There are a number of aspects of society that provide us with, what at least a portion of the population, is contemplating. Obvious examples are this newspaper, current books, movies and the things radio and TV talk show programs are keying on. In the past year or so, one subject that seems to be getting a lot of play is the end of times theme, or if not the end, at least a scenario that includes mass destruction and the death of many of Earth”s inhabitants.
This year alone I have watched the movies “2012,” “The Book of Eli” and “The Road.” My wife and I have relatives and friends who are stocking food, water and other supplies because they believe something horrible is coming, and coming soon. The people I know who talk about this pending doomsday situation are not kooks. They are intelligent, rational people who are firm in their belief that something bad, which will include a societal deterioration pitting people against each other for basic necessities, is highly likely.
I have not scoffed at their fears, but I have not been in total agreement that something like that is imminent. I hadn”t been exposed to these kinds of discussions since the Cold War ended. Like most of my generation, the baby boomers, I can still recall the nuclear bomb drills in elementary school and the yellow and black fallout shelter signs that went up on buildings that had basements stocked with crackers and water. It isn”t pleasant to return to a situation in which there is a constant cloud hovering over us.
At first, I thought it was just the spate of movies and talk show comments driving this. I also thought that the recession was just scaring people. I”m sure that a lot of people thought the end of the world was near during the Great Depression. The frightening thing about all of this is that there are enough people who believe that the “big dark” is coming soon that doomsday shelter sales are out of the basement, so to speak, and through the roof.
A recent USA Today article mentioned that Jason Hodge, from Barstow, had just bought space in a doomsday shelter. Robert Vicino, from Del Mar, has started a company that will provide space and provisions at a cost of $50,000 per adult and $25,000 per child. His first location is a 13,000 square foot underground facility near Barstow. It was once a U.S. government shelter.
Vicino is selling space in his shelters with the idea that 2012 is coming soon, and if that doesn”t turn out disastrous, there will surely be an earthquake, tsunami, solar flare or comet at some point.
A Texas company by the name of Radius Engineering has been building underground shelters for several decades. They have models that can accommodate from 10 to 2,000 people. Company president Walton McCarthy recently said that, “Business has never been better.”
I”ve been trying to formulate my thinking on this issue for a while. I know I”m not going to buy a personal, underground shelter or rent space in some huge facility. I”m not going to buy more guns and ammo. At some point, if the signs suggest the need, I might stock up on canned food and water. I still live by the code that self-preservation is the first law of life and I would do what I do now. I will try to do whatever is morally and ethically right each day to survive.
Gary Dickson is the editor and publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. E-mail him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
