Was just down at the local Safeway store in Los Gatos, CA about 2:00 p.m. PST. Extremely busy, long lines. Bottled water shelf was completely stripped. One shopper was asking a stock person if there was any more in back. He replied... Were completely out. This is unusual.

The canned goods isle had about half their normal supplies. An oddity? Almost all the tooth brushes were gone. Go figure.

A close relative stopped by CostCo yesterday and noticed that as they were unloading huge palates of bottled water, people were rapidly snapping them up.

(California Wine was still well stocked however).

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 31, 1999

Answers

It seems delightful that Californians will be sober and with clean teeth when THE END comes. I mean, c'mon; isn't that what we're all waiting for? The big bright white ball of fire to appear on the horizon (right about where DIABLO CANYON Nuclear Power Plant is) and those strange high-altitude missile trails in the clear night sky, so we can eat that stashed ecstacy or those mushrooms we've been saving for just the RIGHT OCCAISION and really trip out on the Apocalypse or second coming of CHRIST or revelations or whatever. But as we can see, lots of really sweet people have worked really hard to make sure the whole thing would go down smoothly, and so it is, and gee it's almost a bummer because there appears to NOT BE A SPECTACLE of HORROR and life is pretty good after all, so far, so far. All I can say is thank you folks for doing such a brilliant job, and also thank you to all the people working tonight in the hospitals and police stations and fire stations and even dam tenders like my friend. Thank you all, and HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! John

-- John Hulburd (arracana@silcom.com), December 31, 1999.