The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

[sharon sanders]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

Shannon - What is the test for that?

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

Send me a message through the ether and if I recieve it I will know. :smartass:

cerebralist: one who accepts the theory of cerebralism.
n.1.(Philos.) The doctrine or theory that psychical phenomena are functions or products of the brain only.

 

[Goju]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

I actually think this is a great idea. A contract for those who "come over" to join you to shelter in place.

When someone says it to you, you just send them 2 copies of the contract. Ask them to sign both and send one back to you.

It needs work though but the basic concepts are there and it is an excellent starting point.

ROFLMBO, Theresa, you will be welcome as long as you:
Bring food for 9 months for yourself and any that may come with you. All prep items become property of the group.
You are willing to pitch in and do any duties assigned to you. This will not be a democracy but rather a benevolent dictatorship.
Are willing to sleep on the floor. I advise bringing a small foam mattress. There are at least 11 people in line in front of you so all the beds are spoken for. Even floor space will be at a minimum as we will have 10 large grown dogs and heaven only knows how many puppies. My daughter raises champion boxers and the rest of us have large dogs.
Will not leave the premises for any reason. If you do you will be assigned tent space and must stay there for a minimum of two weeks. Absolutely no contact will be allowed with those inside the house. I don't care if we are in the middle of an ice storm.
Sign on the dotted line, please.


BTW, we are looking for a recreation leader and a good engineer, house and kitchen cleaner, and laundress. All other posts are filled.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

Goju, that post was only slightly tongue-in-cheek. I have given this a lot of serious thought. I am expecting family and friends to join us. The more people who can come together and work as a team, the greater the chance of success. You would have to have other specified criteria for who would join and they must agree to abide by all rules. This is what I have come up with so far.

All arguments will to be ended quickly and those who persist will have to participate in mediation.
Virtually every family that will be joining us practices a different religion. Intolerance of others religious belief will be dealt with quickly.
Everyone will join in the exercise program held twice a day. Even arthritic persons like myself. The first will be an hour of increasingly hard work-outs, the second, done in late afternoon, will be yoga or tai-chi.
All nasty, or tedious jobs will be done on a rotating basis. No one is going to have to pick up all the dog droppings all the time. Neither is anyone going to have to do only the laundry.
Each major task will have a child 'helper'. You are responsible for teaching that child either skills or duty. Skills will include cooking, cleaning, sitting in on mediation talks, etc,... Duty includes acceptance of chores that help the group, even when it means cleaning toilets.
Children will be educated during the duration for 4 hours a day. Reading, math, geography, history and French lessons are on the agenda.
Active playtime for children will be mid-afternoon lasting for 45 minutes.
Quiet time will be after the dishes are washed following dinner. Adults may do whatever they wish as long as it doesn't disturb others. Playing cards, knitting, embroidery, reading, wood working, art projects or, just listening to the radio will be encouraged. Sing-a-longs will be once a week.
Dh will read aloud every night at childrens bed-time. He has a wonderful reading voice, and I am certain adults will join the younger listeners. Sunday mornings will be personal reflective times instead of school. Play time will be longer on Sundays.
Jobs so far;
cook
laundry
pet care
teachers
fire tender
nurse
mediator
stock accountant This is a particularly important position. He/she would have to work with cook, laundry, pet care, ensuring we didn't run out of a key prep item early. This person would also be responsible for issuing each person their daily allotment of toilet paper. This may seem odd but we have a few terrible over-use offenders. I really do not want to be reduced to using leaves.
Morale officer
water officer
waste officer
security officer
everyone shares in clean-up

 

[Theresa42]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

ROFLMBO ... Even floor space will be at a minimum as we will have 10 large grown dogs and heaven only knows how many puppies. My daughter raises champion boxers and the rest of us have large dogs.

Hey -- I LOVE dogs -- actually, animals of all types, so I'd be cool with quarantining myself with a bunch of our canine friends.

Seriously though ... I'm glad you outlined your plans for "mini-quarantining" [below]. We've been talking about/planning a similar "mini-quarantine" for anyone who might be joining us late (supposedly, no one is going to, but it won't surprise me if one or two family members I know panic at the last minute and come running to us -- I've told them (several times) that there's absolutely no way they'll be allowed in in an attempt to get them to plan NOW, but we're also working up a contingency plan anyway -- will be really hard to say no if/when the time should come). No one will be allowed to leave our place, either...

Will not leave the premises for any reason. If you do you will be assigned tent space and must stay there for a minimum of two weeks. Absolutely no contact will be allowed with those inside the house. I don't care if we are in the middle of an ice storm.
Sign on the dotted line, please.

Looking forward to those margheritas when it's all over....

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

I have to land here,

There is one option, seldomly possible but feasable and not yet mentionned.

If possible, you move to your secondary residence for those proviledge or you just move and then you are free to contact those that you decided to contact.

Prior that TSHTF, it is feasable, if your things are ready, to rent swiftly a place in region, usually cheap, and move swiftly?.

Just a suggestion.

Snowy Owl

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

I will do laundry if I can be Sing-Along Chairman.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

F1, you are on! I promise to sing quietly at the back of the crowd thereby not pulling anyone else off-key.

Theresa, after the fact we MUST all get together. And I will provide both alcohol and non-alcohol drinks.

Snowy, I have thought of trying to find a larger alternate site but, run into the problem of not knowing my neighbors and, how do I heat the building? Also, as I am sure you are aware, it takes a lot of room to store prep items for that large a crowd. It also takes a lot of muscle to move them from point A to point B., all of which would have to be done after dark and quietly.
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[Goju]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

We plan for nightly sing-alongs... and lots of laughing.

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

Sorry Shannon, I misexpress myself,

What i meant was;

First you look around what is available in region and at what cost (renting) furnished. You will be surprised how cheap sometimes it is in region when you are ready to rent for a year lease.

You get 2 or 3 places like that in your datas.

You call once in awhile if it is already rented, you give your name and of course you say what you have to say (to bring the price down).

You go visit, (you are serious) but it is too much for your wallet you tell them.

Here we will see it coming, if we dont, well... we are bad, not good

When all signs shows that it is unfolding, then you deal, rent and move.

See the point.

I suggest a place where there are lakes, wild meat, small villages, stove and woods.

Dontcha forget your seeds.

My 2 cents

Snowy Owl
Harfang des Neiges
Buho de la Nieves
​

 

[LMonty]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

time to bump this thread for new readers, I think; as the question is coming up again....

 

[Amish Country]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

What worries me is that if I do not help these neighbors, what kind of life do I have afterwards? What if they die because I didn't help them? How does one cope with that kind of guilt? Do I become a pariah to myself and my neighbors because I locked the door? ....... Do I shortchange my family to help people who weren't paying attention?

This is, I think, one of the largest social issues that we face during a pandemic.

You might want to check the web for information on the Irish potato famine. That culture and generation faced similar issues. They had to cope with it, some survived, some emigrated. We may not have the emigration option, but maybe that chunk of history has some lessons for us today.

 

[susieM]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

Bolt the door, harden your heart, and prepare for sadness.

 

[Lynda]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

I hate talking about this. It's not a question, it's the question.

People have seen our preps. Friends of teens, etc. The cable guy even saw them. (unavoidable).

It's not just friends and relatives expecting to be taken in, it's word-of-mouth from those people to others.

I moved early this year. My sister and I made a decision at that time that I would have no visible preps, keep my trap shut about prepping, and be selective with who would know where I live. She was to be the "prepping mouthpiece". If tshtf, all preps will be moved to my house. Of course there are secondary rings of friends and family that we are not prepping for. In 2005 my sister sent them an information sheet, and another during the Karo Cluster. I hope these people are ready to listen when the time comes, and I hope I can give them some notice. If not: Darwin. Sorry folks.

It's not perfect, but it's the best we could come up with.

 

[LMonty]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

What I hear, and feel myself, is a certain amount of anguish over this issue.

There is pain just thinking about it, because we can anticipate the pain that any of our decisions can create, and of the situtation itself.

It is a difficult prep to make-much harder than making your own will IMHO.

I think theres great value though, in sticking to the subject even if it is possbile. Learn all you can about how you feel about scenarios. That way, if they should come to pass-you're mentally prepared for it.

Oh, stay fluid and flexible- because what we anticipate may only faintly resemble the reality we are eventually handed.

But know in your heart what you can and must do- if you feel the need to prep to share, then start doing so, and plan that in to your preps. A few bags of rice and beans and such isnt that expensive. But if your scenario precludes that- than know what and how you can accomplish what needs to be.

Realize what you feel now may change if reality happens and people really are knocking on your door.

Be prepared for that, and your emotional reaction to that.

If anyone ever really could be.

You know, one thig I'm learning being here is that the things we dont have control over may be difficult to deal with- but the things we do have control over- like our responses to situations-are the issues that cause me the most emotional/mental pain and anguish.

 

[Jonesie]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

I plan on baking bread for my neighbors that cannot do it for themselves ... as long as my gas oven holds out.
I will go out and buy up a lot of flour and yeast if I have a chance before the pandemic starts here.
I have 2 bread machines. If the electricity holds up, then I can make it the easy way.
I think it costs about 35 cents to make 1 loaf.
And yeast is $4 for 2 pounds at Gordon Food Supply. Costco and Sam's also sell it by the pound.
I doubt my neighbors would even consider doing anything for anyone else. They are really not very friendly.
And I will have extra candles also.
There are over 20 families just on my street. So I can't do much financially to help..
But I will also give the able-bodied neighbors recipes and supplies to make their own.
I'm not going to go through all the work for those that are able to do it themselves.
Before the pandemic starts, I will be sure to inform them all to buy up a lot of flour and yeast to make their own bread.
And I'll tell them to buy extra supplies for their friends and relatives...and neighbors.
They won't buy enough supplies, so I will try to take up the slack.
And then I don't know if this is a very wise thing to do. It might be better to not get into any discussion with my neighbors and just drop off the flour & yeast at a local church.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

You might want to check the web for information on the Irish potato famine. That culture and generation faced similar issues. They had to cope with it, some survived, some emigrated. We may not have the emigration option, but maybe that chunk of history has some lessons for us today.

....what kind of a life do we have afterward if we gave food to the neighbors, but our own family starved?

Any parent's primary responsiblity is to protect their own family.

Society is already selective....we don't give enough to ensure the homeless have warm shelter, that low wage earners have healthcare, that orphans have a family, or that various kinds of unloved have the support of friends.

Since we (sadly) already selectively allocate resources, I don't think things will change drastically during a pandemic. Who will get scarce anti-virals & who will get scarce respirators? - same questions different resource.

When the Titanic was sinking there were many tough choices, but they were made.

.

 

[prepdeb]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

We have next door neighbors who have been friends longer than they've been neighbors. They have 2 humans and 3 pets. We have 2 humans and 2 pets. We've already planned to provide for each other if this happens.

We've stored much more than they have in the way of long term storage foods and alternate methods of preparing them. We've picked up water filters and a non-electric distiller. I've informed them that we have plenty of food staples and cooking methods, but cannot provide pet food, kitty litter, toilet paper or meds for their household.

They have ample firewood and an inground pool full of water. They've stocked some extra food as well.

We plan to leave emergency packages on doorsteps of some neighbors, but do not want them to know where it came from. I'd rather know they have the ability to eat than have them come to me each time they are hungry.
We have extra beans, rice, powdered egg, powdered milk, bouillon, candles, matches and a few other things to leave for some of our neighbors if it gets bad. I will probably pick up more inexpensive boxes of cornbread mix and biscuit mix to add to the bags.

Unless a person has plenty of money and a LOT of supplies stored, they can't hope to personally take care of their neighborhood. Several of our neighbors are elderly so we will try to keep them from starving anonymously.

We cannot hope to provide for everyone on our street so I have chosen six houses to worry about. Letting people know we have supplies could become a nightmare and generate more hard feelings than simply pretending to be in need and providing what we can.

My hope is that once the situation becomes more serious, the media will alert people to the point where they are ready for neighborhood meetings to plan for possible chaos and shortages. That may or may not happen.

just my one cent.

 

[Jonesie]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

The cost to completely supply the basics to just the 200 homes in my subdivision alone for 1 year would exceed $1,000,000.
So you can see that churches and local charities and the gov't just can't do it across the country.
How many meals can a local church give out til they run out of resources?
And local charities also have limited funds.
And the federal gov't can't be in all places at once. They certainly cannot feed & supply the entire country.
The only thing that can be done is to warn the people to suppy themselves for the duration.
Everyone is on their own.

 

[susieM]

Re: The "I'm coming to your house" phenomenon-what to do about it

(slightly off topic)

Instead of baking bread, I collect and dry old bread. It lasts for years, uses no fuel, tastes okay, doesn't have a smell to die for, and can be used in may recipes.