Well at least he looks like he is. Siberian Husky. Dog hair all over. Hair stuck to the couch, the ceiling fans, the back of my throat. The Mailman's even wearing aluminum shirts to kepp this crap off of him.

Anyway, back to my original thought.

198 to go and I'm almost done. Only thing left is to get some kerosene, and about 4 cords of firewood. Another 500 bucks. Hopefully that'll be about it. I can't afford any more.

I still can't get anyone in my other than my sister to " get the urge" about this but, I've tried. Tried countless times with all my heart. Guess I'ts just too bad for them.

I stopped by my Mom & Dad's House after work today, on my way out to my farm. My older brother was there, talking to them. After making my way through Mom's fridge, I popped my head into the living room, to see what was going on.

The TV was on the national news, Brokaw I think. They were doing another story on the refugees from Kosovo. (Bear in mind that my Dad's around 77, mostly all there, but sometimes, he's not all there).

Anyway at the end of the newsclip, the reporter mentioned that he was reporting from Kosovo. My Dad said, " Oh that's Kosovo, I thought it was somewhere in Kentucky or something ". Being the Y2K WACKO son that I am, I said, " Don't worry Dad, That's Kentucky in a little over five months".

No response from my Mom or Dad. As I was walking back to the kitchen, I could hear my brother say sarcasticlly to them " KENTUCKY IN FIVE MONTHS". I hit the fridge again before I left because Mom's always had the best chow.

As for my Mom and Dad, They'll have everything I can possibly give them. I've done all I've done with them in mind also.

As for my brothers that refused to even consider the possible situations, and tried to talk my parents out of any type of prepartion or safty net, They are on their own.

So kids this is the way it is...

I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR MYSELF AND FAMILY, AND YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF AND YOURS.

After all this, DON'T COME KNOCKIN' ON MY DOOR

DPW

-- DPW (dwade@portup.com), June 16, 1999

Answers

DPW, I agree with the way you feel and believe me I'm one of the most self centered people you could meet. But think of it this way, they are still your family and I bet you'll want to help them no matter how stupid they were in retrospect. I for one know that I'd be willing to share my meager preparations (and they ARE meager)if it meant life or death for my family. As far as other people go... no you don't owe them a thing, tchnically. But in the spirit of charity I'd hope you could find it in your heart to be a little sacrificing in the name of good will. You remember that old saying "give until it hurts"?. Well there is a meaningful lesson in that if you can really understand what I'm saying.

Think of it this way, some people are extemley skeptical when it comes to Y2K and for good reason, there is no proof of it's existance. Well, what if one day you find out that everything you've heard about God was real. You'd probably want someone looking out for you in case you haven't been "preparing". I'd hate to think that you outlived your loved ones because you didn't share your rations only to find out that they were waiting for you on the other side... know what I mean?

-- (planetz@zranch.org), June 16, 1999.

That's the way it is DPW.

You either hit the realization barrier and cross it, or you stop short and tune it out. There's not much in between. I've gotten a few of my inlaws to stockpile a little bit, but none of them really get it. I've tried to get some of my close friends at the office to understand, but their eyes roll over pretty quickly.

On the other hand, several acquaitances that I wouldn't have necessarily spoken to about the subject have approached me to ask questions. This isn't an evangelical thing. It's not the equivalent at all. It's about materialism and the late 1990's. It's about trusting the government to keep everything on an even keel.

It's about the fact that we're conditioned to have the problem solved in one hour of a TV drama.

I am still big on trying to alert people to the danger. In about three months, I won't even try. Unless Y2K is the smallest bump in the road, anything you start as far as preparations in the fall will not be completed in time.

My parents? God bless 'em. I've tried everything. Maybe the National Guard can take care of them. I can't. They live 1500 miles away and ignore my pleadings.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), June 16, 1999.

Oh - you meant moulting. I read that as MELTING!!!

So who is trusting the govt.? I'd rather trust the local power co. And they are not govt. - they expect a profit.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), June 17, 1999.