Around The 24/680: An Odd Prevailing Quiet

We’re in an aggressive news cycle and many things are happening simultaneously. Change is afoot. Some are handling it better than others.

Many among us are digging in, preparing for the long haul. Others have opted out.

While maintaining a proper digital distance we’ve been talking with dozens of readers and friends in the last 24 hours, considering kind offers to visit established off-grid domiciles with self-sustaining food supply (chickens) and answering to the degree we are able pointed questions about the current information vacuum surrounding this pandemic.

Semi-Prepper Pals we have with endless reserves of freeze-dried food and N95 face masks in their basements are trying not to chortle as we Flatlanders jostle for position at Costco and beg to come for a visit.

“The thing I find most amusing – if there’s anything amusing about an outbreak – is listening to politicians and most people say how no one saw this coming. Total bull****. Read ‘Deadliest Enemy.’ People have seen this coming for years,” one said.

Kinda true. At least some people have. While we arrange our Go Bag and decide which of our Country Friends has the best laying hens and widest selection of jarred preserves, and whether it’s best to go Coastal (seafood potential) or to Head for the Hills (ancestral lineages), we’ll admit to wondering why Those We’ve Chosen To Lead Us weren’t better prepared.

Before all you Wearers of a Certain-Colored Hat and Lefty Label-Slingers join in a concerted call for our heads and accuse us of trying to politicize a public health emergency we’ll just leave it there – leaving everyone to wonder how the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth could offshore supply lines for essential medical supplies and support, and not have protocols in place for efficient medical testing of its populace in the event of crisis.

And what does it say about us that most of the country had no idea we were in the middle of a public health crisis until teams of NBA players walked off their courts and celebrities and politicians began to announce their exposure and self-quarantine?

Today, we watched our financial markets in further sell-off and thanked our Gods that we moved into a largely cash position weeks ago. We listen to the White House talk about “beautiful tests” and having “more powers most people don’t know about” and try not to spend too much time wondering about exactly what those powers might be.

In short – people appear uncertain, confused, perhaps looking for leadership. Some are not waiting, preferring to take matters into their own hands and chart their own paths to the degree that they are able. Many simply don’t know what they are going to do – where their next paycheck is going to come from, or their next meal, whether or not they can count on getting medical care.

We’ve noted an increase in visitation here at News24/680 and, being a digital enterprise, we’re in a position to (safely) interact with our readership, answer questions and, hopefully, shed some light on local developments as we move forward. Hopefully, we’ll be able to look back on this period in our lives in a few weeks or months and reflect on the hard lessons learned.