the transfer station man's dream

sherry in Maine · #1 07/31/11, 06:21 AM

yesterday went to the dump (transfer station) and over heard the man who, with his family, has owned the place for near 30 years.

He and I have conversed about the situation of our country in the past, usually briefly, and enough to show me that his thinking is along the same lines that many of us have.

He told me of a dream he had the previous night-'so clear and frightening, it woke me up' --he remembered all of it.

In the dream it was s.h.t.f. time; government overthrown, anarchy everywhere, roaming packs of humans. He and his family, including his adult children and their small kids sat down at table and had a serious discussion about how to handle it when the ravaging humans came to their place. Since he didn't want his wife, daughters , sons, grandkids etc, to have to live through the rampaging and rapaciousness of what was occuring, they all agreed that one of them would shoot the rest, then kill himself.
In the dream, he was given the go ahead to be the 'shooter' (remember this is a dream). He went downstairs to the basement and the first person who was sent down was his grand daughter. She turned her back so they wouldn't see each other as he pulled the trigger. Just before he pulled it, she turned around, looked at him and said 'I love you pop pop'.
Then he woke up, scared.

I understand the worry of what's going to happen, but he has sure been thinking alot (perhaps over thinking) and what a scary dream.
Is this ok for this forum?
Just thought I'd relate this.
Sherry

Darren · #2 07/31/11, 07:38 AM

Warning soapbox topic ahead. I think a lot of people are worrying needlessly. There's being prudent and being panicked. It is extremely difficult to remain clear headed in times like these.

There is a wisdom of the crowds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds

I think the dream has a message. And that message is we have the capability of doing far more damage to ourselves than any outside agency, Y2K proved that. There was lots of expert opinion that our society was a goner. Lots of folks spent more money than they should have preparing for an event that never happened as far as the impact predicted.

The majority never panicked. I suspect some of the ones who panicked hurt themselves financially. Most went about their day-to-day business without breaking a sweat over Y2K.

The actions of those who believe the world would end at a specific time and spent all of their money and resources to proclaim the message to the world was another recent example.

In both of the previous examples the wisdom of the crowds was that the predicted outcome would not happen. Intrade is an online betting website for events, Check it out. It didn't exist at the time of Y2K. It's an easy way of checking the crowd's opinion.

It's hard to resist the media and the constant drumbeat of imminent disaster. Can you resist looking at a wreck as you drive by slowly on the highway? If you can't, think about your ability to resist negativity from others. It is human nature to want to stare into the abyss. Just don't concentrate all your efforts on avoiding it and end up falling into an abyss of your own making.

geo in mi · #3 07/31/11, 07:46 AM

My opinion: http://www.panhala.net/Archive/The_Wolf.html

geo

Alice In TX/MO · #4 07/31/11, 07:49 AM

Book recommendation.

This is a novel written about what happens to society after an electromagnetic pulse knocks out computers, modern vehicles, communication, etc., almost world-wide:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Second_After

Rick · #5 07/31/11, 07:54 AM

Even though he called it a dream, that was a nightmare. Might be a better topic for SEP, but lets see how it pans out here.

Darren · #6 07/31/11, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geo in mi

My opinion: http://www.panhala.net/Archive/The_Wolf.html

geo

Native wisdom! Much of it is common sense.

sherry in Maine · #7 07/31/11, 08:05 AM

very intereting, all of you! Darren I agree with you, but who knows?

I haven't read that book yet Alice, will look for it.

Geo in mich, I agree
Rick, yes it was a nightmare . . . hope he never feels like it's a choice. Too much worry, or maybe too much supper!

rambler · #8 07/31/11, 12:33 PM

Looking at what the govt is reaching for, perhaps the shtf deal isn't really so bad - sometimes people come through well in times of stress, and pull together?

Letting the govt disolve all this over-reach of late doesn't seem so bad.

--->Paul

Ozarks Tom · #9 07/31/11, 01:08 PM

To me, the "give up" premise of the dream says something about the helplessness many people feel. I've never understood it, but I know it exists. If at that table someone had said "we need more guns, an alarm system, and a way to hide/protect the children" this sad man would have woken up with a purpose. A serviceable Mosin Nagant (rifle) = 2 months cable service, a good shotgun = 3 months cell phone, etc.. When it comes down to playing cowboys & idiots, I'll bet on the cowboys.

Alice In TX/MO · #10 07/31/11, 02:11 PM

Paul/Rambler ---- read One Second After. Get it the library if necessary.

The things that go wrong aren't necessarily what we expect.

Imagine what happens 90 days after the gov stops paying for Paxil, Zoloft, and anti-psychotic drugs for welfare recipients.

rambler · #11 08/01/11, 01:03 AM

I don't think we have any idea what actually would happen if things went belly up rapidly.

Without their meds a lot of people would be in bad shape. Those with antisocial issues probably wouldn't last too long.

Lot of good folk would pull together. I'd think pockets of people would get through pretty well.

Would not be a good thing tho in any shape or form, and I shouldn't have implied that....

--->Paul

gilberte · #12 08/01/11, 05:38 AM

How well do you know this guy? Maybe it's not a dream, maybe he's forewarning someone about a plan he has. Wonder if he's told his wife about his "dream".

sherry in Maine · #13 08/01/11, 06:24 AM

All of your remarks are interesting, thanks for answering.
Gilberte, he has told EVERYONE! Dont worry, he wont do it; he just is overthinking his version of shtf . . . He adores his grandkids, wife, kids etc.

I think he feels helpless as Ozark Tom said.
He isn't a nutcase, and it was a dream (nightmare) I think that expressed his worry, not his intentions.

Waiting Falcon · #14 08/01/11, 09:28 AM

Matt. 24:36-38 .....eating, drinking, giving in marriage ..... makes it sound like everything will be "normal" . Nobody was worried in Noah's day about the impending flood they had never heard of before.
There is nothing wrong with putting food by- we never know when there will be a drought or sickness when we can not crop- three years of harvest, three years of hay/whole grain in the barn, money saved for a "rainy day" is not a bad idea. Living from day to day with no reserve of any kind can be a more serious affair.