14.03.2020 00:10 ET
After an exhausting trip to Fort Lauderdale Thursday morning for another customer in crisis, I realized on the drive back how unprepared their company was for the coronavirus crisis and reflected on my own preps.
To further my pensive train of thought on this subject, I realized while scanning the news just how fortunate I was. This quote from the article in the New York Post, ‘It’s hell in there:’ NYC food stores mobbed amid coronavirus fears” says it all:
A panic-buying fever swept through the Big Apple Thursday, as mobs of freaked-out New Yorkers frantically scoured store shelves for any remaining supplies amid spreading coronavirus fears.
“We’re freaking out about it,” Monica Gang, 27, said as she braved the crowds at Trader Joe’s in Manhattan. “We came in here looking for rice, and there is no rice left. Rice crumbs are the only thing left. We don’t even know what to stock up on.”
Wow. I know what to stock up on, or so I thought I did. I reviewed my checklist in my head:
Food, check.
Water (filtration), check.
Medications and first aid kits, check.
Fuel, cash, etc., check.
Air filtration, gloves, masks, respirators? Check.
So what did I forget or what plans do I need to initiate should my neighborhood be forced in to a 30 day quarantine? Let’s see if my readers agree with my assessment on what could be the forgotten preps for everyone.
- Sanitation – There is this myth in American society that the garbage is automatically scooped up by unicorn robots and everything will always function as normal no matter what. There is also the reality that most people have not endured a major hurricane or earthquake and had to rough it for even one week. There is nothing further from the truth. As I drifted through the big box stores, warehouse stores, and grocery stores this weekend, what did I notice? Garbage bags in plentiful supply. There is this inherent belief that the local garbage man will show up, pick up and all is fine. The failure in this fallacy is that if we hit a 40-70% infection rate, that mess will start to pile up. In large numbers. Inviting rats, raccoons, and other critters which will spread other diseases far and wide. If my readers do not have a clue as how to destroy potentially bio-hazardous waste at home, then I would suggest they start to do some research. I am not going to teach and preach.
- Personal Protection – Gasp! Do I mean guns? No, I mean whatever it takes including all things at one’s disposal. As the police and military take over quarantine containment and control on a regional basis, are you, my reader willing to do your job as an American and not just protect yourself and your family but your elderly neighbor? I am. And as crime increases because thugs do not care about the “rule of law” or a disease once they realize they can attack at will, if one does not prepare, the one deserves the consequences.
- Medical Capabilities – The belief that the Emergency Room or “Instant Care” facilities will always be open or available is what I call the “McDonald’s Syndrome.” I’m going to dartboard this figure but 95% of all Americans have no clue as what to do with a severe injury or illness within their own household. Hence, I’m not going to brag, preach or warn; I’ve treated my own poisonous snakebite wound, a gunshot wound, and a heart attack victim. Have you? If not buy this book immediately off of Amazon or wherever and learn asap because supplies are short and time is even shorter:
- Body Disposal – I pray none of you have to deal with this. I have reflected on this but if you live in “outlying areas” there is a high probability that you will have to deal with a loved one or two individuals passing on without proper transport, cremation, and sanitary practices to prevent further infection or expansion of other diseases. My personal preference is the “Viking” solution, but all sarcasm aside, everything depends on where one lives. The stories about Italians dealing with dead bodies rotting inside there homes are already leaking out. You have to ask yourself, what if my Mom or Dad die in my home or theirs and the authorities refuse to pick up the body for days or weeks. I have the “preps” to wear a full protection suit and deal with the disgusting details of cleaning and sanitizing their homes. But does the average American? I think not.
- Psychological Dislocation – To be honest, I am already dealing with this in my own household. I love my wife. She is strong. She it great. But the idea of a week, two week, or month long quarantine plus using our retirement funds to survive along with facing the major emotional losses of parents and in-laws dying freaks her out now. In the end, I will find my own way to cope because I have to, I have no choice. Sadly, many in American society have never considered what would happen if they lost their entire family unit. It can and will happen. I’m not going to preach, not going to advise, but simply state the obvious: Get ready, as many of you will have to deal with it.
I could go on and on about this subject, but this is not a hurricane, earthquake, or asteroid hit. It is a virus. Just like 1918, 1818, 1718, etc. We shall have to face this as a global population and cope. Some nations will better than others.
It is time to grow up.
It is time to man up.
Do it.
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