I've just had a thought, and I apologize in advance if it's too dark.

[Systematic Chaos]

But, reading these horrible evacuation stories, an image pops into my mind of certain passages from Stephen King's "The Stand". The people desperate to evacuate, the tunnels and roads blockaded, and then the part with the couple trying to navigate the tunnel out of New York. Ugh.

It just scares the hell out of me that if something were to happen on a national level, tens of millions of people in urban areas would just be so screwed. I'm sorry. I just had to get that off my mind because the mental imagery is so powerful it's freaking me out and my wife is due home soon so I don't want to be all disturbed when she gets here. :(

[lildreamer316]

1. Breathe dear.

No sense in jumping the gun here. Things could get worse, or they could get better. Or stay the same. Equal chance of any of the above. There is only so much you can do and then you just have to trust in whatever it is you trust in. Let go, let universe settle itself.......all WILL come balace in the end. We just don't know when that will be.

[swimmernsecretsea]

2. I thought of that, too

I'm glad you mentioned this. I was afraid that I was the only one I knew. Every now and then, I get a shiver, and I have had to stop watching the television and reading news reports on Katrina and Rita.

[Lilsarah]

I've had this on my mind

since Katrina.

[Lilsarah]

38. I've had this on my mind

since Katrina.

[Ksec]

3. Relax

It'll be fine.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Breathe

even breaths, in and out. Slow down the frequency of breaths so that they become longer and deeper. This will help you calm down.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. Not dark at all

I think that's a perfectly reasonable connection to make, given what we're watching. And now, New Orleans is being flooded AGAIN.

Just accept the fact that we ARE all screwed. There's no realistic possibility that the current alleged administration has the competence to do anything beyond implementing tax cuts for the upper brackets. The rest of it is a joke.

In a way, you know, it's a rather safe way of considering our morality, how quickly everything can be gone, and don't you think that's one way of cherishing each and every moment, and, perhaps, not taking very much very seriously? A Zen lesson, if you will, in a really painless teachable moment.

Today, I found myself thinking that Osama bin Laden and the other religious whackjobs have to be laughing their asses off, watching all this happening to us, and our pathetic and (there's that word again) incompetent attempts to deal with everything. It probably convinced them that their god is punishing us for our profligate (to them) ways of life.

I'm not sure why the poor and infirm and newborn and elderly are being punished, but it may be that OBL's god is a mean old bastard.

What do they know? All of this has come down on us because of the lesbians. Maybe the Jews, too.

(JOKE, PEOPLE)

[AuntieM1957]

9. No, it's the fault of the blue eyed blondes nt

[Systematic Chaos]

10. And don't forget us damn LIBERALS...

...and whoever else Pat "fuckface" Robertson has a bug up his ass over this week.

Yeah, I got the joke. And I love jaded humor. :rofl:

[Systematic Chaos]

6. Thank you, everybody.

I think at this point what I need to do is get away from the computer for a while, maybe take a nice long shower, and divert my attention somehow. How the hell am I going to handle it when I'm the one who's personally affected, when something going on 3 states away is doing this to me? I just have to believe that somehow I can be cool, collected and resourceful when I have to. :wave:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

12. Lots of sex

And then lots of weed or wine, some Mel Brooks movies, and a good night's sleep.

Stay outdoors tomorrow, don't turn on any TVs, and count your blessings.

We ain't got nothing except this moment, baby.

[spacelady]

49. I like your way of dealing with Captain Trips, time is short, no matter

which way the wind blows.

[BelgianMadCow]

53. excellent advice

will do just that.

I find the movie much cornier now compared to first viewing at age 12, but "Highway to the danger zone" on the Top Gun soundtrack has the following :

gotta live your life as if each second was the final one.


Just another version of carpe diem, but one that has been stuck in my mind since.

[AuntieM1957]

7. I have this recurring dream

always blew it off before.

Galveston is near where I grew up, so it is the city in my dream.

I'm strolling along the main shopping area, then near the seawall. I turn toward the beach and see the water like I've never seen it.
Like the OCEAN, not the Gulf is coming to us.

I get in the car, and find roads packed all the way to Houston. The water follows us. I wake up when the water reaches us.

[SlipperySlope]

8. national level?

"something were to happen on a national level"

Maybe I would get this if I had read The Stand. What do you mean something happening on an national level? I can't imagine evacuating the entire nation.

Everything has trade-offs. Anyone living in an big city should now that one of the trade-offs they have accepted is that they can't count on being able to get out quickly if something bad happens.

Here's another one I've been thinking about. Even if the city itself was fine, any major city would become very unpleasant very quickly if it was cut off from transportation for long. How long would New York stay habitable, even if the city itself was pristine, if no food, water, electricity, or gasoline was coming in?

[Mutley]

16. Well, in The Stand..

There was a virus/apocalyptic type event that went on that killed most of the people in the US (and the planet I'm assuming but he didn't talk about that as far as I can remember - It's been several years since I read it OR saw the TV series). Perhaps by national level he's thinking of something along the lines of a mass virus, or a nuclear bombing in all the major cities or something.

[Systematic Chaos]

21. Yeah, or Yellowstone blowing its top and decimating half a dozen states.

Just something really, really bad.

[Mutley]

23. *Shudder*

Ugh. I've had a recurring nightmare about volcanos since I was a little kid. I try not to think about an eruption at Yellowstone.

[Systematic Chaos]

18. First, let me suggest that you find the time to read "The Stand"

It is an absolute literary classic. I don't give a tinker's DAMN (thanks Mike Malloy!) if you otherwise like Stephen King or think he's just a pop trash author. And make sure it's the 1000+ page unabridged edition. There is not one wasted paragraph the whole way through.

Without spoiling anything, the main premise of the book is that a "superbug" escapes the confines of a secret genetics lab, and within the space of a couple weeks over 99% of the entire world's population has bought it. And let me tell you that the narration is just so vivid and so terrifying in places that as long as I live I will never forget that book.

And yes, the two main characters from New York have to make their escape, and quickly, because the stench of the dead and the feral animals and the vermin will finish them off if they don't. The electricity finally quits after they enjoy their last meal in the city in what was once a steakhouse. The whole place undisturbed and theirs for a couple hours.

[SlipperySlope]

22. Thanks for the suggestion

added to my wishlist.

[Horse with no Name]

42. The book is classic

I started reading it around 8-9 one morning.
I didn't do anything except go to the bathroom and get something to drnk til 7 o'clock the next morning when I finished it.
I couldn't put it down.

[zbird]

11. I live about 15 miles from a nuclear power plant.

The area is basically rural, but in case of an emergency here, I have no expectations of being able to evacuate the area. I have a friend who worked for the road commission a few years ago, and was trained in emergency management. He told me that in case of emergency, the main concern was not evacuation, but the blockade of the roads in the area. Contamination is to be contained.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

14. That's good,

but we have a place 10 minutes from the Pentagon.

We'll never even know it when the whip comes down.

We should spend more time there, come to think of it.

[Fridays Child]

13. Since Selection 2000, the imagery of "The Stand" has often come to mind.

Will Captain Trips escape from the Galveston bio-lab?

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/092305_biodefense_program.shtml

[OldLeftieLawyer]

15. Answer me this, please, if you can

I loved the book, but never saw the movie.

Should I?

[Mutley]

19. I think you should.

I liked it. It's 8 hours long, though, so nothing you're going to be able to watch in one sitting. And, it's probably not really okay for kids if you have any.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

39. Damn

The kids are grown. Otherwise, it might have made a great threat, no?

Thank you.

[Mutley]

52. Lol! Great threat, indeed.

It's mostly something that would probably be too scary for kids, and there's a little sex involved, too, though I don't remember if there is much nudity.

[Systematic Chaos]

20. Yes. Absolutely!

To be honest, it could be another couple hours long, because some of the best parts of the book, like Grandma Moses' trip back to her shack after killing the gamebirds for her charges' first supper together, aren't present. But, for the time they had allotted to them, they did a tremendous job.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

40. Thank you

I might re-read the book first, and then watch the movie. It's been a long, long time.

Thanks again.

[Fridays Child]

24. I think the mini-series was a good representation of the book.

Of necessity, many scenes were left out but, to include all of King's great imagery, probably would have tripled the length of the series. Still, the film followed the book very closely, and the actors were surprisingly good in their roles. I never would have thought of Molly Ringwald, for example, as right for the part of Frannie. But she acquitted herself quite well, as did most of the others.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

33. As I recall

that was the start of Rob Lowe's redemption after his underage sex scandal. Glad he persevered.

[Fridays Child]

35. I wonder if the rehabilitation of his reputation was helped by...

...playing the innocent and good Nick Andros.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

54. I couldn't say

I have not read or seen the Stand, and I don't watch the West Wing, so I don't know the character you refer to. After all the discussion tho I intend to read the book.

[Fridays Child]

55. It's King's best, in my opinion. I hope you enjoy it.

nt

[OldLeftieLawyer]

41. OK, that's it

I'm gonna re-read the book and then watch the movie.

Thanks very much .

[spacelady]

50. Yes, the movie was one of the best book treatments I have ever seen

and The Stand was a big bill to fill. Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Ray Walston (a favorite), Rob Lowe, Ruby Dee, So many big names and so many amazing scenes.

[SlowDownFast]

44. Personally, I thought the movie sucked.

I read the book first (couldn't put it down), and like always, when I've read the book first, the movie disappoints.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

45. I just bought a hardcover copy, the uncut version,

on eBay.

For $.25.

But, now I'm curious about the movie, so we'll see.

And thanks.

[kath]

47. It's very, very hard for a movie to be as good as the book on which it was

based (at least, for those who read the book first).

I saw a great t-shirt in a catalog a few years back:
"Never judge a book by its movie"

[Ilsa]

17. Other movies with gridlock evacuations:

Independence Day
The recently remade War of the Worlds
That giant asteroid movie with Morgan Freeman as pres, Robert Duval as astronaut, Tea Leoni as a reporter who broke the story (oh yeah, Deep Impact)

I can't think of any others right now. So stay away from these.

[Guaranteed]

29. Jesus CHRIST- War of the Worlds, at the dock, getting onto

the ferry.

[Connie_Corleone]

32. The remake of War of the Worlds was very intense.

It was better than I thought it would be.

[Guaranteed]

36. It was an outstanding movie, most definitely. nt

[Cleita]

25. Well, the epidemic that wiped out most of the population in "The

Stand" could make that happen. I hope BushCo isn't so crazy that they would unleash bio-weapons on the population to save their asses.

[undergroundpanther]

48. Yes

they would because THEY got the antidote/cure and they MADE the superbug too.These pigs wish to cull us lest they lose thier grip of control.

[The_Casual_Observer]

26. This business of evacuating whole cities seems to be a new trend

nothing was designed to accomodate this.

[Greylyn58]

27. I know how you feel

I've had images from "The Stand" rolling around in my head too especially after seeing the news footage of the long lines of traffic in TX.

The Stand is still my favorite of all King's books. I guess because the subject matter seems all too real.

Don't feel alone in your thoughts. :pals:

[Guaranteed]

28. Anyone have a description of the people trying to navigate the tunnel

out of New York?

Never read this book.

[Greylyn58]

34. The section of the book

dealing with the tunnel is really creepy.

After most of NYC have died from the superflu or "Captain Trips" as it is called by the West Coast of US a few people find that they are immune. Two of them meet in NY...Larry Underwood--a budding Singer, who had just had a song released and Nadine Cross a woman having very vivid dreams about a man she's suppose to meet and marry(Won't say more about this or I'll give alot away)

Anyway, they both decide they need to leave NYC and after gathering things they will need, they end up at the Holland Tunnel that connects NY to New Jersey. There are rows and rows of cars(full of the dead) leading into the tunnel and the interior of said tunnel is pitch black past a few feet inside.

King then talks about them walking through and it is really creepy. The mini series is excellent on this. Well worth renting the DVD to watch it.

Hope this helps.

[Guaranteed]

37. Absolutely, thanks! nt

[newswolf56]

30. Absolutely true. Unless you are rich, urban living is a death sentence:

one of the increasingly bitter truths of the New America.

I am elderly, impoverished and have no family. I was forced out of my 12-year rural home by a change of owners, and forced back into a city (after 17 continuous years of rural living) by the wildly inflated prices of rural housing in the Puget Sound area: as I said, a death sentence -- one from which there is no appeal.

Moreover as someone who worked a journalism career spanning 45 years I have no illusions about America nor the steadily worsening savagery into which it is sinking. Thus I recognized the deadly consequences of returning to a city long before I learned I had to move. The spectacle of New Orleans merely provides horrific confirmation of my knowledge. Major disasters are rare locally -- mostly limited to earthquakes or volcanic eruptions -- but if one occurs, I am dead. Period.

My survival skills are all rural skills -- hunting, fishing, vegetable gardening, even trapping if necessary. In my former residence I could have lived at least two months -- maybe three, possibly even four -- without electricity or transportation; I cooked by propane, heated by wood, if necessary could cook by wood, and drew my water from a well; my gardens provided abundant vegetables, and the area was rich with game and fish. Beyond that, I genuinely know how to live off the land -- how to forage for edible plants.

But such knowledge and skills are utterly useless in a city -- and this city, Tacoma, already has the most chronically inept law enforcement (and therefore the most dangerous street criminals) I have ever encountered. Ever. Anywhere. Which is precisely why here -- if there is a breakdown of the sort that happened in New Orleans -- I am doomed. If I survive the initial event, I will be deliberately abandoned (along with all the rest of the poor), and will either be killed by thirst, starvation, exposure or some combination of all these things, or be murdered as the strong -- the gang members -- begin preying mercilessly upon the weak: all the rest of us, and most especially those of us who are elderly.

Welcome to the REAL America. I am not sure which is more infuriating: the hideous truth -- or the fact so damnably many people are in such absolutely stubborn denial about it.

[catnhatnh]

31. Both yes and no...

if they die in large part (ala Stephen King) there is NO problem...90 to 95 % have convieniently died leaving the supplies in peace to the survivors...Also for the suburban and rural areas...as long as 90% plus die supplies are bountiful...But a real life disaster that kills less than 10% leaves both a disrupted supply system and 90% of the population competing for the remaining viable 50% or less of supplies with no prospect of resupply...Think not of a small portion of the population trying to find an oversupply-think of a major portion of the population competing for not enough to sustain life...That's where REAL modern terror is...the healthy youthful types WILL survive but describing the cost will be ugly...just my best guess...

[davsand]

43. Last time I was in a metro area I couldn't wait to get out.

I spent a week in the Chicago Loop on business this last summer and while I was there I had that thought too. I finally looked out at the lakefront and thought--"DUH!!! Hop a boat and get the hell out if it gets ugly!"

Even WITH that realization, I have to confess that I was a lot happier once I got past I80.

Seems to me that New York and any other waterfront city could be exited pretty quickly with a boat (unless it was a hurricane you were trying to escape. Boating doesn't sound like such a good plan in that case...)

I did read the Stand too, BTW. I think everyone should read it at least one time, if for no other reason than to pick up some of King's more colorful phrases. He REALLY is a much better writer than a lot of people want to admit.



Laura

[lateo]

46. M O O N that spells Old Europe...

Sorry, I couldn't help myself....

[Biased Liberal Media]

51. LOL

Lawsss yesss.