by J P Whitney
∆∆∆
Eli’s Journal - 7/15/21
Day 12 in the shelter and I’m starting to feel out of sorts without my daily routine of reading the headlines at the newsstand and making my sign. On the bright side, I’m pleasantly surprised by how well everyone is behaving in here even though we have twice as many people as the shelter can comfortably accommodate. One of the directors had a good idea to play rock/paper/scissors for the cot to determine who got to sleep there first. I lost to my bunkmate but my knapsack makes a decent pillow and the wool blanket is all I ever use anyway. I slept better than usual and woke to the smell of brewing coffee. All in all, a good day.
I volunteered to help prepare meals, clean up, and distribute whatever needs distributing. Anything to stay busy and useful. Might as well earn my keep and make the time go by faster. I figure it helps maintain a positive state of mind as well.
I still haven’t had one of those weird blackout auto-writing experiences. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful. But it’s weird that they went away so suddenly. Maybe the stress about the Blue Flu and uncertainty of where I was going to stay each night had gotten to me. I feel like my usual self mentally, though I hate being confined to the shelter like this.
Chapter 8
Tabor Mountain Lockdown
Day 12: Tabor Mountain Isolation – A Blue Flu Survival Blog
7/15/2021 - Olsen property, Tabor Mountain, Oregon.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you about not being a very good writer. Just realized I left out a ton of stuff that I should have at least mentioned yesterday. But this is a work in progress and my self-help self, just as hard to write as it is to say, by the way, has instructed me to not worry about structure, and just let it flow. I suppose no one's reading this for entertainment purposes with a critical eye so that’s one benefit of being a blog journal. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Family Member
Age
Status
Tommy Olsen
45
Healthy
Sara Olsen
40
Healthy
Tucker Olsen
18
Healthy
Bryce Olsen
15
Healthy, despite serious exposure.
Medical Status: healthy. No changes.
Timeline:
Date
Event
Notes
5/28/21
Jonathan dies in Bryce’s class
* 530 cases
6/30/21
State of Emergency Declared
Death toll = 100,000
7/3/21
Mandatory Home Quarantines
Death toll = 197,000
7/14/21
Tabor Mountain Isolation
Death toll = 218,400
7/15/21
Day 12 ramblings
Death toll = 247,517
*Note: After a lot of searching I found an article from early June in which an official from the CDC spoke about an estimated 530 cases of mysterious flu virus infections that were taking the lives of otherwise healthy people. I guess poor Jonathan was one of those stats.
Rations:
Fully stocked: Enough food for at least 6 months. No change since yesterday.
Question 1: Would it be useful if I generated a list of key supplies? Not sure if it’s helpful to anyone but it is data. The longer this quarantine goes on, the supply list might be a good barometer of just how critical the levels are becoming. I know, yesterday I said I was wary about sharing too much information but I’m going to do it anyway.
Questions 2: I’m just thinking out loud, and looking further down the road, but could this site also serve as a bulletin board for exchanging goods? An electronic swap meet of sorts? If someone is running low on toothpaste but has a surplus of ammo (yes bullets will become the favored form of currency when everything else fails) then a trade could be set up?
The following is the beginning of my list. As we run through the perishables in the refrigerator/freezer and other consumable items in the house I’m sure we’ll find other things to add to the list. Nothing like the realization you may not get another roll of dental floss for several months to shake you out of taking things for granted and make you take stock. Of items yes but also what’s important in life. I can’t imagine life without dental floss.
Supply List:
Category
Goods
Quantity
Comment
Energy
Batteries
150
Assortment of AA, AAA, and 9V
Candles
5 large, 14 small
Large Jar 150 hrs, small pillar 75 hours
Solar
250W (40 panels)
10kW (max) total generated
Solar battery
1 (5000mAh 2.1A)
Rechargeable in 8hrs of full sunlight
Generator
2
2500W
Fuel
Gasoline
275 + 30 Gallons
Fuel tank plus two full automobiles
Food
Meat
Beef, pork, salmon
Standup freezer fully stocked
Rice
100 lbs
Two bags (50lb ea) of organic white
beans
100 lbs
Five bags (20lb ea) of organic pinto
Coconut milk
48 cans
Two cases of organic coconut cream
Hemp milk
20 quarts
Aseptic packaged.1 yr shelf life.
Tuna
50 cans
vegetables
Seasonal
Garden w/ cabbage, kale, carrots, potatoes
Eggs
~6 per day
9 hens laying year-round
GF Flour
20 lbs
Gluten-Free
Heirloom seeds
50 packets
Variety of beans, lettuce, cabbage, squash, cucumber, onion, garlic, kale, carrot, potato, cauliflower, broccoli
Emergency Food
10 buckets
300 meals
Water
260 gallons
Why do we have more fuel than H20?
Ammo
12 gauge
500 rounds
20 gauge
300 rounds
.40 cal
900 rounds
.22 cal
1000 rounds
Essentials
Toilet paper
90 rolls
Toothpaste
10 tubes
toothbrushes
~30
Dentist visit freebies
Dental floss
~30 rolls
Matched set with the toothbrushes
Surgical Masks
40
Ramblings (formerly known as Comments and observations):
This morning I pondered my actions immediately following the State of Emergency announcement. It’s interesting to me that after writing the first blog submission yesterday it seemed to make all of this more … real. I replayed the steps I’d gone through during the preparation stage, partially questioning if I had missed anything, but mainly wondering if I was overreacting.
Then I remembered the National Guard troops that were already being deployed as I was racing, as calmly as possible, to purchase generators, toilet paper, and bullets. The hair stood up on the back of my neck and arms as I recalled the men in fatigues, and it dawned on me what they signified. At the time, I was so single-mindedly focused on where I had to go next to pick up crucial survival items that I must have blanked out the presence of the Guards. They were mainly patrolling the streets as a show of force. A visual reminder to remain calm, and that looting and hoarding would not be tolerated. Quietly going through their deployments in the background while we collected as many items as we could without looking too greedy and then standin
g nervously in long lines.
Call me a conspiracy nut job but stop and think about this for a minute. Think about all the time required to plan and coordinate something of this magnitude? How many days, weeks, or months before the President’s speech had they already determined the orders would be issued? They would have had to coordinate with the post office, FedEx, UPS and other food, drug, and supply distributors. Then there were the utility companies, hospitals, police departments, and the National Guard to get on board. You couldn’t just spring your plans on all these unsuspecting organizations and private companies during a live news conference and expect them to comply or for things to go smoothly. They would have had to plan this out for several weeks prior to the announcement. How did they keep it all under wraps? And looking at my handy dandy timeline above we see the first cases of Blue Flu surfaced approximately six weeks prior to the President’s speech. Is it possible they could already see how bad this was going to get and started planning that long ago? I suppose the government has a contingency plan for everything so I shouldn’t be surprised.
No, I haven’t overreacted. Maybe I should NOT have followed the President’s orders to remain calm. Maybe I should have panicked, and started hoarding goods in a bigger way. But then again, we haven’t yet seen how well the food delivery program will function and for how long. We haven’t yet seen if the vaccinations will help and if we’ll all get one. I’m skeptical but I guess we’ll see. Starting in a precise, 4 to 6-week window.
Public Service Announcement: Speaking of the National Guard, they were mentioned on the stopblue.gov site. Specifically, how to contact them if things got out of control. We don’t even have to learn anything new! Just dial 911. Got to hand it to the government this time. They know how to keep things simple and efficient when they want to.
Neighborhood Watch Program:
Nothing too exciting to report here. We share four wooded acres with our neighbors the Dodson’s. The property is on a small mountain and basically surrounded by large, upper-middle-class homes in a suburb southwest of Portland. We literally have the only gravel road on the mountain, and our homes are invisible from the road, tucked away at the end of a quarter-mile-long driveway. The houses of the surrounding neighborhoods back up to our property lines and are separated by a combination of wild blackberry bushes, pine trees, and high fences. It took us forever to find this property. Located in a great school district, with reasonable commuting times, close to stores and restaurants but also secluded enough that we could have free-range chickens. Be careful what you ask for. We now have isolation in spades. More on this later.
Back to what I was saying about the Dodson’s. They have a large garden, an entire season's worth of firewood, apple and pear trees, a small stream running through the woods, and a large barn in addition to their house. They are nice, respectful, church-going folks, and pretty much keep to themselves tending to their flowers and garden, canning the annual fruit harvest, and antiquing. They are the ideal neighbors to weather the storm with. Especially if their three linebacker sons and their families joined them. Except it didn’t work out that way at all. Within a few days of the announcement, they informed us they’d be going to their farm on the Oregon coast that had been in the family for generations while they were still free to travel. They’d have more room for their children and grandchildren there on the 30-acre horse property. We had permission to use anything and everything they left behind. Their three sons and their wives arrived in three separate trucks and were pulling utility trailers. We’re not talking about your basic pickups here. These beasts were one step away from being considered farm equipment. Two Ford F250s and one Dodge Ram 2500HD. All of them quad cabs, turbo diesel-powered, and set up for pulling RVs and horse trailers. The beds of the trucks and one of the trailers were all neatly loaded with supplies. We helped them load the two empty trailers with firewood, axes, shovels and other tools. The Dodson’s pickup was then loaded with personal items, coolers, and as much canned food as the ancient Ford F100 could handle. We embraced Dirk and Mary Anne fiercely with tears streaming down our faces. They are like our adopted grandparents, and we never expected them to vacate during the quarantine. I wrote down the URL for the blog site and said we’d take good care of their garden and orchards. Dirk handed us the keys saying maybe their house would become a shelter for someone else in a time of need.
I’ll never forget Dirk’s parting words as he leaned out the window of his idling truck. They were part confession and part inspiration. “Mary Anne pulled some strings at the hospital and got the entire family vaccinated a few days ago. Even the bracelets. Her boss was furious when he found out but what was he going to do? Fire her? I’m telling you this because we might not return for quite a while if ever. I don’t think this is going to blow over quickly. And being so close to Portland, I fear this property might be in the crosshairs if a mass exodus occurs out of the city. That’s the main reason we’re heading to the coast. Be careful, keep that beautiful family safe, and if push comes to shove, shoot first and ask questions later. A verse came to me while we were packing the truck, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to share it as a prayer for the coming times.”
He grabbed my hands, lowered his head, and began to pray.
‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’- Isaiah 41:10
We watched their small convoy kick up dust on the gravel road. And there we stood. The four of us. Completely isolated on Tabor Mountain.
Chapter 9
Tabor Mountain Blog 3
Day 12 (2nd Entry): Tabor Mountain Isolation – A Blue Flu Survival Blog
7/15/2021 - Olsen property, Tabor Mountain, Oregon.
I don’t consider myself a religious man but Dirk’s parting words and prayer were powerful. Scary yet comforting. Nothing like a national emergency starring a killer virus to smack you in the face with the concepts of mortality and God.
Strange to think the Dodson’s may now be reading about the happenings in their now vacated backyard through this blog.
Hi Dirk and Mary Anne! Please leave a few words down in the comment section to let us know everyone is OK and settled in at the coast. We love and miss you guys.
Daily ramblings:
There goes the neighborhood!
I’m hesitant to share the following information but since the Dodson’s are now at the coast there is hopefully very little risk one of their sons will come and beat me up. What for? For cutting down a 100-foot tall cottonwood tree at the entrance of our property. We felled it across the road and piled blackberry bushes in front of it in an attempt to camouflage the entry to our property. It now looks more like a gravel turnout area on the side of the main road where some people have been collecting firewood and dumping brush. Of course, other neighbors know there are houses down here but most have never seen the property, and we’re mainly guarding against scouting parties that might start casing out houses for raids or hideouts. Our place really would be ideal under the circumstances so we’d like to keep it hidden and protected. Once again, maybe this is too paranoid but I’d rather prepare now than react later under stress. That dang tree is four feet in diameter and took us about an hour to cut through with the 36” bar on our chainsaw. Anybody that wants to drive up our road will have to be very motivated and stop for lots of sawing. To which we would be alerted and could respond appropriately. I just don’t want to be surprised. But haven’t we painted ourselves into a corner by blocking off our entrance and exit to the property? What if we need to evacuate? Well, I’m glad you asked. We placed one of our vehicles in front of a house that is still under construction in the next neighborhood. It hasn’t been touched by the contractors since the State of Emergency was declared. I put for sale signs in the windows and pulled the starter relay just to make sure no one takes it. Worst case, someone siphons the fuel but we have plenty of that so not a big deal.