Prelude to …what, exactly?

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The way I see it, there’s some good and bad in this virus thing. The good is that some people will come around to the notion of being more responsible for their own well being and safety. The bad is that .gov is going to start flexing its ’emergency’ powers and once you give a power to .gov it’s pretty hard to take it away.

Meanwhile, my particular corner of the universe is still in a sort of transitional phase. Restaurants are closed and grocery stores are hit hard in some product groups, but there’s still traffic on the streets and people walking around doing stuff. Reading the various news sources tells me not to get used to this sort of thing…any moment now some sort of national quarantine will kick off as hospitals become overrun, supplies dwindle, and we all slide into poverty that will require a ‘reboot’ of our financial system…but with new improvements and features.

I am curious…if a national emergency gets declared will they take the phone off the hook over at NICS and prohibit firearms purchases? Nationwide ‘gun holiday’ as people are told that no firearms sales can be made? Could happen, I suppose. It happens on local levels all the time:

So far, as best I can tell, this Kung Flu thing hasn’t really necessitated cracking open the gun safe and going full Burt Gummer…but it’s nice to have that option. I have spares around for the odd chance that I might need to loan one out to someone who doesn’t have their own, but I don’t forsee that really happening yet.

School restarts, albeit online, next week and I am curious to see what happens. I’ve not received any emails from my instructors explaining how we are supposed to be doing this online stuff, so I need to reach out to them and make sure they didnt send an email or something and I missed it.I hope the powers that be at the school tell the instructors to grade extra-generously to compensate for the Chinese fire drill that is going to take place as classes that were supposedly ‘not available online’ suddenly become available online.

Meanwhile…same old same old. I’m checking he news to keep an eye on what kind  of mischief my local, state, and fed governments are up to, and trying not to panic-buy more stuff.

Regardless of where the virus is, in terms of progressing along its timeline, I think we are still way, way, way in the very early stages of the economic consequences. People are just starting to get sent home or laid off….in two weeks or so, after that first missed paycheck, it should be time to re-evaluate how he situation looks. I’d reckon in a  month or so, youre going to see more stuff in the supermarkets as people out of work tighten their belts and try not to spend. For anyone who has been carrying lotsa debt and not kept up a good emergency fund…..oy, thats gonna leave a mark.

24 thoughts on “Prelude to …what, exactly?”

  4. Down here in Bayou Country we are in a semi quarantine, schools, restaurants and bars are closed but other than nola most of life here is moving along. Work, shopping and all that stuff. Be safe and good luck.

  5. My three months’ cash stash is starting to look too small. Sigh. Although, if the banks are closed, I can continue to hand my landlord a check and stretch that reserve way out. It’s his problem if he can’t cash it.

  7. Folks around here have already got so much in the way of steel and lead that there hasn’t been a run so far on anything in that category as far as I can see. Hunting rounds are the lowest stock item I’ve noticed. I picked up an extra box of .45-70 (500 gr) soft tip the other day and that’s it.

    Still just hanging out and taking it easy. My son who’s in the USAF in Germany tells me his unit is going to 1 week on and one off starting this week. Alabama has authorized the call up of 100 Guard as needed but no activation yet. Haven’t been out to look at store stocks but gas continues to drop in price – $1.72 at the Pure station. It’s between paydays so I think folks shot their wad last weekend since the lots don’t look busier than normal.

    Breakfast was porkchops, over easy eggs, hashbrowns (dried kind), gravy, and toast. LOTS of coffee. I’m afraid I’m gonna gain weight so I get out for a 45 minute walk everyday. Gotta take advantage of that new sidewalk. LOL.

    Regards

  8. I just finished my last college class for my degree prior to the shut down. Since returning to college to finish my degree, I took all my classes on-line. The college used Blackboard for on-line classes. I really liked not having to hop in the car and drive 30 minutes to class and then back home. Nice thing about on-line they give deadlines and you can pace yourself to complete it and what time of day you work on. You might actually like the on-line format, I know I did.

  9. Guns seen normally in stock here, maybe because of the relatively high cost. Ammo in common calibers is gone except really obscure and expensive offerings like 12 gauge goose loads for a buck a shot.

    I’m reasonably well set but it’s concerning to see it.

    Also seen more open carry in the last 3 days than I have here in recent years combined.

    I think cash is going to be a thing in this. The GF and I have not amazing but fairly stable jobs which I think will be key for this. Kind of a financial circle the wagons and ride it out kind of thing.

    • Yup. I’m of the mind that the smart thing to do is put all big financial outlays on hold, if possible, until the uncertainty passes.

      • Dang it. I was really looking forward to getting a track kit for my UTV. I’m sure i can justify it if I think hard enough.

    • Most common ammunition is long gone here. 9mm Luger, .38 special, .40 SW, and above all 5.56 are not to be found.

      We have problems with rapidly shrinking law enforcement, due to the procedure of self quarantining any police officers who come into contact with positive testing individuals.

      There are also the unpleasant ramifications of closing the courts, flushing the jails, and broadcasting the news that arrests will only be made for “serious crimes.”

      Then there’s the jolly fact that the state is balkanized into competing ethnic groups , some of which are unfettered by moral qualms of any sort.

      Runs on ammunition were bound to happen here.

  11. We found a hole the other day in our preps, the plumbing. We were able to stock up on plumbing supplies that we were lacking. Other than that, we are holding strong. Home schooling our son, keeping healthy and working from home. Our version of NICS, PICS is still running but I am not taking on any new customers for various concerns. Our small bit loyal customer base is being taken care of and not being gouged. They are a good bunch so I don’t mind helping them. Keep frosty.

    • One of the ‘key’ items we just added is (after a recent septic leak), several dedicated Home Depot buckets & lids and a folding portable ‘commode’ chair for “emergency waste disposal”.

      Nothing will take you to hell faster than having no sanitary way to relieve yourself.

  12. Although I loathe ‘stay at home’ orders, one possible ‘good’ I can see is finally having time to get the garage & attic organized/cleaned out.

    • You know, you’d think that…but I’m finding all my grand plans to get stuff done around the house are succumbing to sitting in front of the internet all day.

      • I had some plans to build a woodshed during the “break” but decided against it lest I put a nail through my foot or something. Don’t want to have to go to the hospital in this environment!

      • You know I have the same problem . I’ve got all sorts of things to do but I can’t pull my ass out of this office chair for more than 10-15min at a time , I know something is coming but I can’t figure out from where !!!!!

  13. Government deals with virus by telling business to close, then passes financial aid (for some), then will have to figure out how to pay for it… and when businesses will be allowed to open.

    What could go wrong?

    I think if government could stay out of it as much as possible it would be nothing more than a major hiccup. Unfortunately government can seldom leave things alone and the fix ends up being worse than the problem.

    I’m encouraging the kids to watch the panic around them unfold, hopefully learn what NOT to do!

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