A year ago I would have run to ATS to share this; I’m now proud to make this my “home” forum.
First of all, I’m firmly in the camp of not caring at all about the eclipse. It will be just another day for me, albeit one where I avoid potentially crowded areas. I live in rural extreme northern Vermont and we are expecting around 250,000 people to come to my area to see the eclipse. You read that correctly, not 25,000.
Those who know me from ATS also know I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a fairly recently-retired fed. Thus, most of my friends are or were in the federal government as well.
I was chatting with someone who is still employed by the government just now when the individual dropped a bombshell that I’ve never heard mentioned. This person commented how my wife and I are some of the most calm people they know when it comes to the eclipse. Almost everyone in the area is in some sort of panic, whether it be fear of widespread crime, power outages, or natural disasters.
I shrugged my shoulders and told this person that we simply don’t care because we are both lifelong preparedness-lifestyle types and being prepared for anything means we panic at nothing. This individual then sort of smiled and said something to the effect of, “I know why you’re not in a panic, and I know why I’m not and (person we both know well) isn’t in a panic either.” I thought the comment was odd and I asked what they meant. The reply was chilling because this person still works for the government and certainly knows a lot more than was being revealed.
The response was, “what will people do if the eclipse doesn’t happen? What if nothing close to an eclipse is observed? Quite the opposite of panic, I’d say. So don’t expect any panic that day”. I asked for further details and all I got was “you’ll see”.
First of all, I’m firmly in the camp of not caring at all about the eclipse. It will be just another day for me, albeit one where I avoid potentially crowded areas. I live in rural extreme northern Vermont and we are expecting around 250,000 people to come to my area to see the eclipse. You read that correctly, not 25,000.
Those who know me from ATS also know I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a fairly recently-retired fed. Thus, most of my friends are or were in the federal government as well.
I was chatting with someone who is still employed by the government just now when the individual dropped a bombshell that I’ve never heard mentioned. This person commented how my wife and I are some of the most calm people they know when it comes to the eclipse. Almost everyone in the area is in some sort of panic, whether it be fear of widespread crime, power outages, or natural disasters.
I shrugged my shoulders and told this person that we simply don’t care because we are both lifelong preparedness-lifestyle types and being prepared for anything means we panic at nothing. This individual then sort of smiled and said something to the effect of, “I know why you’re not in a panic, and I know why I’m not and (person we both know well) isn’t in a panic either.” I thought the comment was odd and I asked what they meant. The reply was chilling because this person still works for the government and certainly knows a lot more than was being revealed.
The response was, “what will people do if the eclipse doesn’t happen? What if nothing close to an eclipse is observed? Quite the opposite of panic, I’d say. So don’t expect any panic that day”. I asked for further details and all I got was “you’ll see”.
