Fw: Non RLS:This is a keeper.

[Guest guest]

This is a long post but I'm forwarding it in the hope you'll find it as

interesting as I did.

Subject: " This is a keeper. "

>Thought you might identify with this lady somewhat. Especially in the part

>about trying to pass on wisdom and advise to a certain individual who just

>wouldn't take it 'cause he supposedly knew better? >Love,>Dave (this was my

son's message to me in his forwarding letter). )

>

>Stocking just one week's supplies. Balderdash! A story from the perspective

>of experience. (Long)

>greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

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>About four year’s ago, long before " Y2K " entered the public consciousness,

I

>attended an auction. It was an all day affair, going from 9:00 in the

>morning to well past nightfall of that summer day. The owner of the large

>house and farm outbuildings, a lady well into her nineties, had passed away

>and the heirs had arranged the auction to settle the estate. By the time

>darkness was falling, the original large crowd had dispersed and there were

>only a couple dozen diehard bidders remaining, myself included. That the

>auctioneer managed to keep talking for nearly 14 straight hours with only a

>couple of small breaks, remains a marvel of endurance to me.

>During the last two hours, many boxes were brought forth from the house and

>it was specified by the iron-throated auctioneer that only the cardboard

>boxes were being sold, not their contents. The contents were gratis, since

>they consisted of all kinds of canned food, coffee, and other store bought

>goods for which a re-sale had legal considerations. As the boxes coming out

>were quickly examined prior to bidding, I noticed most of the contents had

>sale tags on them, and knowing the pattern, I would also have bet that a

> " senior " discount had been used whenever possible. I overheard many laughs

>and comments. " Do you believe this? The woman had enough toilet paper for a

>year! " " What did she think she was going to do with all those cans of

>coffee? " " She must not have had anything better to do than buy soup and

>canned corn and stick it on a shelf. Poor woman must have been senile. "

>Opinions of the deceased’s sanity, or lack thereof, did not prevent very

>good bids being placed for the boxes which happened to contain that " free "

>coffee, however, and every other cardboard box was sold in quick order. To

>my amazement, there was no competition for a large box full of various bars

>of soap, still in the original packaging. I got it for a two dollar base

>bid. I had many private thoughts I didn’t express that evening about those

>who continued to joke and sputter in laughter over such quips as, " For gawd

’

>s sake, what was she thinking? There was going to be siege or something?

>Maybe we’d better look around the property and see if there’s a moat! "

>

>Some of my private ruminations were that these same people did not make fun

>of the lady’s penchant for keeping other things. Two boxes of empty coffee

>cans, dated from the 30’s and 40’s and still in excellent shape, were

>coveted by every antique and collectibles dealer there. Same for the jars

of

>buttons, the toys, the Christmas ornaments, and nearly everything else

>including the hand made rag rugs.

>

>The fact is, I couldn’t join in the laughter because I knew the lady, named

>, if I remember correctly, had been as sane as anybody there even

though

>I had never met her. I also knew why she had lived the way she did. I am

>both blessed and cursed with an excellent memory and I’m also old enough to

>remember growing up in the years post W.W. II. In today’s parlance I’m a

> " baby boomer " , part of the first wave of that post-war rush to procreate.

>The street where I first learned to ride a bicycle along the cracked

>sidewalks had a mixture of residents of varying ages, but there were quite

a

>few young couples whose children all became fast friends and playmates. We

>kids knew nearly everyone on the street, and we were completely familiar

>with the day to day common events and practices of the households we

>frequently spent time at.

>

>I can look back in memory and clearly see the walk-in pantrys, the

kitchens,

>the shelves and jelly cupboards in the cellars, the pickle crocks, the wine

>bottles, and the contents of each. If the people I knew in the fifties and

>sixties had read a recommendation from the government about having a week’s

>worth of supplies on hand, they would have scowled and said, " Only a week?

>What nonsense are they talking about? " . Nearly everyone had a few weeks of

>food in their homes, or much more depending on the season of the year. In

>the autumn, canning jars filled with garden produce and fruit bought by the

>bushel overflowed the cellar shelves and were lined up on tables.

>Pressure-canned jars of stew meat made a dark contrast to the picalilly,

>corn relish and chili sauce. It wasn’t only home canned goods which were

>stored, either. Store bought items shared space on the shelves. When canned

>pears or beans or flour were on sale at the grocery store, you picked up

one

>for use, and one or two or a dozen more to " put away " , according to your

>financial ability and the size of your family. After all, didn’t everybody?

>Prices only go up, you save those pennies where you can! There were rules

of

>common sense practically pounded into our youthful heads in those days, by

>people who had lived through a ten year depression and subsequent world

war.

>

>You absolutely " put something away for a rainy day " and if you wanted

>something new you saved up for it and paid cash. The only exception was

>maybe the item was a big ticket one like a refrigerator or a car and then

>you put as big a down payment on it as you could and worked to pay the loan

>off fast. Debt was to be avoided like the plague and if you couldn’t afford

>something you did without it – no shame in that! And heaven forbid if you

>didn’t keep at least a little cash on hand at all times, if it was within

>your means to do so. A garden was standard and if you grew more than you

>could use then you gave some to old Mrs. Gartner down the street whose

>rheumatism kept her from tending to a garden that year. (Then she sent you

>homemade fruit-filled cookies!) Or you put the extra out on a table by the

>street and sold it cheap to families who couldn’t garden for themselves. As

>for the kids, you did your chores, and got nasty looks from your elders if

>you were impolite or otherwise engaged in a nefarious deed. If it took as

>long as two days before your parents heard about the error of your ways,

the

>grapevine was considered to have had a major lapse. The older kids

sometimes

>tried beating the inevitable disclosure by confessing to the deed and

hoping

>punishment would be mitigated by their honesty (and also because it was a

>point in a parent’s favor if they already knew what had happened before

>another adult told them).

>

>I recently met a lady friend for lunch and she asked me if I’d been to a

>Wegman’s supermarket lately. I hadn’t, and she told me she knew several

>people who went to that store’s a la carte salad bar three or four times a

>week after work. They picked up what appealed to them for dinner that night

>and took it home. She said the profusion of food which could be bought,

>pre-cooked, and by individual servings (or more) was now amazing. The

>original salad bar had expanded to include such variety a person didn’t

have

>to keep any groceries at home at all!

>

>Before the above paragraphs make me sound as though I’ve somehow lived

>outside of modern society, let me hasten to assure you that I’m very

>familiar with Sam’s Club as well as other national supermarket chains, and

>there’s nothing I like better than eating out and not having to cook. Bring

>on the bacon cheeseburgers and french fries! And although my youngest son

>used to refer to my early days as " the stone age " , it should be remembered

>that forty years is considered only one generation by genealogists, and is

>really a very short time frame in the scheme of history. Honest! Also, like

>those in any younger generation, I really didn’t pay all that much

attention

>to my elders oft spouted wisdom and consequently have experienced being in

>debt up to my eyeballs. Neither do I claim " the good old days " were somehow

>removed from all the modern problems. They weren’t. Greed, crime, wars and

> " conflicts " , injustice, poverty, prejudice and ignorance were as insidious

>then as they have been throughout history.

>

>However, the conversation about picking up pre-made salad bar dinners most

>of the week did bring together several random observations of mine and I

>realized it is not only American manufacturing which now operates on the

> " Just In Time " principle. American society as a whole is now a J.I.T.

>society; meal to meal, day to day, paycheck to paycheck. There is no

>underlying girder of stored supplies to cushion an unexpected downturn in

>fortunes and whether this opinion now qualifies me as an " old fogy " or not,

>neither is there as much of an underlying base of thrift, courtesy, faith

or

>honor.

>

>If , whose property was auctioned that day, was still alive, and I had

>the opportunity to tell her about the potential computer system problems

the

>Year 2000 might bring, I know in my heart she would most likely say, " Well,

>I got through ten years of depression and then W.W.II., you just do the

best

>you can. So what did you say the government is recommending in the way of

>supplies? Three days to a week? Humph. [a sound always accompanied by a

>sniff or snort from the nose] If I ever had just one week’s worth of

>supplies I would have considered myself to be an idiot, even in good times.

>The gov’mint don’t remember too well, do they now? "

>

> " No, they don’t, " I’d reply. Read one of the free government brochures or

>talk to any financial planner and you will invariably come across a

>recommendation that a family should have enough money saved up to cover

>three months worth of expenses in case of an emergency such as a

>hospitalization, layoff, or job loss. I’ve also read that same advice in

>various magazines articles and newspapers for the last 30 years. Three

>months, on average, is the standard " cushion " recommended to get you

through

>the emergencies life may throw your way. Hardly anyone puts that advice

into

>practice nowadays, but it’s still considered a practical precaution. Until

>now that is. Now the government is talking about three day’s or a week’s

>supply for an event the severity of which even they admit cannot be

>definitively determined in advance. Yes, one is food in the house and the

>other is money in the bank, but what difference does it really make?

>

> would " humph " and do that little side-to-side shake of the head, which

>is the old-time polite way of saying " Some people’s just fools, ain’t

they? "

>I’d give a younger, less practiced " hum " and listen as she related all the

>hard times she’d been through and what she’d learned from them. I’d add

some

>of my own experiences. I know what it’s like to cook everything from

scratch

>and make every penny count. What it’s like to have one trip a month to

>Mc’s be a big family treat. (Was I glad I knew you could cook

>everything yourself and save money.) There was a time my husband and I were

>in a car accident which put us both in the hospital. (Thank heavens there

>was plenty of food in the house for the kids, because I’d learned from

those

>earlier days of lean times how important that was. The medical expenses not

>covered by insurance threw us for a loop that time, though.) Years later, I

>discovered what it’s like when your husband has a heart attack and is out

of

>work for three months. (Thank God we had that recommended savings

" cushion " ,

>a lesson learned after the car accident.) The disability payments didn’t

>come through until after he was back at work - forms returned three times

>for various " verifications " , you know. The Human Resources people for my

>husband’s employer reassured us this was fairly " standard " procedure.

>

>Then there was the time when my husband’s records were deleted from a

>military payroll database, along with all the other soldiers whose last

>names began with A through C, followed by another glitch a few months later

>which caused us to be paid a different amount than what was due, and then

to

>have a deduction made from our account which was more than the initial

>payment error. We learned to never assume a direct deposit will always

>arrive at your bank when it’s supposed to, or that the amount will always

be

>accurate. These were only a few of many personal lessons which also taught

>us never to fully trust in computer system accuracy or to believe that

>computing errors would be remedied in short order. (It took almost two

weeks

>to discover why those A to C deposits had never been made and another month

>before the situation was remedied; longer to correct the later glitches.) I

>won’t even detail a three year controversy with the I.R.S. over a $300.00

>payment which we made but which they claimed we did not make. I still have

>the two cancelled checks - one for the original payment and one for the

>payment we finally made to get them off our backs since a cancelled check

>didn’t seem to be enough proof for them that they’d gotten their money the

>first time around.

>

>So many other rough times, with the learning piling up higher with each one

>and the joy of life growing brighter, too. If we’d paid closer attention to

>all the bits of wisdom put forth by experienced elders in our youth, we

>wouldn’t have had to learn the lessons bit by bit, one increment after

>another, the hard way. Can you see nodding her head while I related my

>stories? Can you hear her saying, " That’s the way of the world, child. The

>young always thinkin’ it’s going to be different for them, and the old

tryin

>’ their best to save them some grief even when they’re mostly ignored. "

>

>So vivid are some of those earlier memories that it often seems strange to

>me that I am now a grandmother myself. Strange that I am in the position of

>recalling past lessons and experiences in the hopes of benefiting my

>children and grandchildren. Strange that now I have reached the stage of

>life where I recognize first-hand the hard won wisdom of my own parents,

>grandparents, and other elders who have graced my life. I am confronted by

>the same desire to teach those of shorter memories that being prepared for

>life’s disasters, big or small, is a GOOD thing. And I am old enough to

know

>that most will not listen, and cantankerously aged enough to keep trying

>anyway.

>

>I recently watched an episode of " The Century - America’s Time " on the

>History Channel. The episode covered the Great Depression of the thirties.

>One particularly striking quote from a man who had lived through that era

>was, " Everybody was baffled. They’d never experienced this before. " Yet the

>depression of the 1930’s was far from the first serious economic downturn

in

>America or the world. It doesn’t take long to forget, does it? Many in our

>society now seem to be of the opinion that somehow, for the first time in

>history, America has some solution which will prevent a stock market crash,

>rising unemployment, nasty explosions of wars, or what have you, and

>continued prosperity is guaranteed; not to worry. So there will be a global

>computer problem we’ve never experienced before? Not to worry, it’s under

>control. So the nation is still in debt up to it’s ears? We just had one

>year where we didn’t add anything to that debt, didn’t we? Ok, so we didn’t

>decrease the national debt, we just didn’t make it any bigger. Still not to

>worry.

>

>The old matrons and gentlemen I grew up knowing had likely never heard of

>Santayana’s quote about being condemned to repeat history if we don’t learn

>from it, but they surely knew from experience the essence of his cautioning

>statement. One gent would have expressed it on a more personal level, but

>the meaning is much the same. " Soon’s you think life is going along great,

>watch out for the curve ball. And then be glad it was just a curve and you

>didn’t get hit in the head by a wild pitch. " Another elderly lady would

have

>said, " There’s talk about seeing a glass either half full or half empty.

>Posh, that glass is different levels at different times, ain’t never going

>to stay full, ain’t never going to stay empty, and sure as shootin’ ain’t

>goin to stay in the middle long neither. You got to expect ups and downs

and

>be as ready as you can for the bad times. Then the good times is even

>better. "

>

>Most of the experienced elders I grew up knowing are gone now, but a few

>weeks ago I was delighted to discover the old wisdom is still alive and

>well. I was at WalMart, next to a display of oil lamps, and encountered a

>little lady who appeared to be somewhere in her seventies and spoke with a

>European accent. She was having a bit of trouble figuring out the

difference

>between regular lamp oil and the ultra-pure. I was able to answer a couple

>of questions for her and she related that it had been a long time since she

’

>d used an oil lamp. She asked me if I had any myself, and I told her I did.

>She looked up at me and said, " Y2K? " That was the start of a chat between

us

>which must have gone on for half an hour. She related that she already had

>had a wood stove and lots of food supplies when she first heard about a

>possible computer problem, but that she was expanding her normal

>preparedness. After telling me this, she gave that little disdainful frown

I

>’ve seen on many wrinkled faces of days past and said that her oldest son

>kept telling her there wasn’t going to be any problems with the computers

>come 2000. Then a confident light lit up her eyes and she raised her hand,

>index finger extended, as though she was showing me how she had replied to

>him. Shaking that finger at the invisible son, she said, " I told him, who

>knows? So maybe nozing happens, maybe it does. Always better to be

prepared.

>Zis I KNOW! " When this feisty little lady said, " Zis I know, " the depth of

>her conviction resonated in her voice.

>

>Y2K or no Y2K, it is not " fear mongering " to warn that good times and

>prosperity do not go on forever. It is not advocating " hoarding " to advise

>having more than one week’s supplies on hand, it is not foolhardy to

>recommend reducing or eliminating debt, it is not " scare tactics " to point

>out that modern economies are not depression-proof, it is not blasphemous

to

>acknowledge the stock market is still as susceptible to a downward plunge

as

>it has always been, and it is neither silly nor crazy to take seriously any

>global problem which has the potential to cause harm for a great many. If

>the government, the media, businessmen, your boss or your neighbor tell you

>otherwise, they are the ones with the short memories, and they are the ones

>who are wrong.

>

> would know that. Mabel, Maisie, Gert, Vera, Friendly, Reta, and all

the

>other wise old ladies of the past, whose wisdom, common sense, and good

>advice I have learned to trust, would know it, too. Depending on individual

>personalities, their accompanying comments to accusations of " hoarding " or

> " fear mongering " would have been variously, " Balderdash " , " Humbug " ,

> " Fiddlesticks " , or " Damn nonsense. " Dear ladies, my " Humph " sound is only

at

>the amateur stage now and although it’s not as good as those I remember you

>all using whenever an apparent idiocy was encountered, I’m working on

making

>it better. You taught me well. Thank you. One week’s supplies? Bosh and

>poppycock.

>

>-- Bonnie Camp (bonniec@...), April 23, 1999

>

>Answers

>Bonnie-

>Thanks. You just said it all. One of the best posts I have ever read here.

>

>Blessings...Mercy

>

>-- (DivinMercy@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>It's a keeper.

>

>

>-- FM (vidprof@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Thanks for real American history Bonnie. Too bad the elites today look on

>that period of time as " unrealistic, opressive and backwards. "

>My, how far we've fallen in 40 years.

>

>God help us all.

>

>-- INVAR (gundark@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Although it looks seamless and effortless, I know you must have spent a lot

>of time on your essay, Bonnie. It's full of wisdom and I do so appreciate

>your taking the time to write it. My best friend is The Hungarian, who left

>Hungary in the mid-60s. She Got It immediately because of her experiences

in

>a communist-run country, and she knows NOZZING about computers! Big Dog and

>Puddintame will be meeting hre on Tuesday and I can assure them it'll be an

>experience neither will forget!

>Thanks again for letting us into your memories and thoughts.

>

>-- Old Git (anon@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Bonnie:

>As always, a pleasure to read your commentary.

>

>~Steve King

>

>-- Steve King (parse@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Truly outstanding! What a great illustration of how times have changed

(very

>much for the better) and how we've adapted to those changes (living from

>meal to meal). Today's lifestyles reflect to a significant degree what our

>computerization has accomplished, and yesterday's lifestyles reflect

>mindsets tempered by harder times.

>The older necessary virtues of save it, fix it, use it up, do without have

>become unnecessary over the last half century, and we haven't learned to do

>what we've had no reason or opportunity to learn to do. Especially

>noteworthy is that lessons learned from 1930-1950 were learned the hard

>way -- people were caught unprepared and suffered. Had this not been so,

>much of the lesson would have been lost.

>

>I believe the morality of those pre-1950 days was a function of immobility

>and lack of anonymity. A much more rural population, much less access to

>vehicles, everyone knew everyone, mistakes were much harder to run away

>from. Endless studies have shown that the best deterrence to crime is

>certainty of retribution, rather than severity of punishment. And this

>applies as well to personal daily behavior. People won't do what they can't

>get away with.

>

>I note with interest that 's lifestyle was as anachronistic as ours is

>likely to become. She had a great deal she didn't need, because she'd lived

>through a time when she needed a great deal she didn't have. Those times

are

>returning, one way or another. Y2K may hasten them, but they're coming.

>Almost all of us live by betting more than we can afford to lose, and those

>bets will be called soon.

>

>-- Flint (flintc@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Bonnie, many thanks for this excellent post. I also appreciated all of the

>research you have done for the EUy2k forum.

>Ray

>

>-- Ray (ray@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Bonnie -

>Thank you so much for your post, both for its wisdon and the memories it

>invoked.

>

>I too was born right after the war and I remember going to Great Grandma's

>house where all of us - Gr. Gram and Gram and my Mom and my aunts would all

>can for 2 or 3 days a couple times a year. Fruit and veggies from the

garden

>and making jam (I can smell it now!!) Every one would take home a share of

>the finished product to eat during the winter. I have always canned but not

>nearly to that extent but it surely does give one a good feeling to have

> " put up " for the winter.

>

>Several ladies in my neighborhood know that I can and have asked if we can

>all take the trip east of the mountains in August for fruit and veggies -

if

>I will hold the canning seminar and show them what to do. I am actually

>rather excited as I think it will give us a special tie that come Y2K we

>will be more prepared than most, and we did it for ourselves and we will be

>more likely to look out for each other because we will be more like family

>because we shared.

>

>And I can hear Grandpa Andy telling your that " t'aint up to nobody

else

>to look after you and yours but you and that includes Uncle Sam " . Remember

>him saying that the CCC shoulda ended long ago (think he thought welfare

was

>the CCC). Probably rolling in his grave by now... and I am wise enough to

>know that I probably still couldn't beat him at checkers or dominos but

>Lordy I sure wish I had the chance to try again.

>

>-- Valkyrie (Anon@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Bonnie,

>What an enjoyable piece of writing, suitable for publish, IMHO. Thank you

>for taking the time to share the blessings of your memories, experience and

>wisdom. Your piece is a powerfully wonderful gift, one I really needed

after

>the evening news of Kosovo and teenage paniced refugees.

>

>-- (***@***.net), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Bonnie - Thanks a million - it IS a keeper and to be shared with those we

>love!

>

>-- jeanne (jeanne@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>Bonnie,

>Congratulations on a well-written post.

>

>Regards,

>

>-- Mr. Decker (kcdecker@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Koskinen should read this and hang his head in shame. Surely he can

>recognize unadulterated common sense (and how distinctly it differs from

the

>folderol which he would have masquerade as advice).

>Shouldn't people who think like this be running things at FEMA? What

purpose

>is FEMA actually serving? It seems that FEMA has experienced some dilution

>of its mission because y2k preparedness is lack of confidence in the

system.

>In other words, it's good to be massively prepared for the wrath of nature,

>but it's bad to be slightly prepared for human error.

>

>Hats off to you, Bonnie Camp. I might send copies of your letter to some

>politicians, or maybe better, pass copies around the neighborhood.

>

>-- Puddintame (achillesg@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Very, very well written. Thank you.

>

>-- A. Hambley (a.hambley@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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> " There is an evil I have seen under the sun,

>As an error proceeding from the ruler:

>FOLLY IS SET IN GREAT DIGNITY,

>While the rich sit in a lowly place.

>I have seen servants sitting on horses,

>While princes walk on the ground like servants. "

>

>(Ecclesiastes 10:5-7)

>

>-- BigDog (BigDog@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>That is wonderful, Bonnie. Sometimes the best way to put Y2K in perspective

>is to take the focus off Y2K and put it on life in general. You did it with

>aplomb. I plan to spread it around.

>

>-- Bill Byars (billbyars@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>Beautiful essay, Bonnie! You just made my day! :.) Maybe, if anything good

>comes out of Y2K, we will relearn some of those lessons. Your deceased

>friend must have been a real gem.

>

>-- luann (flataufm@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>Bonnie,I have been lurking here a long time and have learned a great deal.

>But in reading your post , I have not only learned much more, but I have

>enjoyed it tremendously. Thank you!!

>

>-- Peggy (Rosja@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>Bonnie!

>I'm SOOO glad you are back!!! Yes!

>

>O

>

>-- O (urloved@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>Makes one think......Thanks

>

>-- Dinty moore (not@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>Wow. One of the best posts I've ever read, thanks so much.

>

>-- Uncle Deedah (oncebitten@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>I enjoyed that very much! *Sigh*, I was born too late...

>

>-- madeline (runner@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>Bonnie:

>Thanks. Just when i think I'm wrapped back up, something comes along and

>unwraps me. My gram (Matie) would have fit right in. (even in teh same neck

>o' th' woods, as in Newark, next to Phelps).

>

>Chuck

>

>-- chuck, a Night Driver (rienzoo@...), April 23, 1999.

>

>

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>

>Bonnie, Excellent no more needs to be said.

>

>-- duffyo (duffyo@...), April 23, 1999.

>

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>

>THIS is why I monitor this forum. THIS is why we all put up with the

flaming

>idiots, the extremists, the pollys. Just so we can be here when a post like

>this comes along.

>Bonnie, my deepest and most humble thanks.

>

>-- Lobo (atthelair@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>

>bonnie,

>i'm going to post this on our website sunday night/monday morning. it is a

>reminder of a world that does not now exist, but which should not be

>forgotten- because it can always return, for *whatever* reason.

>

>-- drew parkhill/cbn news (y2k@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>

>Color me skeptical, but I'm skeptical.

>I also had a grandmother. She was born in the last century; lived on a farm

>all her life. Didn't have running water or electricity until the 50's. She

>passed away a while back.

>

>I knew her well enough to know that if she were confronted by the Doomer

>mentality, or by the ostentious sentimentality presented in this post, her

>immediate response would have been to hand me a shovel and order me to go

>scoop up that stuff. She wasn't one to put up with bogus anything; be it

>bogus science, bogus stories, or bogus sentimentality. The latter of which

>is what's present here.

>

>Bonnie, you might have some talent as a short story writer. But I fear

>you've wasted a bit of that talent (and a good bit of your marketability)

by

>posting such sentimental nonsense here.

>

>-- Chicken Little (panic@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>

>Bonnie,

>I have had severaly " s " in my life. I grew up in the same era as you

and

>totally understand your memories.

>

>As a matter of fact, I STILL live in a part of the world where the " s "

>can be found and even have a few in my family.

>

>You post is one of the best I've seen on this board. You make excellent

>points - hopefully some can learn from you. You will therefore have done a

>great service to you fellow man. Little more can be asked of a civilized

>human.

>

>-Greybear

>

>-- Got memories?

>

>-- Greybear (greybear@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>

>Chicken Little, since preparation is for the birds and chickens are birds,

>does that mean you're preparing ;-)

>Bonnie, I think your post put in words why I GI so fast. Prep is just

common

>sense. It also elucidates why so many on this forum plan to keep their

>preparations in the unexpected event that Y2K is just a blip. Thanks for

the

>reminder!

>

>-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>

>I've been an " lurker " at this forum for a long time, and this is by far the

>best post I've seen. I hear in you my own grandmother (truly my rock of

>stability through my teen years) describing those difficult Depression

>times, when she considered herself lucky to have a bit of bread and gravy

>for her only meal of the day. Thank you for the kick in the pants. It's

>happened before; we're complacent idiots if we neglect our loved ones by

>thinking it can't happen again. Anyone who thinks a (very) well stocked

>pantry is a crime against humanity and a threat to modern civilization

>should read your post very carefully. On the flip side, sudden panic (e.g.,

>Dec 1999) will be a recipe for heartache for many. Recommendations for only

>stocking up as if for a winter storm is, in my opinion, beyond

>irresponsibility, no matter what the threat.

>As my Grandma would say, 'pay them no nevermind! "

>

>spindoc'

>

>-- spindoctor (spindoc_99_2000@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>Bonnie

>My mom ALWAYS had canned enough for more that a single year at a time. A

>true sign of wisdom is to anticipate the future. Beautiful post. What is

>wrong with common sense and if there is no common sense then what does that

>say about society? It seems to me that many on this forum are only trying

to

>put their common sense on the forum about times as they used to be. Is that

>really so hard to except? I remember a post awhile back about a lady that

>was a member of a church and was conserned that preparing was a lack of

>faith in gods ability to provide. It is not the lack of faith in God to

>provide just the ability of society to provide. God provides life, society

>puts the barriers around life. Thanks

>

>-- (imager@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>Bonnie,

>For every opinion there is an equal and opposite criticism. In your case,

>just one.

>

>31 responses and only one of them negative.

>

>Says a lot.

>

>

>

>-- FM (vidprof@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

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>

>CL, I fear you've discarded the contents and choked on the packaging. There

>are useful observations wrapped in these I-remeber-mama sentiments, worth

>thinking about.

>

>-- Flint (flintc@...), April 24, 1999.

>

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>

>Thanks Bonnie. This was wonderful.

>

>-- J (jart5@...), April 24, 1999.

>

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>

>Thanks, Bonnie ... for the memories.

>One of this year’s helpful daughter “projects” is helping my depression

era,

>WWII pack-rat mother, “sort” through every nook and cranny (need more prep

>room). Awesome job. That generation certainly knew how to save “stuffy-what

’

>s-its.”

>

>I’m quite sure, buried, we’ll locate those old canning jars. The cast-iron

>wheat grinder is an old-time treasure too.

>

>Diane

>

>-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@...), April 24, 1999.

>

>

>

> " If pro is opposite of con, then what is the opposite of progress?

>Congress! " -Men's restroom, House of Representatives. Washington, DC.

>

>