Be a Y2K Humbug

Be a Y2K Humbug
by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano

With the turn of the century almost upon us, I have a confession to make: I have prepared for Y2K. Having worked for the last eight years as a consultant to the insurance industry on electronic equipment claims, I know that Y2K glitches can occur. One point-of-sale manufacturer is already being sued for providing a retail outlet with registers that cannot read credit cards with expiration dates past 1999. I am by no means an expert; nevertheless, I don’t expect mass chaos... I expect occasional delays and inconveniences.

Still, I like to be prepared. I don’t have just one life insurance policy, I have several. I don’t have just basic liability for my vehicles, I have extensive coverage. I don’t just carry the minimum on my home’s contents, I have riders for everything. I don’t trust the sanctity of my home to just locks and bolts; I have a monitored security system and personal firepower to keep my family safe.

We started stocking food and water several months ago. We’ve got plenty of firewood and camping cookware, should my decorative but functional fireplace need to serve as kitchen central. I’ve got more candles than I care to count. We have a fair supply of ammunition. The only things required are toilet paper and reserves of cat food.

Should Y2K come and go with barely a whimper, I will breathe a sigh of relief. Instead of going into emergency preparedness mode, I will rejoice in having a stocked cupboard and reduced food bills for months to come. I will enjoy many more romantic candlelit dinners with my husband. I can stoke up the fireplace in the weeks following Christmas to keep that magical holiday glow alive. I can use the water to make sun-baked iced tea or instant lemonade. After my baby is born, I can use those shells at the skeet range for target practice. Finally, I can store the camping cookware with our other gear and dream of summer nights under the stars.

Should Y2K cause more than minor, temporary inconveniences, I expect to see the best in the American people surge forward. Although the media likes to portray Americans as whiny incompetents needing government salvation, the opposite is undeniably true. After the Oklahoma City bombing, thousands of Oklahoma residents answered the call for blood and other donations. After the massacre at Columbine, it was the residents of the city, and of Colorado in total, that united to repair their community and heal the scars. After a deadly F-5 tornado tore a whole town off the map, it was the people of Texas who donated their time, their money, and their possessions to rebuild all that could be rebuilt.

In short, if the government, glory-mongers, and crowd whippers just stay out of the way, I believe average Americans can and will overcome anything. In the face of adversity, we are not nearly as divided or as helpless as the Washington stiffs would like to think.

Come what may, I bid you all to eat, drink, and be merry. Share the spirit of the holiday with friends and strangers alike. Tell the folks around you that you love them. Let yours smiles and laughter echo your rejoicing soul. Count and share your blessings... we are, despite our flaws, still the most blessed people on the face of the earth. We are strong, courageous, steadfast, charitable, and capable of greatness.

We are Americans.

I wish you all nothing but the best in the year, and the century, to come.