Pandemic AND Weather
Guest Article by NRP & Blue, March 29, 2021.

I’m going to hit on something that has hit us all right upside the head, Also I’m going to touch on Weather Preparedness

Does anyone here know of someone that this Pandemic has NOT affected?

Covid-19:
No…. I’m not going into my thoughts on this Pandemic as far as its validity, we all have our opinions and I’m not going to upset a lot of people with an argument.
What I AM going to do is discuss what has happened to the Country and World from the point of Panic, Lack of Supplies, and the all-out ‘Unpreparedness’ of Millions and maybe Billions of people around the world.

But let’s bring it home to just the US; or maybe even our own neighborhoods.

About a year ago, this thing started, and nobody really paid much attention for the most part.
Everyone was just thinking “Yeah Yeah Yeah here we go again”, and don’t tell me you did not think the same. Boy-O-Boy where ‘we’ wrong huh?

So fast forward a month, the Panic hits like a slap upside the head when the States (Governors) AND Nationally started to flex their powers and shut everything down in an attempt to curve the Pandemic Spread. Immediately Stores were swamped to the MAX, everyone was out buying everything they could get their hands on (wonder how many Maxed out their Credit Cards?) I would drive by stores and there were literally lines all the way around the buildings.

Also before the stores put “Limits” on the numbers of items, people were buying 5-10 cart-loads of everything. I actually saw a photo of someone that had 2 Flatbed Carts full of Toilet Paper…. WHY is it always Toilet Paper, don’t you people have an extra 32 pack in the Garage????

SO, my point: People went into Panic Mood and went totally crazy. I mean completely CRAZY!!! There were fights and all out mayhem over “stuff”. I actually visited my Local Sam’s Club, OMG it looked like a third world country inside; I talked to a friend that works there, he told me that they had received a FULL Semi-Truck of TP, they stocked it that night, it was gone ‘GONE!!!!’ within 15 minutes the next morning…..

Next, ‘they’ shut down everything, Schools, Restaurants, Small Stores, Parks, Hair Salons (Really?), Theaters, you name it; it was affected. Even the ‘Big Box Stores’ were limited to 25% of capacity.
AND that really started the Panic at a totally higher level.
Did you get involved with that? Seriously?

Of course we have Mask Mandates, and the “Social Distancing” of six feet. But guess what, now we are hearing that those really made little or no difference. AND some are saying to wear TWO MASK, Ohhhh Yeah, that will help.

The problem is/was we had NO idea how to handle this Pandemic. AND we honestly still don’t.
Thank GOD this was not a killer Pandemic, you know what I mean, the Death Toll from this is nothing like the Spanish Flu, (look it up). Could you even imagine what this would be if it was “Airborne” and 50% deadly?

SO, how did you fair last year during this? Did you have Toilet Paper, how about Food, Water, Band-Aids, and all the rest of the “stuff” that it takes to run a household???? As you were Locked-Up by the .gov in your own homes.
Were you able to stay away from those Stores; able to keep your Family Home without wondering what the heck you were going to do?

How about Work and the Income, did you get laid-off and had to make it on Unemployment? Did you lose your Family Business, what about the millions that did?
How is your Family reacting to this? Kids going crazy, they are driving you crazy.
A VERY sad statistic, Suicide Rates are going up weekly as a result of this Pandemic (IMHO)

Ok so why did I paint such a picture?

I know some people that literally just kept on living their lives and were affected very VERY little. Sure they wore a Mask when they had to, and stayed 6’ away from others, but that was about it, WHY you ask, because they were/are prepared, they had the foresight to store up a little food and stuff (Toilet Paper), they had the mindset they would never be dependent on others if something went wrong, aka Pandemic.

Again I’m not going to give you a “list” of stuff to have, that you need to figure out, it’s not that hard. I will tell you, we all had better be very glad this Pandemic was not 10-20-50 time’s worse. As it could be, even now we are hearing of Variants of the C-19 Virus hitting other countries, do you really think those will not get here? Seriously?

I greatly would suggest you start reading Connie’s “Weekly Challenge” and other articles she does. She has done a lot of research and put a LOT of work into her suggestions. Buying a little at a time works, so does making a commitment to being able to feed and take care of your Families, Are you comfortable with standing in that line that goes all the way around Sam’s Club to find out they don’t have 1/10 of what you needed and are limited to One each of the items you need? If you’re going to need Mayonnaise and Flour next week, why the heck don’t you get it now when you can?
Get that List going on what you use in a month, GET IT DONE and make a commitment to get at least one month ahead……. BTW, put Clothing on that list also.

Ok, enough on that. Tis your Pandemic, figure it out, me? Ohhhh I’m just going to go for a walk with Ole Blue and not worry about the next couple of years. Dang It, I need to get some more Garden Seeds ordered, maybe another 6 rolls of TP !!!!!!

Now how about the Weather?

This is an entirely different Ball of Wax for sure.

Unlike the Pandemic that we saw coming, The Weather is 1000% unpredictable. People have tried for years and years to say “Yep, it’s going to rain today”, than it’s dry as a bone.
I will admit they have gotten a LOT better at forecasting without a doubt, but people don’t listen to them anyways.

So why is it when a Hurricane hits the South East and there are millions of people stranded on the roads trying to flee as the Storm hits? Why are the Stores devoid of EVERYTHING, and there is absolutely zero Gas to be had?

A “friend” of mine lives near Sturgis SD, about 4 years ago a nasty storm came through (he knew it was coming) and took out his power for 3 weeks, in the middle of winter. Yep, you guessed it, his Pipes and everything else froze. Ohhhhhh he had Propane for sure… NO POWER to run the Furnace, over $60,000 worth of damages to his home, Why? Because he did not have a Generator or a way to heat the house.

Texas a couple of months ago, same thing, No Power, Freezing weather and people were in very desperate need. You saw the News, can you imagine going through that? Yeah Yeah Yeah Freezing weather in South Texas, think it can’t happen where you live?

Ok, here are a few suggestions;
I don’t care where you live, have a way to have Power, a Generator and some SAFELY Stored fuel, maybe one of those Solar Generators.
Batteries for your Flashlight (you do have a working Flashlight, Right?) a Solar charger for your Phone and Radio
Water…. WATER for Drinking. Food for a week, or maybe a year.
First Aid stuff.

The list is long, so I’m not going to list everything, But you know by now dang well what you need.
Have a PLAN If/When a storm hits and Family is Out-N-About. Keep your eyes open, what does the Sky look like? Do you see Clouds going in circles around you? Do you know what that means?
I will guarantee you if you live in Tornado Ally you had best have a Storm Cellar; WITH provisions.

How about your vehicles? Do you have things in them to keep you warm if you get stuck in a Snow Storm? Blankets, Hand Warmers, Extra Coats and Hats, Warm Boots? How about a little water and food, not much, just to keep you hydrated for a day or three till someone finds you.
Do a lookup on the Net and see how many people die each year from Freezing to death when caught out in bad weather.

There is absolutely NO reason not to be ready for Bad Weather. As I said, they are getting very good at predicting what’s coming, YOU are responsible for yourself, YOU are the one that makes decisions on where to go or not go if Bad Weather is coming.

In this Day-N-Age it is so easy to be Prepared, what are you waiting for? That Hurricane to come crashing through your house? Or are you Prepared for that Freeing Weather and know how to safely take care of yourself and your Loved Ones?

One Last thing;
Take a good hard look at where you live, summarize what could happen to your Home and Family, Figure out what it will take to live locked up in your home for a month, Do you seriously think the .gov would not put mandatory “Stay At Home Orders” out there if this Pandemic was 10 times worse?

How about if the weather turned sour where you live, like in TX? How about if your Snowed in for a month? Another Artic Vortex comes crashing through the Country?

Tis up to you, but my suggestions would be to get Prepared for month (at first) and then work on the Hard Stuff.

Get It Done by Getting Started