Today provided a useful lesson in how the general public will behave just before some impending trouble. Today was also a perfect example of Proverbs 23:3, “The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble.”
Procrastination On Display
While on the way to church this morning, we passed a local tire shop. All of their bays were full of cars. The parking lot was completely full of cars. Cars were parked along the street for lack of room. Typical for this store is having three or four cars in the lot or the bays. What was different about today? The forecast was for a foot of snow starting this evening. All of those people were in there to get snow tires — at the very last minute!
When we drove back home, hours later, the bays and parking lot were still full and there were more cars parked along the road. All these late-lings had only a couple hours left before the storm was due to hit and they still did not have their snow tires. Would the store close (it was Sunday evening, after all) and some of them be turned away?
The funny thing in this is that the storm was being predicted for days in advance. It was no surprise. Even back before Thanksgiving, there were forecasts predicting a big snowfall for New England, starting Sunday afternoon. Yet, here it was, two hours before the storm and people were all jammed up at the last minute to get snow tires. What were they all doing for the past many days that was so much more important?
A Reminder For Preppers
Today’s tire store was a good reminder of how the majority of the general public will react to a crisis. They will wait until the last minute and all show up at once. Back to Proverbs 23:3. A wise prepper should anticipate this and avoid that crowd.
I have a friend who just happens to work in a tire store (not the one pictured above). He reports that business has been crazy-busy ahead of this storm. People have been waiting in line for hours to get to the sales counter. They’ve waited for hours for their car to get worked on. No one is having a good time.
Which would you prefer to be, in the last-minute crowd, or home and all set?
Avoid Last Minute Runs
As tempting as it might be to make one last run for supplies before the trouble hits, you are more likely to spend a lot of time waiting with the crowd of impatient procrastinators and not really getting more prepared than you were. From prior experience, it is also likely that by the time you get into the store, whatever you went for will be sold out. Store inventories are seldom geared for peak crowds.
A prepper mindset would have those supplies already stocked up, or would have at least taken the first hints to trouble-to-come to quickly assess things and fill any gaps.
Prepping & Peace of Mind
With the storm now underway, it’s nice to enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing the homestead is prepped to handle a sizable winter storm. If we can’t get out tomorrow, no big deal. If the power goes out, it will not be an OMG moment.
Prepping doesn’t have to be about tinfoil-hat scenarios. Prepping at the practical level is about peace of mind.
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Postscript: The S (snow) Hit The Fan
The weathermen were right this time. The two-day storm (soon to be a three-day storm) hit and dumped 18 inches on our area of New Hampshire. It was Instant Winter! All those poor souls who showed up late at the tire store were stuck (perhaps literally) with their summer tires when the storm hit.
Good advice. I don’t live where it snows (Florida), We have something even more fun than snowstorms we get hurricanes. Everytime a hurricane come close to Florida people freak out and panic. Stores are emptied of all types of food and supplies. Water disappears in minutes, gas stations have long lines and soon run out of gas.
Native Floridians, like myself, know the drill and have supplies far in advance. Hurricane season starts June 1st and ends November 30th. By the weekend before June 1st, I have everything I need stocked up.
FLAPrepper1,
Good example with the hurricane panic. Sounds like the exact same thing at play. The masses of the general public remain oblivious — almost deliberately — until the problem is on their doorstep. As you say, hurricanes happen every year. Why isn’t everyone in Florida already prepped for them?
Amen, brother. I’m in NE Florida and have been seriously prepping for years, so there really is no reason for me to make a last minute run to the store, except for one thing:
Beer.
Normally I do not stockpile suds, so a drive to the store is usually necessary before the winds start blowing. Bottoms up!
I will Never, ever understand how people can be so unprepared that they rummage through dumpsters like some did in Long Island after Sandy. It is very rare that a potential BAD weather event goes unforecasted. IF you choose to pick up dinner on your way home every night, you should at least pick up several meals when bad weather is forecasted….but noooo, people refuse to have a loaf of bread in the freezer and a jar of peanut butter in the cabinet.
Water, food that requires little to no prep and some way to keep warm don’t seem like hard items to have in the house. *Shaking my head* Common sense isn’t as common as it used to be.
Hi Cass. I shake my head too. That’s why the rush to buy snow tires — just HOURS before the storm — struck me so odd. The storm was forecast for several days before. As you say, common sense isn’t that common anymore. Too much of the general public seem to be blithely clueless. It’s good for us preppers to recognize that’s how they’re going to operate.
Good article Mic. Good reminder on staying ahead of the game when it comes to preparedness.
Hi Chip. Yes, staying ahead of the desperate crowds is a good idea. Reflecting on all this with the wife last night, it seems as if the “Just In Time” mindset of the retail world has percolated into the consciousness of the public — wait until you have a need and THEN go out to buy it.