Nancy Gregg’s Y2K Series
As presented in the
Siskiyou Daily News
ŠN. E. Gregg 1999
Now you’re Y2K prepared, but are you safe?
This is my last article in this series. You need to know that I consider the proposed Y2K disruption in our nation as an opportunity to return government to the county level, where it was intended to remain for a free society to exist. All the best intentions of any national bureaucracy cannot adequately meet the needs of the people. The people have to be responsible for the administration and decisions of all the services given in the local community. It is a job that requires dedication and vigilance. Those original members on boards of administration were never paid. It should be done as a service to the county so that our nation remains free. (School boards, supervisors, library boards and water boards to name just a few.) Private property rights are essential for a free people. The right of choice is equally important coupled with accountability. Y2K can be a time of unity and renewal for our nation. How we respond will make the difference in our communities, our state and our nation. In my conclusions, I would take great delight in being wrong, but in the assessment of the facts I do not feel that I will be.
We all like to think that if the door is locked we are safe in our own homes. Under the Y2K scenario that I have put before you over the last few weeks, your being safe will depend upon how you act every day and night for as long as these circumstances prevail. Have you ever driven from Weed to Yreka on a clear crisp winter night? How beautiful it is to look over the valley and see the flicker of lights. A street light here, a few homes lit up there and then the lights of Yreka as they inch up the mountains into Greenhorn Pass are most inviting. From ancient times light has been the beacon to say….. come here, there is refuge. Lights mean shelter, warmth and food. Light means something may be there that I need or want.
During W.W.II my mother was vacuuming the living room carpet during a blackout. The air raid warden tapped on her window. She was horrified that the small light on the front of her Hoover could be seen! When everything is black, the flicker of a match gives off one candle power!
Under these conditions you are going to have to remember that the security of your family depends upon no one knowing you are there. If you have a generator, use it for refrigeration, but don’t put lights on at night. Go to bed with the chickens. If you do intend to use it for lights then you must also secure your windows with blackout drapes or black construction paper, etc. for all of your planning the foolish act of letting a light shine might do you in.
During the day we will have to be mindful of who is in the neighborhood. Be careful to notice the stranger. Have as little activity going on as possible. Cook at night when the smoke from a wood stove cannot be seen. Smoke and lights are the beacons that say someone is there.
I have heard it said that we will have to worry about Interstate 5. I really don’t think so. First of all, getting the gasoline to get this far north will be a problem. The county might have to post a militia at the County line to escort them trough. This will have to be coordinated with Oregon, I have heard that Oregon is planning on closing the boarder. This is all moot as under a National Emergency Declaration all travel will be restricted.
People have said, "Anyone that comes to my door, I’ll blow them away!" Sounds very powerful, doesn’t it? That might be fine if it were one or two that came to your door, but with the light beacon you have sent out it might end up being twenty. All you will do is further convince these people that you have something they want. Ultimately, they may have guns and you may be dead. Dying under these circumstances leaves your wife and children with out your abilities that will be required in so many other areas of day to day living.
After taking all these necessary precautions, remember, safety is also an attitude. Remember that our founding fathers came to our shores armed with faith. What is faith? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I would like to share this true story with you…..
In 1985, my cousin who was very close to being a total quadriplegic was notified by the bank that they were going to repossess her home and auction it. She had three miner children and her mother living with her. She called her local priest. (She had attended this Episcopal Church from the time she was a small child.) The priest heard her plight and took the situation to the local parish. The church people started to pray. Weekly they gathered in different homes and prayed very specifically. The priest received funds from the arch diocese to make a bid on the home. The day of the auction arrived, as an act of faith the parishioners had convinced my cousin to st6ay in her bed and pray. No packing was done and no thought given to the prayer not being answered.
Two hours before auction time the church people gathered in prayer. They constantly prayed until one hour past the auction time. It was a simple prayer. "Heavenly father, let them see nothing, let them hear nothing, let them do nothing.
My cousin heard the auctioneer set up on her front step. She was aware that there were several people out front. The gavel came down. A lifetime of seconds went by and then the gavel announced the selling of the property. The priest came in and told her there had been four real-estate people there to bid, however he had purchased the home. She would have a place to stay as long as she lived.
My cousin died a few years later. It was 1997 when I returned to Rhode Island for my
fortieth class reunion. We stayed with my son’s in-laws who invited a friend to meet
us and share lunch. As we were sitting at the table I talked about my cousin. The women
was dumbfounded! My cousin had been her best friend.
"Does anyone know why the real-estate agents did not bid on the house at the
auction," I inquired?
"Yes, my husband and I had need of a Realtor a few months later. When the Realtor
arrived we thought that he had been at that auction. We inquired, ‘were you at the
Smith auction a couple of months ago?"
"Yes, I was there."
"Why didn’t you and the other bid on the home?
"I really don’t know. We were all there waiting for the auction to start and the
next thing we knew it was over, we didn’t hear anything, we didn’t see anything
and we didn’t do anything!"
It had taken me twelve years to find out the entire circumstances that enabled my cousin
to stay in her home. To me it is an example of the faith that formed the foundation of our
nation. Not religion, that is the ritualistic manner in which you worship a deity. This is
about the collective belief of faith regardless of religious views and practices. It is
this kind of faith which we will have to practice if we are to get through the trials
ahead. It is this kind of faith that will keep us safe in unsafe circumstances.
Faith is the foundation of our nation. These trying circumstances will bring America to her knees. It is our reliance on God that will help us restore a free society. Our hearts must daily implore God to keep us safe. Let the stranger, hear nothing, see nothing and do nothing. This prayer worked through faith for my cousin. It can work through our individual faith for us in our homes. Collectively it can bring us through these times a free nation, a beacon of light and hope to the world, one nation under God, the United States of America.
Thank you God for hearing the people of America and bringing us through this crisis free and united!
Nancy Gregg’s book, The Rebirth of OUR Republic by sending $16.00 which includes mailing and handling to The Grassroots Press, P. O. Box 516, Yreka, Ca. 96097
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