I have just a few thoughts and suggestions- for what it's worth- based on my time spent here on the forum and watching what's been happening today thus far.

First of all- if you've been prepping for whatever may be- don't beat yourself up over it if not much happens- do you carry life insurance or homeowners insurance? Do you get pissed off at yourself each year if you didn't die or have the house burn down? Being prepared is a good feeling, IMHO- and you never know when you will need to be in the future.

So- if you spent some time learning how to garden, or expanding one, or canning, freezing and drying food, learning first aid, installing a wood stove or alternative power system- why is this bad? You have learned many new skills, and learning new things is never wrong.

The second major observation that I have- gleaned from much of what has been discussed here on the forum, is that many are hoping that Y2k will be the impetus for change. It may not be; at least not any major change. It may be a whimper and not a bang. But- why wait for something external to change your life? Why not take matters into your own hands and make the change that you need?

No- I'm not suggesting blowing things up or anything like that. But- if you dread going to work on Monday, and were hoping that everything would shut down; maybe you need to do a very different sort of work.

and if you were hoping the power would go down, so you could turn off the tube and video games, pull out the board games and books and pop some popcorn- why not just do it? Toss the TV and play station, and pull out the Scrabble set and Monopoply. Heck- turn off the lights and light the Alladin lantern- great atmosphere and very peaceful.

If you were waiting for Y2k to cause TEOTWAWKI, so you could relocate to a rural area, homeschool the kids and learn to shoe horses; why not just do it? I don't think that we can make changes by waiting for the world to change. Change begins with us; individually we can change our own lives and ultimately, our community and the world.

So- if the lights stay on, and the nukes don't blow, and the planes stay up in the sky- it doesn't have to be business as usual if you don't want it to be. Get in touch with those fantasies you've been toying with in your mind- about life as it could be if things were simpler or diffferent than it has been- and just do it.

And Happy New Year everyone!

-- farmer (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), December 31, 1999

Answers

good job farmer!!!

-- david (dcarroll@deniz.com), December 31, 1999.

couldn't agree with you more, although we haven't been able to move yet, we are preparing come what may, only about 2 hours until some first real information, GMT, the best to you all, from all the forums and lists over the past 2 years, Allah be Merciful, julienne

-- julienne bootman (bootman@value.net), December 31, 1999.

julienne: Do you like to mudwrestle?

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), December 31, 1999.

Aloha Farmer!

The best advice and post I have read on this forum, period:)

Hauoli Makahiki Hou

from Hawaii, Lokelo

-- Lokelo (lokelo@hotmail.com), December 31, 1999.

I was already living out my fanatasies until I had concerns about Y2K that convinced me to change my life for awhile. I'm delighted things are starting out better than I expected and hope to be heading back to my overseas work soon. All my preps (except the cash) will just be "going away presents" for my folks. They could use them all around the farm anyway.

Let's hope the good news keeps rolling in!

-- Gus (y2kk@usa.net), December 31, 1999.

I've been prepared since the 1970's when we had the oil embargo. It became clear to me then, that some foreign power could very much affect my ability to take care of 3 small children. I moved to the Cascades, developed a farm and orchard, and lived off the grid for many years. When Y2K came about, I read people's supply lists, then made a note to self: "buy more lamp wicks". I also work on genealogy. We all come from a long line of people who were prepared to make it from one years harvest to the next. We wouldn't be here if our grannies and great-great grannies hadn't seen the wisdom in being prepared. Look at it this way; it's one of your family traditions! You ain't crazy, you're a traditionalist! :-)

-- Annie Downing (oregonannie@hotmail.com), December 31, 1999.

Fellow farmer:

No, I want to go back to live in the city, where the guy who used to mow our lawn got murdered in a driveby two months ago, around the corner from our old house.

NOT!

Our little girl may never know who Gary North was, but if she grows up on this farm, I may tell her someday. Certainly glad we "panicked" over "nothing" when we did!

-- jor-el (jor-el@krypton.uni), December 31, 1999.