Visions and Foreboding

Today I reorganised two closets and took inventory of our personal care and cleaning products.

I soon found three bottles of shampoo in a closet instead of the bathroom cupboards. Later, I discovered three tubes of toothpaste and a bottle of Aleve mixed in with a box of old pictures! It was like Christmas. Once finished, my inventory showed we're two months ahead on my minimum goal of a 12 month supply.

During the process, I had a vision of the economy totally crashing on July 1, 2009. As I kept working, the vision intensified. First, I saw myself looking back at the various indicators - which had all accelerated: foreclosures, layoffs, bank closings, ponzi schemes, governments crashing, riots, etc.

On that horrible day radio and TV broadcasts were all tuned to a speech by the president: "we're out of business; the country is broke; everything has fallen apart."

Within 24 hours total chaos erupted. Millions rushed to their banks or tried to access them online to no avail. Stores and factories closed. Emergency services were manned but the calls for help overran the system. People began roaming the streets. Gas stations were going dry due to the panic. People began begging for food and by nightfall the looting was fierce.

With each passing hour and day the realization that "change" did not mean improvement began to sink in. Still, some said they couldn't, wouldn't believe it. For others, the shock was so crippling they literaly sat in a stupor. Many took refuge in alcohol and over medicated themselves on prescription drugs - if they had any.

Within a month millions upon millions of people hadn't had a paychec. They were without food or electricity and most of them without homes. State and Federal human services agencies were in disarray. Charities like the Salvation Army had armed guards posted or had closed all together - something that had began happening months before due to lack of funds. Too many people seeking help and too few workers to respond was the norm. Anger and frustration from the masses had scared half the employees away and troops deployed to bring order began abandoning their posts.

Then the visions became more specific. A man was trying to barter a pack of toothpicks for a few sheets of toilet paper. A woman was willing to trade several cans of soup and a two pound bag of rice for a half a pack of cigarettes. Imagine being willing to exchange food for nicotine.

And I saw families so despondent that they just gave up. Some committed mass suicide; others just sat there and died to be found weeks later.

Maybe these visions came upon me because I've had my children on my mind. Maybe it's that still, small voice telling me to prepare even more.

On second thought, for me it's never been a still, small voice; it's always an overwhelming voice that I can't shake. One time, I felt my Dad had fallen in his basement. I called his home to no avail, and then called his neighbor to check on him. She found him on the cement floor pinned between the wall and the table saw. Another time, I felt my daughter was in trouble 400 miles from me. I called her and said, "I'm coming for a visit." She sounded tired, said, "Okay," and hung up. An hour later I was on the road. When I arrived at her home she was sitting at the kitchen table crying. For three hours after I called her, the man she lived with - father to her two daughters - had been pointing a pistol at her, threatening to kill her, himself, or both of them.

When I told Sweetie about my vision and how real it seemed, he said, "Well, for one thing, you're the one who manages all this stockpile, do what you want. For another, maybe things won't get that bad but, what could it hurt to head the message?"

So, I'm passing it on, partly to help me shed what's left of those pictures, and partly to inspire you to prep. Better to be as prepared as you can than be wandering the streets in despair.