Have you stocked up??
 

Hi All<BR><BR>Just travelled down to the local supermarket and noticed that the entire stock of water has gone (not one bottle left) tined food is quite scarce on the shelves, The other day the Brits were told to stock up, but until now I had'nt thought of it thinkinh we'd be knackered anyway. I know US has been told as well.<BR><BR>How many of you have stocked up on supplies did any of you buy tape and plastic??<BR><BR>Brit<BR>xx

What good will food and water do you if you haven't stocked up on air?<BR>http://www.liquid-stabilized-oxygen.com/Oxygen_Bar.html

Stock up ? why? I have heard nothing of this, since the first scare about water and duct tape. <BR>

No, I haven't stocked up. I don't have any duct tape or plastic either.

I am more worried about tornados than terrorists.<BR><BR>It was in our paper this morning that during a recent severe thunderstorm some people actually called 911 and reported terrorists attacking us.

I have stocked up on common sense, and refuse to let the media hype get the best of me. Washington has been through 9/11, the anthrax scare, the snipers, and numerous other protests and scares over the past two years. Nothing will protect me here except a clear head, and a good bike route out of town when the time comes. I got caught up in the fright hype before, and it did nothing except give me a rash. <BR><BR>Take care all!<BR><BR>

I plan to stock up on beer and pizza once I get back to the US.

While I am in no way advocating &quot;stocking up&quot;, I think it's important to note that the idea of stockpiling 3 days of food and water and enough plastic and duct tape to seal off one room in your house comes not from an overinflamed media but from Tom Ridge and the Dept. of Homeland Security. Sounds a lot like &quot;duck and cover&quot; to me, but hey, it's our tax dollars at work.

I can't think of a place in the nation where stocking a few days food in water *isn't* a bad idea.<BR><BR>Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, ice storms, snow storms, earthquakes. Every region of this country is subject to something that tends to disrupt life for the citizens on a fairly major basis.<BR><BR>In Girl Scouts, we called it &quot;being prepared&quot;.

BayArea, wasn't there a report last week or so that San Francisco and Los Angeles residents seem to be the most prepared for disaster? This is, of course, because we are reminded to do so due to the chance of earthquakes. I have all my typical earthquake supplies stocked up. Absolutely no fear that this war will have any impact on our lives, however, except for the fear that CNN keeps shoving down our throats. I keep the TV off but my kids still come home from school and ask me questions like, &quot;did Saddam get killed?&quot; and &quot;did they fire a nuclear bomb?&quot; I'm with Spider, stocking up on common sense and turning off the boob tube.

I'm stocked up on Girl Scout cookies. Does that count? :)

Working in Washington, it is a little disconcerting when you are told to instruct your employees to bring a couple of days worth of any prescriptions that they take to work. This is in case we have to hunker down in the building while something blows over. Eerie. <BR><BR>What is crazy in DC is that the first thing they do in emergencies is shut down the Metro! This traps hundreds of thousands of people downtown.

BayArea I'm with you. No reason to not be prepared. We are a military family and I have to be prepared to take care of my family solo. No whining about it...just doing it. We have a small supply in each car and at home have more supplies. A good dose of common sense along with food, water, full tank of gas, and a bit of cash is always needed in any emergency.

I did not add anything to my earthquake supplies.

I've stocked up on books and videos to keep me from watching the news.

<BR>Well, thanks to this thread, I am now stocked up!<BR>We have a months supply of dog food, pigs ears and squeeky toys.<BR>I have bottled water (the kind that has vitamins and flavor) lots of popcorn and M&amp;M's (and various other chocolates in case it is a long seige)and I programed the pizzaria number into my speed dialer.<BR>I think we are all set now! Thanks!!

I bought 2 cases of wine on sale from Trader Joes yesterday. We have cat food, lizard food, and my son just got an order of this nasty beef jerky he likes to eat. My daughter is happy since, although a rerun, &quot;Friends&quot; was not pre-empted last night. We've got it covered, right?

ah, but have you tuned your personal TV to the love connection and ordered some sun dresses for dress-up days?

Hey Gail,<BR><BR> I hope that wasn't French wine?<BR><BR>:^)<BR><BR>MM

To mm - no, cheap American wine.

and no tongue sandwiches!

<BR>rhtt, no tv..I was awed and shocked enough today. Now it is music, listening to Oldies but Goodies on the radio:) How cornball am I ???

The point you are missing is that the food supply could be interupted. Just ask anyone who lived through a disastrous hurricane how long it took before their local supermarkets had food again. Thank heaven for FEMA and their bottled water and ready-to-eat meals.

<BR>I guess I am one of those folks that has a big pantry in my kitchen and love to see it full. So in our case, we are always stocked. <BR>although if things were to go on for long, I would have to start opening all those boxes of cookies and candy that we got for Christmas :(

It is only prudent to have enough food and water on hand to last a few days. In the case of an emergency it would take that long for government relief agencies get organized.<BR><BR>It is also wise to be prepared with smaller versions of the same in your car and office.

gail,<BR><BR>ha ha! I felt so guilty last night for being so worried about Friends being pre-empted by the news...glad to know, I'm not alone.<BR><BR> <BR>

Scarlett-I am like you, I keep the pantry stocked especially when there are great sales. Went out and stocked up on Easter Candy yesterday. <BR><BR>Gail-What wine did you buy at Trader Joe's? I have not tried any of their wine yet.

Just curious about peoples plans, if they have any...<BR>If your city is attacked, either dirty bomb, or water contamination etc, would you pack up and leave town, or stay put? I think I'd be tempted to stay until the traffic jams cleared. Any thoughts?<BR><BR>

If anything happens in my hometown, I am outta here. I have the back roads all mapped out and I am heading to my summer house on the Lake.<BR><BR>BTW-I just heard we lost 2 marines, pray for them and their families. :-(

Yes, our family does have a plan if our area is attacked. My husband and I have agreed on what my route would be (NOT in the traffic jam areas) and where I would go. Although I know the roads I did put an atlas in the car just in case. Not being paranoid about it...but with children we just want to be cautious and have a plan.

We have stocked up. I am with the others that see no harm in being prepared. We have a few days water and food, as well as diapers and wipes for our son. I have a planned route in case evacuation is necessary, though I also would be tempted to stay at home and avoid the roads. My daughter's preschool has requested that we supply a small blanket, extra clothes a bottle of water and some food such as granola bars in the event something happens and they have to be &quot;locked down.&quot; It takes really little effort to make some advance planning.

Our schools have not asked for supplies, but they did have an &quot;emergency drill&quot; last week. Scared the hell out of our daughter. They came over the PA system and told all teachers to lock classroom doors, pull shades, and stay away from windows. It would have been nice if they told the kids in advance that they would be doing drills at some future time. Instead, they had a bunch of melodramatic middle school girls hyperventilating and imagining all sorts of horrors.<BR><BR>

Gail, <BR>Our schools (NH) have been doing those &quot;lock down&quot; drills since Columbine. But I agree, there should be some warning/explanation prior. We even had a real one once, and couldn't get our kids out at dismissal. Saw some parents hyperventilating at that one! Turned out some &quot;home schoolers&quot; were playing war games over a walky talky, and it was picked up by the teachers' remotes.<BR>As for the original topic... My parents were in the military during WWI, and raised four kids during the Cold War. You should have seen the canned goods we tossed when closing their home! Some were even bulging with spoiling. :)<BR>

Our school also asks for &quot;comfort kits&quot;. We have lived here for 4 years and its been in effect as least as long as that. I enclose a letter, crayons, pad of paper, candy, extra socks and a warm hat. The kits are kept by the teachers right near their desks so always accessible.

Hey everybody, check out this, it's is hilarious!<BR><BR>http://www.uspoliticsforum.com/emergency/

Like the others that posted above I already have at least a 3 day supply of food and water since I live in earthquake country. The most important ration in my stockpile though is my case of &quot;2 Buck Chuck&quot;<BR>(the bad economy vintage) from Trader Joe's. Thank goodness for TJ's!

Tape up your &quot;tined food&quot; and stay safe in jolly old england.