Coronavirus – Our Family Plan

1st a few words about fear.  The vast majority of the breathless panting about Coronavirus is fear based.  This fear is basically a feedback loop: the more you panic and work yourself up, the greater your fear.  Almost every problem we as humans deal with when it comes to stress and worry is based on the fear feedback loop.  

There are many methods one can use to break fear.  As Christians, our greatest weapon against fear is faith and prayer.  The calm one feels when we acknowledge Gods control can instantly relieve the fear.  He is in control, not us and if He determines the time has come, do you think you can stop it? 

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart … Proverbs 3:5

In addition to faith, if you decide to take a cold analytical approach to what you fear, you will often discovour the irrationality of your fears.  Ask yourself questions to get your analytical brain going.  Questions like:

• What is the worst that could happen?
• What is my actual risk here?
• If [feared event] actually comes to pass, can I do things to mitigate the damage? 

Basically, any questions that cause you to rationally approach the problem. 

Another approach to fighting fear is writing … or more specifically list making.  Once you allow your brain to free range over a problem by trying to create a list of some sort, fear is relieved.  For instance:

• List of supplies on hand
• List of friends and family you can call for help
• To Do lists
• List of plans based on scenarios. ie. if A happens, then we follow list X … if B happens, then we go with list Z.

Reviewing such lists, adding notes as they come to you and generally curating your writing are all calming, rational activities that can get you back into the cold, calculating mindset you want to have in the face of danger.

Nothing spreads like Fear:

So my first impressions of Coronavirus after dismissing the hype and panic is that it is the common flu with a helping of special sauce.  Humans have been fighting off the flu for 1000’s of years … and this one is more or less the same as what we’ve been through before.  

The only question that might throw a wrench into the mix is if it is a genetically modified or manufactured virus.  I don’t know enough about genetics to offer an opinion, but I highly doubt it.  Enough people have recovered from CV for me to doubt humans created this as a weapon.  If they did, it’s pretty badly made … typical Walmart Chinese garbage as far as biological weapons go.  So, I’m going with this NOT being a weapon, and just approach it as any other flu during flu season.  The fear is the actual weapon if anything.  

Our family preparations are split into two categories.  

1. Dealing with the virus itself and illness
2. What to do about the fear and panic that is breaking down the supply chains

 

Dealing with the Virus

Avoiding transmission

We are actually doing very little about the virus itself.  No masks or body suits, none of that nonsense.  So far the virus has not come to our little piece of paradise, so we go about our days in a normal way.  If the virus shows up within 100 kms of here we will implement the following:

Postpone until major threat is passed:

• flights anywhere
• theaters
• restaurants
• sporting events
• shopping malls (@Cabelas excepted … for now.)

Basically anywhere people congregate in numbers and in close proximity to each other.  

If the virus shows up in our local community, we will simply stay home and close the gates.  We are equipped to live comfortably for at least 2 months with our stocks and freezers.  We homeschool. No contact with outside people needed.  Visitors will not feel welcome once they come down the driveway.  Simple.  Stay away.

If we get sick

Symptoms will be treated as needed.  Care will be provided by 1 family member only.  Others will be kept separate.  

Vitamin C.  This is where we likely differ from many people prepping for this one.  We have huge stockpiles of Vit C.  Study after study, many of them from the 40’s and 50’s indicate that large doses of Vit C seems to kill most viral infections.  Of course, the public is generally unaware of this and there are few modern studies or recommendations … because there is no money in it.  ‘They’ … ((follow the money,)) want to sell us drugs, not tell us how to self-treat.  This Study provides the dosage we will use if needed.  That’s it.  We are generally healthy people.  We spend lots of time outdoors in the sun and are an active family.  We have strong immune systems.  We will rely on Vit C and good living to fight this infection if needed.

Supply Chain Breakdown

This is where we are spending a little more time in our preps.  Panicked people will always lead to irrational behaviour.  With irrational behaviour comes breaks in the chains of supply.  Companies may not be able to get raw goods needed for manufacture. Their employees may be staying home to avoid getting sick, or because they are sick.  Shelves will not be restocked if nobody is there to stock them.  So I expect there to be shortages in a few areas … mostly the essentials.

I’m not worried about this.  We keep months of essentials on hand anyway.  We bought a few extra rolls of shit tickets, some extra cans of stew, etc.  Nothing crazy, just making sure we had more than enough to live well for a while.  

Vox Day pointed out in one of his streams at Unauthorized.TV that he had stocked up on wine.  There was no way he was going to be uncomfortable, or change his life if things in Italy got shut down.  I hadn’t thought of that … so I also stocked up on some of our luxury items.  Coffee.  Chocolate chips. Diet Soda. Some extra condiments.  Just things that make the good life … good. 

Fuel.  I have five 5 Gallon gasoline jugs that are now all filled.  I rotate the fuel in them into our vehicles and keep them filled.  If/when the gas stations start running dry, there will be a run on fuel.  We’ve seen it before, especially in Toronto during the 2003 Blackout. I won’t be sitting in long lineups for $20 of fuel … nope. 

We have a 1000 watt Yamaha generator at home that we can fire up to keep the freezers frozen if the power goes out.  We also have a completely self contained camper complete with solar power which we can also bring into play if we need to keep the lights on.  Basically, we have enough backup power to run anything that might need running if there was a prolonged blackout. 

Propane.  I have 3 full 30 lb jugs.  Enough to run the grill and camper stovetop for months if needed.

Medicine.  I hate this part of preps.  Pray. 

That is our family plan.  A few extras above and beyond our regular stocks.  A few plans if the virus comes knocking. Other than that = no fear.

Spring will be here soon.  Garden will need to be planted.  That means sunshine, exercise and all the other things that build healthy people and strong immune systems. 

What’s your plan?