I have learned a lot by being on these boards. I recalled that there is about a 3 days supply of groceries in the grocery stores if the trucks can't continue to stock shelves. That is fairly true to form based off of this experience.
I told my husband to go out and get things just before they got bad so that we were topped off. He has always supported my prepping, but never really gotten into it. I called him at work last Thursday and I told him we needed to buy extra food for our freezer. I felt like the food was going to be the next thing to go. When he got tot he store, sure enough, people were there shopping like it was the Friday before a holiday weekend (but it was Thursday afternoon). We were fine, but I wanted to make sure. I could tell by the pictures and stories of people sharing things on here, that food (certain kinds of foods) were going to be hard to come by.
I admit I have been out everyday to multiple stores because I am utterly fascinated by all of this. I know my husband is too. He is actually listening to me about prepping. He always listens to me, but it is a polite kind of listening like he would when I tell him about my other hobbies. He listens, but isn't interested in those hobbies. Well now...he is listening. I told him people were buying certain things (like toilet paper) at such a rapid rate, they were going to clear out the warehouses. Once the warehouses were cleared out it could take some time before things reappeared on the shelves. Today, we were in the store and there was some toilet paper limited to one per customer. There was also a sign that said they were out from the manufacture. That means there isn't going to be any in tomorrows truck shipment either. I overheard the cashier tell someone that they only had a little toilet paper because it was a truck that gotten delayed.
We had gone to another store and there was very little meat and no eggs or milk. They later got a truck in that had some meat, and dairy, but no paper products.
Saturday evening, I told my family if the shelves weren't stocked soon, there would be fights in the grocery store by Monday. Turns out I was wrong on that because it was already happening. There is a grocery store that is upscale and about 3 miles from my house. They had the police out there on Saturday evening because the crowds were crazy and people were starting to loot.
I have learned that rich people are always feeling sorry for the homeless and wanting to feed people and do the Christian thing etc, but mess with toilet paper and things quickly change. All of a sudden the realize the money that they have isn't worth anything if there isn't anything to buy.
Many of my family members think this is all crazy. They think it is the fault of a few panicked people. I try to explain that panic is a real as the water and the rain. They say things like, "If people wouldn't panic, there would be plenty to buy" It's like saying "If this hurricane wouldn't bring so much water with it, my house wouldn't flood" you can't control it because it is just as much a part of it.
I also try to explain this isn't a hurricane that you plan and prepare for. This happened rather quickly (here in the states) we don't have the rest of the country to help us out with supplies and such. This is like a global hurricane. My aunt thinks that Amazon is going to deliver her subscription for toilet paper next week. They are already out of stock on line.
Today I went to Costco. No toilet paper, but people were buying Kleenex in bulk. 2 boxes at a time....that's a lot of Kleenex if you are blowing your nose, but not a lot if you are using it for other purposes.
If antibiotics and other medication get scarce, it will really get interesting.
Many people are caught up in trying to not catch the virus or blaming the government for slow response. I have never trusted the government. I have seen too many natural disasters gone awry. I am more concerned with the economic fallout that will come to follow us and the rest of Europe after this.
If the government does a lock down and ask people to only go where is necessary. People will rebel and go other places for sure. They will then put in more and more restrictions. Italy is still on lock down. I don't know how the Italian government works, but I don't think you can bring America to a halt for a month and then pick up where you left off. People are looking this as a vacation, or an inconvenience.
I will continue to watch, wait, and learn. We are in for some interesting times.
