I thought TSHTF today

hintonlady · #1 09/12/08, 05:14 PM

Had a nice slow morning that eased into afternoon. Got a late start on grocery shopping and errands. Ignored the news of the day. That proved to have some interesting results.

When I pulled out of my village and passed our one glorious convenience store my DH gasped. The gas pumps were busy and a few people were waiting. It was by no means a line but certainly an oddity here in the middle of nowhere.

I of course discovered why this was later but seeing odd activity was certainly a new experience when learning of events by observation alone.

Got to town, a small one at that and saw what seemed like a huge crowd at Aldi. That usually only happens at the beginning of the month for people who get social security and I imagine state assistance. The rush any other time is out of place. I started to think that there was for sure something odd going on.

I made an actual stop at dollar general feeling some unease. When I went in I passed a truck that had 10 brand NEW gas cans filled up. That is when I decided to try to hear the news on my radio on the way home. New gas cans are worrisome, much more so than a few faded ones from the mower. All of them filled at once is super odd. I'm no dummy

After a few errands I waited outside of mal-wart for my DH. I refuse to go in for any reason. I didn't hassle him though because it was the only place around to get a bike innertube for my son who has been without his favorite activity for weeks. Sometimes you have to sacrifice ethics for your kids smile. LOL

I saw one lady come out with a cart filled to the brim, with beer of all things. She had 5, yes 5 30 packs of beer. WOW. I wasn't trying to be nosy, but come on I was sitting in a parking lot and that was funny. She didn't have any ice, pork rinds or anything. JUST beer and a whole cart load. I would have assumed it was just a wild party but........ as we were pulling out again I saw another guy with a cart completely full of 12 packs of soda. I'm not sure how many it was because he jammed them in like the game tetris. Holy carp folks, a cart of soda.

After that I assumed it was just a party weekend and the odd balls were out. Myself included. Later I got home and had someone inform me of the gas pipeline. The whole incident was a comical dry run of SHTF when I am oblivious. It was clear I needed to finish shopping and get home. I didn't panic buy because eveyone had their usual cheetos and chef boyardi ravioli in a can type silliness. If I saw batteries and water go by I would have bulked up for sure.

I also learned that I am prepped pretty well, at least against zombie hordes. If people get worked up about potential hardships because of gas and all they buy is one tank of gas, a cart of beer, a cart of soda and regular microwave food I have nothing to worry about. Those goof balls would die of dehydration and stupidity long before my secret garden ever sprouts.

If I see a cart full of clearance veggie seeds, bleach, dog food, water, batteries and ammo I may be concerned. Doubt that will ever happen though.

BTW if gas becomes unavailable that full tank sure won't feed them now will it? LOL

**ladycat** · #2 09/12/08, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hintonlady

I also learned that I am prepped pretty well,

Pretty well prepped here. Not enough animal food, though. Need to be working on that. It's difficult when the prices are skyrocketing.

AngieM2 · #3 09/12/08, 06:03 PM

Governor of AL has said that Fed said the south may be having an energy shortage due to Ike. The price of gas is going UP! and there are lines.

I have enough gas for next week if I am trifty. And my son-in-law - 40miles away - just had his storage tank of 500 gal filled up last week. I sure hope he has it well locked and where they can keep an eye on it without it being too noticeable.

I've not been to the store.

Angie

highplains · #4 09/12/08, 06:17 PM

If anyone has fuel down there, I'd keep it hidden, NOT just locked up but hidden from view. Too many people getting desperate will be more than willing to bust locks or worse just to get a tank of gas to go anywhere/nowhere.

When gas prices started their trial runs for the $5.00 mark up here in South Dakota, thefts jumped up considerably. Most of it was siphoned out of vehicles but there were a few daring folks that tried to get fuel from the big storage tanks at farms as well.

Be careful down there.

Mr.Hoppes · #5 09/12/08, 06:27 PM

Funny seeing this thread, at this moment.
For a long time I have havd very vivid dreams of that day, the day tshtf. I was preparing dinner for my family and a heliocopter flying rather slow and somewhat lower than usual in this general are went over. I had a flash back to my dreams and instanty ordered silence in my home. Silence is not easily obtained in this house especially when DW isn't feeling well and the children are uptight from not being able to go out and play in the rain. My DW and all 3 children stood stil in silence and looked at me. Turned out to be nothing , but spooked me bad.

mamajohnson · #6 09/12/08, 06:30 PM

I made a run to pickup a hard wired phone today, top off the gas tank and water bottles... It was crazy!
Gas jumped 25 cents already, and the usually quiet town had lines at the gas station. They were almost even getting testy about 'who's next'
One guy said the Brookshires in the next town had gas 30 cents cheaper...but they were closed! (glad I didn't go there, I almost did)
No water in the dollar store, water in the grocery was 1.20 a gallon! geeze!
But all I was doing was filling my 6 empties at the 35 cent per gal. machine.

On my post office stop the mail lady was full of talk, and filling any ear she could. All about how bad this storm is going to be.

So glad I am prepped. In fact, I splurged and brought home chicken breasts that were on sale for an easy supper tonight.

deaconjim · #7 09/12/08, 06:32 PM

I guess I'm out of the loop on this one. What's up with gas?

AngieM2 · #8 09/12/08, 06:33 PM

The refineries are in direct danger from Ike. They're closing down for a bit - I've heard 7 to 10 days. They are more vital to the flow of gas daily than the oil rigs (according to a couple of news sources). So, they don't refine, we don't have gas.

Angie

ovsfarm · #9 09/12/08, 06:39 PM

I sure hate to say this, but it kind of seems like it's going to be survival of the fittest/smartest. I read this from an AP report, from a woman who lives right in the Galveston area;

"We're surrounded by glass, so I'm taking my crystal candlesticks down. It's been suggested that we roll the rugs away from the door," in case water seeps in. Other than that, said Dulworth, "I'm going to get some fresh veggies. I have cereal and canned milk. I anticipate being without air conditioning for a couple of weeks, but you can't do much."

Is this woman crazy? It seems she is more concerned about the safety of her crystal candlesticks and her nice rugs than her own life. She may be deselecting herself from the gene pool.

It's not just that sometimes we might go along about our daily activities and not know TSHHTF, but apparently there are some folks down there who are still wondering why the sky is getting that strange 'brown"tinge. I wonder, will they recognise it for what it is when it hits them in the face?

deaconjim · #10 09/12/08, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngieM2

The refineries are in direct danger from Ike. They're closing down for a bit - I've heard 7 to 10 days. They are more vital to the flow of gas daily than the oil rigs (according to a couple of news sources). So, they don't refine, we don't have gas.

Angie

Oh well, guess I get to go out later tonight and top off everything. I saw the lines today, but I wasn't about to sit in one of them for gas. I can stay home if need be.

Trixters_muse · #11 09/12/08, 07:31 PM

Hello Everyone, I have been offline for a month, stupid pc died...I missed this forum!

Anyway, to the topic at hand....

My mom manages a convenience store and she told me they had to change the gas price sign THREE times today! It went up several cents in one day and she said people are coming in and asking if there is a limit, are they rationing gas. Mom said no of course not, and said "I don't think that is happening anywhere" She was told by more than one customer there are stores in our town that are setting 10 gallon limits per customer!

unregistered29228 · #12 09/12/08, 07:54 PM

I posted on CF that we had signs on our gas pumps around here yesterday asking us to limit to 10 gallons. I filled up (11.5 gallons, sorry, I'm a pig) at $3.63 per gallon. A few hours later I saw that all the signs had been changed to $3.74, and today before noon they were $4.19. Hubby called to tell me that this afternoon most gas stations had huge lines, and gas was still going up. Some stations had closed their pumps because they were out of gas already.

We've got both our tanks full, and the gas can for the mower is full too. If that runs out, I guess we'll be staying home. We don't have any storage tanks for gas. But if things are that bad, I'm not sure I want to be out on the road anyway....

Mr.Hoppes · #13 09/12/08, 08:08 PM

seriously anyone who does homesteafing farming especially in the south should consider used vegital oil for a diesel motor it works great and even new it's cheaper than gas..

Prayers be with you all

halfpint · #14 09/12/08, 08:09 PM

Like Hintonlady I was out of the news loop today (and yesterday). We did our schoolwork this morning, then gathered all our things for the county fair. Since I hadn't filled up since 9/1 coming home from my nieces wedding, I needed gas. I was a little surprised that the small town had lines, especially at 2pm. When I finally got to the pump (there were attendants directing traffic and keeping people from cutting in), the attendant told me that they would probably run out this afternoon, and that their order had been delayed to to all of the gas the last few days being sent to Texas and Louisiana for the people evacuating, plus the gas lines and refineries being shut down would limit gas availability for a while. Two of the people pumping their gas at the same time said that several of the gas stations they passed were already closed. They were also asking people to limit their purchases to 10 gallons. My husband had filled up yesterday, so we're fine for a while.

Dawn

Annsni · #15 09/12/08, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trixters_muse

My mom manages a convenience store and she told me they had to change the gas price sign THREE times today!

Around here, it's illegal to change the price of gas more than once in 24 hours. On one of the main highways in NJ (the Parkway maybe?) they can't change it more than once a WEEK!

Seriously, unless they're getting multiple deliveries in a day, the price of their gas hasn't gone up. I know they have to make enough to purchase the next load but still. I think multiple times in a day is ridiculous.

Fortunately we have 4 stations within a block so there's competition. The ones who are by themselves are usually 10-20 cents more expensive than these 4.

Trixters_muse · #16 09/13/08, 08:36 AM

Annsni, it isn't illegal here, but it does seem crazy huh? She was just doing what the supervisor told her to do, but she said it is being changed again today at least once. There are signs all over town now, 10 gallon limits. So far the company my mom works for have no limits and are hoping to keep it that way.

I told my family they were getting too happy about the oil price drop, I told them by the end of summer it would all start over. No one ever listens, well except you guys, lol.

Andy Nonymous · #17 09/13/08, 09:17 AM

"A day late", and to top it off, my personal vehicle has a leaky tank, so it can't be filled; I have a lot of places to go at quite a distance, and it's rather too cool and raining, so riding the bike isn't a good option either.

Guess I'll bite the bullet, put a couple gallons a time in the tank, and do what running I need to do today.

Then I'm sitting home for a while. Maybe the whole week.

Madame · #18 09/14/08, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Hoppes

seriously anyone who does homesteafing farming especially in the south should consider used vegital oil for a diesel motor it works great and even new it's cheaper than gas..

Prayers be with you all

Don't you need some sort of special equipment for that?

fordy · #19 09/14/08, 02:02 PM

..............I've looked into vege oil as fuel for my diesel , and for those that filter and properly prepare the fuel , this maybe a viable situation . These fuels give problems as we get into winter , so I'll just stick with diesel . , fordy

FL.Boy · #20 09/14/08, 02:40 PM

Gas has just gone up 20 cents here and all stations have gas so not as bad as it sounds here.