I guess I must be an anomaly among those of my peer group - retired widows. There are a lot of us. But I am finding that very few look any farther ahead than maybe the day after tomorrow, literally.
I needed to add to my food storage, so this morning I rode the bus to the grocery store. I sat near a woman of my vintage that I see often on these trips. During the course of conversation I asked if she ever shopped at Sam's Club. She scoffed at the very idea. She said that she lived alone and that she had no reason to ever buy in bulk. She told me that she went to the grocery a couple of times each week to buy what she needed for a few days. I asked what did she do if a bad storm was in the weather forecast. She said that she would go to the closest convenience store for bread and cereal and milk. I hope that works out for her.
While waiting for the bus for the return trip home, I chatted with another widowed lady. We were talking about the price of groceries and how quickly groceries are becoming more expensive. She remarked that even flour and sugar had gone up in price. I mentioned that both Sam's and Walmart still had good prices on 25 lb. bags of flour. "What on earth would I do with that much flour?" she asked me. "Well, you could bake bread with it," I said. She said that she would eat homemade bread if someone gave her a loaf of it, but why go to all the trouble of making it when she could just buy it at the bakery or the grocery.
Both of these ladies rode the same bus as I did going home, and I caught both glancing at my handy, dandy little old lady shopping cart that was loaded with several sacks of pet food, six large bags of frozen mixed vegetables and a sack full of more canning lids.
It never ceases to amaze me that those like me, who are children of parents who lived through the Depression and the food rationing of WWII, failed to learn anything from those parents about putting food by for either emergencies or the cold winter months. Preserving every bit of food possible was a way of life in my family. If we didn't do the work summer and fall, we would be pretty hungry long about February.
Those two ladies seem like very nice ladies. But I think I will make sure that they and those like them never find out where I live.
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It will be they who are amazed someday when you're proved right. They'll also be jealous, angry, and probably aggressive towards you or anyone who appears to be better off than them.
ReplyDeleteI don't bother to share my views with my neighbors or people that I run into anymore. What they don't know, hopefully won't hurt me someday.
Matt...I think you are right. I keep a pretty low profile, especially since I live in a downtown area. Most people aren't even aware that there are apartments in this building. They tend not to look beyond the businesses on the ground floor. I will have casual conversations like those today, but I never tell anyone about the food storage I have. People seem to think you are a crazy doomsday prepper if you even mention the subject, so I don't. My kids know, but it is for myself and for them that I do what I do.
ReplyDelete+1 with Matt. Vicki you are a true member of this blog group of preparers. Sometimes you just want to grasp someone by the shoulders and say wake up, then you remember that Obama was elected twice. Shrug your shoulders bow your head in prayer and walk away.
ReplyDeleteRob...Bless your heart! I can always count on you to put things into perspective. I don't try to change folks way of thinking any more. Gives me a headache right on the top of my head. If someone shows any interested in preparing, I'm more than happy to do what I can if asked. But to those who are clueless and are perfectly content to remain that way, all I can do is wish them luck.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is mostly like those ladies, except for commercially canned food.
ReplyDeleteNo offense meant toward your lovely wife, Gorges. At least she is willing to stock up a bit on canned goods. So many don't keep even a few days worth of food and water on hand. In our northern climate with our often bitter winters, that can be down right dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI would need to know more about their situation before calling it. They may be dependent on the system in one form or another and need to maintain the "no need" attitude because the flip side is too horrible to contemplate. I see many like that around here.
ReplyDeleteI have over heard many an older Woman make the comment that if it all falls apart we will all be in the same boat, whatever that means. It seems to make em feel better though.
PioneerPreppy...I can only go by casual conversations with these two women over the past couple of years, as well as a few others in my area. I think the "no need" attitude is prevalent here as well. Anything other than status quo is unimaginable to them. Sort of like my Mother's generation who firmly believed that "if you don't talk about it, it will go away."
ReplyDeleteI have heard the "all in the same boat" statements as well. I took it to mean that if anything really bad ever happens, everybody will be hurting. What most don't seem to understand is that those who have prepared for disaster will be better off than those who have not. Who knows. Maybe they believe that the guy down the street with the new car and the boat in his driveway and the big screen TV will be brought to his knees during bad times. And they take comfort in believing that guy they envy now will be as poor as they are. Me...I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing.
I have to say I learned from my mother and grandmother. They always put up as much food as they could every year. I personally put up as much food as I can every year, and I can honestly say I have never missed a meal, except by choice in my 61 years. It always amazes me the number of people who think there is always going to be food available in the local markets.
ReplyDeleteJim...It was pretty much the same here. I learned from my parents who learned from their parents about preserving food. I have to admit that I got away from it after the children grew up and left home, but since I retired and took the time to find out how unstable our world is, it has become a priority for me to stock up and preserve. I sort of understand the younger generation who are busy with jobs and families, not paying attention. But there is no excuse for those in our generation (I'm 68). If we have not lived through depression times, our parents and grandparents certainly did, and they have told us what it was like. We should have learned something from that, but so many choose to ignore it. I find that rather sad.
ReplyDeleteI learned a phrase from a teacher in high school.."Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up" So very true.
ReplyDeleteRob...Ain't it the truth! Seems to be a lot of that going around these days.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty common attitude. Not just with older people, but across the board. I am the eccentric uncle in my extended family because I constantly harp on the need to at least set some food back. I have had mixed success in that regard. My brothers are well set up, my nieces and nephews have all made some provision for self reliance. On the other hand, my sister and my mom won't lift a finger in that regard. When I was still working I never made any progress at all with my coworkers. One told me she couldn't afford to store a lot of food, then a month later showed up with a Porsche at work.
ReplyDeleteHarry...I am always surprised to find that some of my vintage are so lacking in common sense. I shouldn't be. Age doesn't always equal wisdom. I wonder sometimes just what it will take to wake folks up to the fact that bad stuff can happen. It seems like people just assume that as long as nobody has been beheaded on their front lawn, all is well. And if all is not well, there is a government program for that.
ReplyDeleteEven if people have no interest in the political situation or world events, I can't for the life of me figure out why they wouldn't at least prepare for what Mother Nature throws at us. Here in Minnesota we have floods, forest fires, violent summer storms that produce straight line winds and hail, tornadoes, ice storms and blizzards, just to name a few. Any of these can and have knocked out power, sometimes for days and weeks. And yet many are completely unconcerned.
Some in my family are showing a glimmer of understanding and are taking steps in the right direction. Others are oblivious. As far as neighbors and others are concerned, I have pretty much given up on trying to get them to jump on the bandwagon. I have only so much energy these days, and that seems to be dwindling. So I have decided to concentrate my efforts on making sure my immediate family will be fed should disaster strike. That pretty much makes me the eccentric one in my family, too. I can live with that.
I am the "weird bird" in my family! My brother's family is clueless and my late husband's family is also, even though they all had parents that it was just normal to have a garden and preserve all that they were blessed with. I am not able to do as much as I once was used to, but I have now supplemented my "stash" with dehydrated foods. My daughter and her family are on board and will come here with their stash if possible when tshtf. I am certainly blessed in that aspect.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone eyeballs my SAMS stuff, "I am merely stocking up for the Holidays when lots of family shows up!" We'll just enjoy our little selves when a storm of some kind pops up, won't we?!
Blessings!
CottonLady...It is a good thing that our families have us "weird birds" around, or they would all be doomed! Some of my immediate family are on board, some kind of on board and some not at all. So as Mom and Grandma, I tend to overstock much more than I would have to just for myself. I can't stand the thought of any of them going hungry, even if they don't get it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so concerned about my Sam's stuff being noticed, for many folks buy in bulk the way I do there. But I shop differently than most do at the regular grocery store. I usually only buy the sale items and then I buy lots, as opposed to those who just buy enough for a few days. A little while ago I was gifted a pile of denim. I think I will use a little of it to make a liner for my handy dandy little old lady shopping cart. That way my purchases won't be visible to the general public.
You are right about enjoying ourselves when storms pop up. Everyone else is clearing out the grocery shelves. We are home, curled up with a good book, warm and cozy!