y2K brought out the best in alot of us, even though some friends never return calls since the Rollover. Work seems to always be unethical and the people backstabbing. From what I've observed on this forum people have always been very kind and understanding to the posters.

Now that we're into the final weeks of January , I wait to see what will trnspire and will continue to lurk amongst the posts.

BTW can you tell me what OT, and sysops mean (NEWBIE!!!!) I have an idea, but not sure.

snikpoh

-- snikpoh (snikpoh@ecentral.com), January 16, 2000.

OT means "Off Topic" (presumably not neccessarily y2k related) Sysops refers to the system operators (the big cheeses).

-- Daisy Jane (deeekstrand@access1.com), January 16, 2000.

Thanks daisy jane hah - hah, I thought OT might mean "Old thread", but was prety sure about sysop, Thanks again!

snikpoh

-- snikpoh (snikpoh@ecentral.com), January 16, 2000.

Hello Snikpoh-- Yes, we were prepared for going back in time. Moved to the 120 yr old family farm about 10 yrs ago and luckily some neat things were kept. Butter churns, horse collars, grinding stones, two man saws, cradle sycths, wooden hay rakes and hay hooks. We bought new milking pails and a cheese press and a grain mill. Last year I made many trial runs of yogurt and soft cheeses. I think all this would have been fun for about a week. Boy am I glad the electric stayed on. One nice thing--I read about the three vegies that winter over in the garden (carrots, parsnips and kale) and planted a large patch of kale for salads in the new year. We have really been enjoying that. We covered it with a little straw for the really cold times--so far it has only gotten down to 0F--Seems to be doing fine. Even if it is frozen, I can just run it under water and it is fine. Something to think about for next year too. We know all our neighbors for a 7 mile stretch on this creek. Five of us ladies work the Pleasant Valley Election Board twice a year. In Nov. we checked out that we all had sufficient preps. And every other home was checked out when they came in to vote. I grow to appreciate this community more and more as time goes by. Now, what are we three doing up at 3am?

-- Pam Goodrich (jpjgood@penn.com), January 16, 2000.

Hokie; something about your post struck a chord. I worked inside the beltway for about six months. The company was PRC. The project was the Defenst Intelligence Threat Data System commonly called DITDS. My immediate supervisor admitted to me one day that he had written the RFP for the customer, as I recall Col. Thomas of the Defense Intelligence Agency, on that project. I took the opportunity to tell him that was illegal. My mistake, suddenly I was mentally ill AND black balled AND looking for a job. Oh Yeah, December 1993 was a great time.

Now I include this detail because I am bitter at Paul Neiswander and PRC in general and I will glady back these statements in court if this tidbit finds its way back to either the company or Paul, himself.

They are true and documented. Needless to say, I found work elsewhere.

Hokie, think about running your own business. Very satisfying.

Michael

-- Michael Erskine (Osiris@urbanna.net), January 16, 2000.

Matter of fact, if they so much as contact me on the matter I will put up a web site that documents the details.

-- Michael Erskine (Osiris@urbanna.net), January 16, 2000.

I live right outside the beltway here in VA. I also sort of know my neighbors but not very well. Primarily because I am a single mom in nice townhouse development in Burke. Most of the mothers in this neighborhood seem to be stay at home moms. Therefore, I don't really seem to fit in. I love it here in NO VA BUT everything they told me before I moved here about this area is true. I used to be a pastor's spouse and I was told that because so many people come and go at such a fast pace (military folks especially), that people are rather "standoffish" and don't tend to make deep connections. Plus the churches for the most part are so huge, it is hard to connect unless you fit into a particular small group category.

I lived in ME and NH for much of my life where it is nothing to drop by a neighbors for a cup of coffee UNANNOUNCED. I don't think you would do that here.

-- tt (cuddluppy@aol.com), January 16, 2000.

tt,

I can relate. Continuity helps. My daughter has been in the same school for 3 years. Just coming and going there has made a difference. Getting involved in her activities has helped. I have managed at least a small group of people I can gravitate towards at functions, as well as a couple of good friends. The great thing is, it's all bound by class (age). Therefore, I still have at least six more years to nurture relationships and grow new ones. Hope you can find some, too.

-- margie mason (mar3mike@aol.com), January 16, 2000.

Michael,

Similar experience when I told my last boss that we didn't have the population he described on a fed research grant he was awarded. He got me outta there before the first site visit. Boy was I naive, I thought it was his oversight, go figure. I thought he'd just give the money back. Heh.

Yep, I'd love to be self employed. I just don't have a clue about what I would do though.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 16, 2000.

Makes me glad we "got outta Dodge." After 20 yrs at a major university we started our own business. Look in Thomas Register under Programmable Orienting Systems, Inc. Rather proud of the ad. Have had to live off savings many times in the past 15 years (til the check finally came in the mail) BUT no backstabbing and nothing unethical for 15 years. What a wild rollercoaster ride having you own business is--I highly recommend it.

-- Pam (jpjgood@penn.com), January 16, 2000.

How does that saying go, "The more I get to know people the better I like my dog." People stay to themselves UNTIL something goes wrong like a fire, flood or earthquake. Then the keep-to-themselves neighbors all of a sudden become your good neighbor. I have only one neighbor that I talk with because we have made an effort to stay in touch and communicate on occasions. The other's have made it clear that they don't want to be bugged. So, if and when the SHTF I know which neighbor I intend on being chummy with, the other's can fiend for themselves.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), January 16, 2000.

I'm sorry to say that I had lost faith in humanity until I found some of the sites I have found recently. Think that at least some people are trying to go back to living in harmony with nature, but not where I come from. Last trash incinerater in the country was placed in my town a few years ago, of course after the mayor got a huge "consultant fee". See people drive by the recycle bins to throw their cardboard and plastic in the bin for the incinerater. Farmers spray tons of chemicals on the fields around my area. Lots of cancer and deformed frogs around. We still have a long ways to go, but at least some are trying.

-- J (bustina420@hotmail.com), January 16, 2000.