Book bits: Yes, I realized I made a colossal error in that post on Friday. Of course, I should not have indicated that you had to go to FB to sign up to become a beta reader. Of course, emailing or posting here in the comments would have been perfectly acceptable. Fortunately, most of you recognized that I make these kind of mistakes once in a while and emailed or posted in the comments regardless. Forgive me my errors, please. It was an exhausting week. Good, just tiring.
Several of you have already volunteered to serve as beta readers. For those who still would like to participate in putting this book together, there will be plenty of opportunities—choosing a title (Do we keep BYOB? Would another title work better? Or keep BYOB and come up with a better subtitle?) and selecting a cover are the first that come to mind.
I have watched the whole Wu Flu pandemic develop and unfold since late December. I'm just fascinated with diseases in general and pandemics in particular and the role they play in history. And how people react. Asians in the US truly worried about their relatives in China and Hong Kong have been sending masks and other essentials to their loved ones. And preparing for disaster here as well. Many Americans are completely oblivious to the situation.
Even if the virus isn't here yet, contagion is definitely in the air. People in online forums discussed the fact that sooner or later there would be difficulties in obtaining everything we get from China. Masks were already in short supply. Medications would be next.
And so I considered all our preparations. Did we need more masks? Are there medications I
should have gotten? No and no. Shoes. Well, I hadn't kept up on shoes since my husband found out in November 2018 that his job was going away. The small mining company he worked for was being swallowed up by a larger company based in Canada. And we weren't interested in moving to Canada. So in all of this, I decided to get some athletic shoes. Everyone else in the family was already set. I'm still trying to figure out if we need anything. And I'm still coming up blank. I guess that's a good thing. I might suggest to my sweetheart that getting some windshield wipers and oil filters could be a good idea.
So far, I think this Wu Flu resembles the Spanish flu of 1918-1920. Maybe it will turn out to be nothing. We're not sure on the death toll so far. Can anyone really be sure?
What I am sure of, and especially because of what politicians and governments did in response to Spanish flu, is that the Chinese government is lying. Our government is lying. Most, if not all, governments are lying. There are probably some people telling the truth. I have no idea who though.
So there really won't be anything here on the blog about rushing out to get anything. Living a prepared life involves learning one new skill at a time and gradually building up a food supply and learning how to use it. When we do this, we panic early and beat the rush. Maybe the next crisis involves food shortages. Maybe it's economic collapse. Like this coronavirus, it may not be something we anticipate. But we prepare in general and find ourselves also prepared for what specifically happens, perhaps with a few minor modifications.
Even if this coronavirus pandemic pans out to be nothing, you will be better prepared for the next crisis. Historians and scientists say it's only a matter of time before we have another pandemic. As we see now, it's better to panic early and beat the rush. Paying ten or twenty dollars for an N95 mask that was one dollar only a week earlier is ridiculous and so easily avoided. It's the same with everything that we need--food, medical supplies, garden tools, shoes, clothing. Tires. Home heating fuel, whatever the form.
Get healthy. Stay healthy. Have everything that your family needs at home already. If you end up with downtime at home due to quarantine, use that time to prepare better for the next crisis and beat the rush.
As a medical professional that has worked through SARs, Avian Flu, H1N1, Ebola and yearly flu situations a few easy things you can do. #1 your hands are the #1 way for the bug to get to you. Wash them before you touch your face. #2 Social Distance if someone is coughing do you HAVE to walk down that grocery shopping row? I turn away and get several feet away promptly. The virus is carried by droplets that fall to the ground pretty fast give it distance to travel to you. #3 Proper use of mask and gloves. I covered proper removal earlier. No sense wearing a mask then contaminating yourself removing it later. #4 your Immune system is your best defense. Help it with the first 3 mentioned steps and research anti-viral's and healthy foods to support it and your guts the basis of your immune system. I use Emergency-C daily, take Elderberry-Zinc Gummies daily and eat yogurt and Kimchee-sauerkraut with live cultures daily during all flu seasons. My go to when I feel a little under the weather is full carcass cooked chicken soup with Kimchee added afterwards as not to kill off the healthy fermentation bacteria.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get home from working in the Hot Zone I leave my shoes outside, I drop my outside clothing into the laundry hamper and at least do a Whores Bath of washing my hands, my face and hair and my hands again before I touch anything especially my beloved. Why track that nastiness into your home? Why sit on the couch with nasty clothing?
This reduces what you bring home. I also do the shopping and will place items outside on a tarp for sunshine therapy. Every little bit helps.
Worked for over a decade of interesting diseases and flu's in a Hot Zone AKA Hospital.
Thanks for your comments! I am beginning to think that showering needs to be done after returning home from outside, and not first thing in the morning, and the same for clothes--as soon as I get home, into the laundry basket. Grocery shopping gets done when the store is quietest.
DeleteI haven't gone to kimchi yet. That may take a little more thought. ;)
Jennifer, thank you for the chuckle on wiper blades. I did that a few years ago, and was questioned at the time from hubby, why? Well, it didn't take long with him knowing that they were there and are being used. He actually appreciates that they are here as we are 25 miles from the closest auto store. Thus my main reason to stock things as town is 25 miles one way, but that isn't the biggest factor. It is the time to get there, be there, and back that you lose on a project. Time is money too. Plus I find that going to town cost money - more ways than one :-)
ReplyDeleteJennifer you might want to look up the anti-viral qualities of Kimchee and the cytokine storm reducing benefits of healthy gut bacteria supported by fermented live culture foods like sauerkraut and kimchee. Kimchee is essentially sauerkraut with peeled crushed cloves of garlic, horseradish, ginger root chopped up and peppers chopped up mixed with plenty of salt and fermented in a 5 gallon bucket with a dinner plate and 1 gallon water jug keeping the cabbage mixture under the salt generated liquids. In a corona virus situation the best time to make a big batch of kimchee is two weeks ago and today. I'd rather reek of kimchee than go to a hospital during a crisis. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to research this.
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