After mass today I stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things, ran into a great sale on 1 pound bags of pinto beans (33 cents each, a better price per pound than the stores huge display of 50 pound bags which just appeared, I have plenty of beans, but I keep thinking about the 70% or so who aren't preparing).

As i was waiting in the checkout line, an older African American woman that I knew got in line behind me. We were glad to see each other and started talking, I noticed she had a bunch of the 1 pound bags of beans and we commented about the price per pound being cheaper than the large bags. She noted I had also gotten one of the $7.00 25 pound bags of rice (buy beans, buy rice, I always say). She leaned over and in a very quiet voice said to me, "So what do you think about this millennium bug thing." I said that I had been working on this for the past year and a half. She said many people she knew weren't preparing, but "all the farm people are getting there."(That is, people she knew who were born on farms but now lived in cities). That was an interesting comment, one among many, she was very sensible and practical, as only an older woman who has seen great poverty can be.

She started about 3 months ago, and said that every time she went to the store she bought some extra food.

We continued to talk as we bagged our groceries, and she gave me what was probably her "lecture" that she was giving everyone she cared about. Buy large garbage cans on wheels to put water in "to flush the stool," the best buys (better than Sams, she said, and I believe her) on washing powders and soaps were at the Dollar General Store. As we parted ways, she leaned over and made one final comment. "The other thing I bought is some shot gun shells. I surely don't mean nobody no harm, but they aren't going to hurt me either."

Just a little snapshot, one place, one moment in time, from a grocery store in Oklahoma City, of life in this the last summer of the century.

Robert Waldrop Y2K and Civil Society

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), July 25, 1999

Answers

Wonderful post Robert, Thank you

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), July 25, 1999.

BTDT around here as well. Not often, but enough to raise hopes. We ARE in farm country but people here are stocking more than normal.

-- Art (artw@lancnews.infi.net), July 25, 1999.

Robert

Interesting story! Went shopping today and they had chicken and turkey in cans going for a song. Going to be snaffling up a few dozen of them to be sure. Sometimes finding a good deal and capitalizing on it is quite rewarding :o)

By the way next summer is the last summer of the century. A VERY common mistake.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), July 25, 1999.

Recently- one of our local grocery stores had a great sale on tuna- but they were sold out. No limit posted in the ad either- so i went for a raincheck- the gal asked how many I wanted and I said "ten dollars worth- 30 cans". She just looked at me, wrote it down and handed it over- didn't say a word- usually in the past, would get some comment about how many kids did I have anyway and stuff.......guess i must not be the only one.........shoulda picked up sixty cans!!

-- farmer (hillsidefarm@drbs.net), July 25, 1999.

God bless that lady. I think a lot of people know trouble when they see it coming. My friend's cleaning woman knows. She's a Seventh DAy Adventist and their Y2K starts in September. They are all prepared. Their church is having a big meeting in August.

I surely wish I could find chicken and turkey in cans on sale! It's pricey. Today I replaced my watch batter even though it didn't need it. I don't want it going out on me when society is busted.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 25, 1999.

I don't know why you would want to replace your watch batter. If you leave it long enough it turns into sour dough bread batter and then you can make sour dough watch bread!

-- $$$ ($$$@$$$.com), July 25, 1999.

It is nice to hear "real life" stories --- Thanks.

It also relates to my own thinking today, after reading a Y2K puff piece on the front page of the local newspaper. I started wondering what I really DO think of the news today vs. say 3 or 6 months ago. And, trying to be objective, the news IS MUCH WORSE. There is less speculation and more facts about the systems that will not be ready. Yet there are more and more reassurances, based on essentially nothing.

Hopefully there are many people the like the women you ran into, just quietly preparing and sharing their concerns with their immediate circle.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), July 25, 1999.

I enjoyed your post. I have run into several very good bargains lately and some out of this world bargains. I use to buy a few of the sale items, not wanting to take all and leave nothing for someone else. I felt guilty taking all of it. Not anymore. The people who were around me while I was commenting about the great price always said things like "I don't use much of it" or "it is a good price, but I don't need any now". When I find a good bargain, I buy all that I can afford and usually that is all of it on the shelf. I can do this because I don't have to go grocery shopping for food for the week anymore. I use out of my stored food for the week I find a great bargain. I am always replacing the food I use with other food I find on sale. I bought 5 cases of solid white tuna for $1 a can and that made up for the food I used from my stores instead of buying the usual food for the week.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), July 25, 1999.

Marara: Seventh-day Adventist will have a harder time than most of us. The majority of them are vegetarians and they eat that Loma Linda imitation meat stuff out of the can...very expensive stuff too! The Mormons are in better shape than the SDA's.

-- formerSDA (formerSDA@formerSDA.com), July 26, 1999.

good thread

-- salt (of@the.earth), July 26, 1999.

Watch battery=$4. Bake? I don't think so.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), July 26, 1999.

This week:

Safeway has Bumble Bee light tuna in oil for 59 cents per can (limit 4, so make lots of trips).

Shoppers Food Warehouse has Starkist tuna in oil for 50 cents per can.

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), July 27, 1999.