[Newfie]

Yup, Bait and Breakfast! The best sign I've ever seen was " Bait/Cod Toungs/Soft Serve".

I had bacon. Scrambled eggs, sausage, and some kinda fried cinnamon apple thing. The rotund guy? He had everything twice, at least. And his wife was carefully peeling the fat from her bacon.

It was a neat place, can from fancy. One wall was lined with rod holders oriented so that they were close to and parallel to the ceiling. The tables were underneath. So we ate under a canopy of fishing rods.

[Revi]

People aren't going to take it well at all. I think most people are going to starve to death in their houses if the supermarkets shelves go bare. If there is a problem with ATM's or payments it will only be a few days before most people run out of cash and food. Then it gets nasty.

[Timo]

Yup, Bait and Breakfast! The best sign I've ever seen was " Bait/Cod Toungs/Soft Serve".

Does that soft serve come in a cone, or in a cup?

Can you get sprinkles on top?

What exactly are those sprinkles?

Next question: How well will people handle it when they run out of soft serve cod toungs? More importantly, how will the fish handle it when they run out?

Off topic (like i was ever on topic!), but straight to the point, our local brew pub has a beer called Angry Man Stout, thus named because some guy ordered it, and they were out. He became so enraged that they started brewing it as a regular offering, and gave it the name Angry Man Stout. It's actually quite good.

My favorite though is Carrie Nation's Bitter.

[Rod_Cloutier]

We don't need total collapse for things to get bad. Just a few recent examples from my personal life:

Today I was driving slowly through a grocery store parking lot and I gently honked at a teen kid who was standing in the middle of the road to get out of the way. Suddenly, the kid and several other teens were screaming insults at me and giving me the finger and making threatening gestures. (Uncalled for I would say).

My soft spoken family doctor had to install a panic button in her office, because people are 'Screaming and yelling' when denied narcotics.

The dentist office has a huge sign which was recently installed which reads 'Verbally abusive and threatening behavior will not be tolerated, and will result in denial of service and/or contacting of authorities'

Once civil society starts unraveling, who knows what's next? How will the world work in the absence of public peace?

[Newfie]

Rod,

I'm not one much to talk about "The Good Ol Days" for I generally don't think things, or people, change that much.

That said, for a long p, long time we have been heading in the direction of a bifurcated society. Haves and ace nots, but also we are becoming socially distant from one another.

Canada has never really been able to get the French and English contingents to assimilate. Don't even talk about the Balkens.

The USA (and Canada) is becoming Balkanized. There is the obvious red/blue split but there are ethnic splits within the cities.

I suspect this was always so, but we went through a period where we thought we could overcome that and become one big happy family. The problem is that humans don't work like that, it's baked in our genes to form colonies and then to defend your colony/faction against others. Team sports are a way for this to occur without social consequences.

As depletion deepens then the colonies/factions will be more likely to blame other colonies/factions (them) and strife ensues.

You simple were not of their colony, not the right age/ethnicity/neighborhood, whatever.

Some years ago in downtown Philly business district I rounded a corner and saw a bunch of teenagers (boys and girls) kicking the shit outta some girl. All of the same ethnicity. I stopped, got out, and forcefully walked up to the. Shouting "stop, stop". They broke and ran. It was only then I realized the size of the gouup, while there wer maybe 6 doing the actual beating the group was maybe 2 dozen. One guy continued to kick her until I got quite close.

The whole group, including the beaten girl, broke and ran. I remember being a bit startled for it reminded me sooo much of a flock of starlings taking flight. The beaten girl stayed with the flock. Even though I interceded, at some risk, in her behalf her ties to the flock were so strong that she stayed with them despite the beating.

I'll never ever do that again. It was silly and dangerous on my part. And did no good.

[ROCKMAN]

newfie - And your story brings to light a constant concern of mine. I have always had a weapon available since for 40 years I've often been down some lonely roads in some fairly scary places while working in the oil patch. Even today I roll into a usually empty dark parking lot at 0600 in not one of the best neighborhoods in Houston. Drawing a weapon to protect myself isn't too much of a concern. The bigger question is how to respond if I see someone else who APPEARS to be in danger? Situations aren't always what they appear to be. But OTOH do you ignore another person's plight?

You did take a big risk interjecting yourself unarmed into that situation. But would the risk been even greater had you been armed and the situation escalated? Or if unarmed and the situation had escalated would you be here today telling the story? All good questions with no answers.

[Newfie]

That's right Rock, you don't find truth here and ther, it lies upon a continuum. The older I get the more I find myself ambivalent, open to a broader spectrum of ideas. Positive of less and less. Sure only of uncertainty.

In this case I think a firearm would have done no good and potentially much harm, to me.

I too have worked in some less than desirable conditions. I've never had a problem, never once wished for a sidearm. That said. Many of our foreman did carry and with good reason. If for no other than to keep the rest of the crew unarmed. I've never even heard of an instance where a firearm was drawn let alone discharged, but I'm sure that would have been kept quiet from management anyway.

There is ONE amusing exception. A half dozen foremen were sitting around the worksite lunch table having a safety meeting when two neighborhood ruffians burst in brandishing knives and demanding money. Six firearms were drawn and the culprits beat a hasty retreat, to roars of laughter!

[Hawkcreek]

That's right Rock, you don't find truth here and ther, it lies upon a continuum. The older I get the more I find myself ambivalent, open to a broader spectrum of ideas. Positive of less and less. Sure only of uncertainty.

In this case I think a firearm would have done no good and potentially much harm, to me.

I've carried a handgun most of the time since I came back from Vietnam in 1969 - yes, I probably am a bit paranoid.
I only came close to using it once, when I interfered with a big, muscle bound galoot, beating his wife. I had already decided to shoot him if he attacked me (I was already over 60, and not ready to take an ass-whipping), but he decided to let her go. I calmed her down (she had two black eyes and a bloody face). I called 911, and the police arrived and arrested him.
The very next day, she bailed him out and they continued to live in domestic disharmony until I left that neighborhood.
I decided then that I would not interfere again, unless I had a very clear idea of the exact situation (domestic fights don't qualify, unless children are involved) .
But I still like guns, and the feeling that I can walk around anywhere without fearing that some druggie can take my money, my car, or my life anytime they feel like it.

[Timo]

Newfie, i for one think you did good in Philly, regardless of the outcome. I guarantee that every one of them remembers you stepping in to put a stop to that madness. I also guarantee you that the girl thanks you for stepping in.

I don't own a gun, and i would have done the exact same thing. I don't know quite how to explain it, but when i see someone in a dangerous situation, my own personal "fear" reflex simply does not activate. My actions are dictated by the situation i see without considerations for my own safety. Granted, i've never faced a situation like you described, so to that extent, my fear reflex has never been tested to that degree. I'm not really interested or anxious to put it to the test, either, but that's the rational me talking, and not the instinctual personal risk-be-damned me. All that said, i completely understand Rock's realization that a weapon might be a good thing to have when facing those types of situations. There is something to be said for forethought. I usually think of forethought in hindsight.

[ROCKMAN]

Timo - I fully understand your position. OTOH Newfie is here to tell history because no one in the group he confronted shoved a knife between his ribs. I can just as easily assume a weapon would have been needed just as easily as he can assume it wasn't given how the matter turned out.

As far as my brother Hawk goes: do you wear a seatbelt because you're paranoid? I've worn my religiously since the day when I helped pull two dead girls from a car involved in a highway collision. I'm also fanatical about pushing safety protocols on my well sites. That's probably from the paranoid nature I developed over 30 years ago when I had to help a tool pusher remove the crushed body of a young hand from the drill floor. had he moved over the 10' as the safety protocol indicated he would not have even been injured let alone killed.

We are all where we are today emotionally based upon our individual experiences. Fortunately many haven't had the experiences Hawk and I have had.

[Timo]

Rock, true dat. True dat. We all have our own personal experiences that collectively have formed us into who we are today. For the vast majority of persons we see in the world around us, however, just trying to contemplate the experiences that led them to be who they are today gives me the heebie-geebies. In that regard, i think we're all better off being left with questions not even considered. There are somethings that i absolutely do not want to know. Therefore, i don't even ask.

So, tell me about your childhood. Did you have a healthy relationship with your mother? Did your father beat the crap out of you every time he came home drunk? Why do you think you have such resistance to accepting the reality of resource depletion? When did you realize that you were attracted to armadillos? Are you ready to admit you have a problem with soft-serve cod toung?

[Timo]

Admit it, Rockman! My previous post made you contemplate what in the name of the Flying Spaghetti Monster happened to me in my past that made me the way i am today. Admit it!!!

Sorry to let you down, but the answer is, not much.

[Hawkcreek]

Rock, true dat. True dat. We all have our own personal experiences that collectively have formed us into who we are today. For the vast majority of persons we see in the world around us, however, just trying to contemplate the experiences that led them to be who they are today gives me the heebie-geebies. In that regard, i think we're all better off being left with questions not even considered. There are somethings that i absolutely do not want to know. Therefore, i don't even ask.

So, tell me about your childhood. Did you have a healthy relationship with your mother? Did your father beat the crap out of you every time he came home drunk? Why do you think you have such resistance to accepting the reality of resource depletion? When did you realize that you were attracted to armadillos? Are you ready to admit you have a problem with soft-serve cod toung?

Now, that's funny!
Good to see we can have different takes on some things, and still maintain a sense of humor.
Good post, Timo.
And I ate my first armadillo enchilada when I was 10, in San Antonio. Good stuff. I've been attracted to them ever since.

[Timo]

Hawk, ask Ibon about armadillos. He's got a great story!

And personally, i prefer my armadillos soft serve, i.e., piping hot, pureed, and minus the exterior armor. That shell does make good crunchy sprinkles on top, though.