After 18 months of telling folks to prep, after writing five op-ed pieces, doing two radio shows, five public speaking engagements, reports to my church, I sorta kinda feel like wearing a sandwich board outside the local grocery store with the message:

WHAT PART OF "PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME" DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

I can say, though, that after laying in the long-term stores, it was fun this week to go to the grocery store and buy beer, wine, champagne, nice steaks, etc. to enjoy short-term. It felt good tonight to go downstairs to the basement and look at the "stuff." It feels good that the propane generator is ready to go with lots of propane and oil. The wood pile is overflowing. The big propane tank out back got topped off on Tuesday. etc., etc., etc.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), December 31, 1999

Answers

Be well and safe, Kurt, and all.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), December 31, 1999.

Thanks, Mara. You, too.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), December 31, 1999.

Youse topped da tank off last Tuesday? I rips it off dis Tuesday.

-- (doncorleone@da.socialclub), December 31, 1999.

A blatant case of hoarding Kurt.

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), December 31, 1999.

Will you folks stop abusing my namesake :-) !!!

I'm happy to hear you're set Kurt. I'm about done too.

-- (Kurt.Borzel@gems8.gov.bc.ca), December 31, 1999.

A blatant case of hoarding Kurt.

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), December 31, 1999.

Who, me, hoard? I must say, when the local officials discouraged "hoarding," I wanted to ask, "is it hoarding when a rancher puts up hay in the fall to feed his cattle in the winter? It's not? Then shut the fuck up!"

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), December 31, 1999.

Kurt,

Yes, the ranchers are hoarding. They should only prepare enough hay for a long holiday weekend.

By the way, how much water have you hoarded and how have you gone about hoarding it?

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), December 31, 1999.

Kurt,

I did the exact same thing today. In the grocery store today (MA) I realized that everywhere I looked, I saw stuff that I already had. I was starting to get angry at the DGIs who were just buying chips and ice cream, but then I saw the water isle.

It was wiped out, and full of people and carts trying to shove their way through to the quarts and pints that were left. I didn't need anything in that isle, but I turned in anyway. I just wanted to push my way through for the fun of it. Same scene in the TP isle, and I bought the last 12-pack of Cottonelle, just because it was there.

Then I bought a nice roast and some french bread, and headed out -- grateful for all my stuff at home.

-- semper paratus (ready@or.not), December 31, 1999.

Virginian -- my water is in store bought containers, purchased over the past year or so. You know, one case a week, every week. Also, I'm on a well with a generator to power the well.

To semper, where in MA are you? I was born in Boston and have family there and on the Cape.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), December 31, 1999.

Kurt,

I am in MetroWest area, and I lived on the Cape for 15 years. Until today, it has been DGI Central.

Good luck to you and your family.

-- semper paratus (ready@or.not), December 31, 1999.

Kurt,

I am just kidding around with you.

Mr. Koskinen was jumping our butts a couple of months ago about hoarding and he included water.

I still haven't figured out how you can hoard water.

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), December 31, 1999.

Hey, Virginian, I knew that.

Peace to everyone. Time to hit the sack for the last full night's sleep of the.. of the ... of, well, of the year, I guess. Yeah, that's the ticket.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), December 31, 1999.

Hoarding? Why is it okay for the gooberment to do it but not the consumer. This is America, a captialistic society where you are free to purchase whatever you want whenever you want. And if I choose to buy 2,000 cans of anything, it's nobody's business. Now, I'm going to town to top off my gas tank, it should only need a couple of gallons of gas.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 31, 1999.