Yes Friends, it is true: I am living under a Boil Water Watch. In the middle of an urban environment that has had no significant disaster.
You read that right. No major hurricanes. No Earthquakes. Nothing more than a lot of water that has flooded the lakes with silt and have thus "slowed down" the filtration process.
You would think it was the end of the world.
The announcement came sometime last night, in the dead of night (honestly - the water has been rising for the better part of a week. You would have thought they would have caught this earlier). By 0 early hundred this morning, every store was completely stripped of water. A fellow employee told me people were pushing to get what was left. The Local Large Box Grocery has announced they are shipping in 100 truckloads of water tonight to get us through this "Crisis".
(Worry not about us, friends. We were prepared - plenty in storage for use and the pets and I may even get to break out my Berkey filtration device. So excited!)
I post this mostly - other than for the true head shaking value - as evidence that Western Civilization is almost over as we know it. A simple water shortage caused by rising silt levels with no other destruction and no inclement weather and indeed, no other issues at hand - and it is as if the end of the world has come.
Imagine when something actually destructive happens.
I got banned from a sportsman’s forum years ago when Calgary had a water issue ... I think their water treatment plant flooded or something. A flat of bottled water was fetching $48.00 and the old hens on the forum flapped and squawked and laid eggs over how nasty and opportunistic these mercenary black market devils were.
ReplyDeleteMy response was not correct when I said that they only had themselves to blame. You have to prep, it’s part of being an adult, and you do it not only for yourself but for others that might rely on you. Some SJW type started trying to goad me, saying that the diabetics and unhealthy deserved their problems as well... I said that in any prolonged disaster the elderly and infirm will be the first victims. They have to prep too.
Then I was accused of trolling and given a 30 day time out or something but I just left. The ‘sportsmen’ on that forum were pretty much neurotic old men or idiots who probably hadn’t been fishing or hunting in years. I can forgive them... but younger people with families should know better. The best person most qualified to look after your health and safety is YOU.
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ReplyDeleteAnd I'm supposed to care that you have no water???
ReplyDeleteOnly the truly blind can't see that things are unsustainable.
God help us all!
Diane
People I work with give me the patronizing "Uh-huh..." when I tell them they should put something up for whatever comes down the line. Then there are the "When the SHTF, I'm coming to your place..." people.
ReplyDeleteTo the first group I say "Don't say I didn't warn you." To the second group I say "Think again!"
People can't even be civil on Twatter and Faceplant. I guarantee it; where I live, shut the water off, and people will be killing each other... within a day or so...
People think you're nuts if you prep. A hundred years ago, people would have thought you were nuts if you DIDN'T...
...People probably laughed at Noah, too...
Diane failed the reading comprehension test. lol
ReplyDeleteI really need to get a berkey.
Take care.
Jeff
Yes, I agree. If something truly tragic happened people not only wouldn't be physically prepared, but I don't think they are mentally and emotionally prepared. Sad but worrisome. Yet if you try to tell them, well, they aren't interested in listening.
ReplyDeleteGlen, absolutely correct. The government -be it local, state, provincial, or Federal- is under no requirement to care for you. None. (For what it is worth, there have been court cases in Lower Canada where it was established that the police have no requirement to protect you)
ReplyDeleteWe have forgotten this in 150 years or so of urban living. I suspect we are all about to discover a lot of old skills and wisdom.
Diane - Not sure what you are getting at there - in theory, everything is currently unsustainable. Even the Interweb on which we type.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for stopping by!
Pete - I have stopped suggesting such things, partially for fear of the fact that you exactly describe: people start to expect me to provide for them (for those that are following along, re-read The Ant and The Grasshopper. Or just re-watch A Bug's Life).
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think this impacts my urban area's ability to continue to attract business - after all, who wants to relocate to a place you cannot even get water in a non-natural disaster.
We do not prep because we have come to believe the Just In Time economy always works. Many people are, I suspect, in for a great shock.
Jeff - I hope so too, and thanks for the kind words. We are still doing well at this point - a little inconvenienced, but that is all.
ReplyDeleteLeigh - we have become a culture that largely believes that someone else is responsible for our basic needs, not us. And you bring up a good point - not just physical preparedness but mental and emotional as well. Two years ago or so our area had a "gas shortage" because people got in their heads that Hurricane Hugo was going to cause gas shutdowns (it did not, of course). If anyone wanted to see a test run of a self generated failure, there it was.
ReplyDelete