Rage Against The Eclipse

[Lambykins]

I know we have another thread on the topic, but things are ramping up here as we get closer to April 8th, and not in a good way.
As I have mentioned, I live in a rather remote town/village of 2,200 people. The town of Pittsburg, 12 miles up Route 3, has 800 people.
The powers that be are estimating our tourist influx for this event to be between 10,000 and 60,000. That's the highs and lows, so we figure it will be somewhere in the middle.
Every cabin, hotel/motel room, rv space, campground, B&B room, Air B&B, spare room, etc. has been rented out for the event. In a 50 to 100 mile radius.
We have a 12 bed hospital. No surgical suite or surgeons, because surgical patients are sent south to a hospital that has surgeons 45 minutes away. And that one has limited capacity.
We have no real jail. We have a holding cell. Capacity: ONE.
We have (counting county sheriff, etc) less than a dozen LEOs. Our newest hires are 23 yrs old, fresh outta the academy, and 58 yrs old, fresh into retirement from his previous job. (But as the girls say, dey both cute!)

Now....here we go.
The governor is sending up a couple dozen state troopers, county sheriffs, fish and game people (they have power of arrest in NH) to assist. Newest announcement, also National Guard folks.
The local PD has already acquired air mattresses and cots to put in our tiny town hall and police station (same building) for some of these guys to sleep. Also, local LEOs are being asked to open their homes to accommodate the added personnel.
Where the hell are we going to put National Guard people?
Looks like it might be the local school. We have K thru 12 in one building. (Average graduating senior class here is 14 to 17 students)
 We are quietly going a little crazy up here.
I will keep everyone updated on local efforts.
If you are in the path, please update here as well.

[NT2C]

Don't worry about where to put the National Guard people, that's their lookout and they have the gear to set up camp on any empty space they can commandeer.

[Lambykins]

Don't worry about where to put the National Guard people, that's their lookout and they have the gear to set up camp on any empty space they can commandeer.

Uhmmmmm...not a lot of empty space around here. People are renting out their yards for this, lol!

[NT2C]

Don't worry about where to put the National Guard people, that's their lookout and they have the gear to set up camp on any empty space they can commandeer.

Uhmmmmm...not a lot of empty space around here. People are renting out their yards for this, lol!

They can commandeer state and/or local public property.  Like school gyms, exercise fields, etc.

[EBuff75]

Not me, but my parents and my brother's family are in the path of totality.  However, they're in a major metro area (Dayton, OH), so there is much more in the way of local services, spread out across the area.  They've still been warned to fill up and get food ahead of time, as they are expecting somewhere in the range of 150,000 - 575,000 visitors coming to Ohio to view the eclipse. 

I'm planning to head down there to see it and will be staying overnight with my parents.  Right now I'm leaning toward taking my Suburban.  It gets worse mileage than my car, but has a much larger fuel tank and can almost make the entire round trip on a single tank (almost exactly 400 miles round trip) if needed.  That gives me a lot more leeway when finding somewhere to fill up if it becomes an issue. 

The real trick will be getting home afterwards.  My route is extremely straightforward, as 99% of it is on I-75 (I'm not far from that highway in Michigan and my parents are only about a mile away from the exit in Ohio).  But that's also the main route that everyone from Michigan will be using for travel to see the eclipse.  I may either leave fairly late (like 7-8 at night, for a 3-hour trip) or map out a route that avoids the main freeways.  Toledo is a bit of a snarl anyway, but US-23 might be a good alternative.  On the day, I might wait a bit, then let Google do its thing to recommend a route!

[majorhavoc]

I don't quite live in the path of totality but I'm pretty close.  I have a friend who has a camp further north that is. She's invited a bunch of us to stay there for a few days so we can view the event. The camp is pretty primitive so we're considering it a camping weekend. Maybe closer to glamping. Aside from the traffic going up and coming back, I'm not expecting too much drama.

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership. 

[NT2C]

I don't quite live in the path of totality but I'm pretty close.  I have a friend who has a camp further north that is. She's invited a bunch of us to stay there for a few days so we can view the event. The camp is pretty primitive so we're considering it a camping weekend. Maybe closer to glamping. Aside from the traffic going up and coming back, I'm not expecting too much drama.

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership.

Be a nice entry for a Mock Bug Out Contest if we were to have one...  Just saying. 

[majorhavoc]

I don't quite live in the path of totality but I'm pretty close.  I have a friend who has a camp further north that is. She's invited a bunch of us to stay there for a few days so we can view the event. The camp is pretty primitive so we're considering it a camping weekend. Maybe closer to glamping. Aside from the traffic going up and coming back, I'm not expecting too much drama.

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership.

Be a nice entry for a Mock Bug Out Contest if we were to have one...  Just saying. 

Either that or the backdrop to an entry in a PAW fiction contest if we were to have one of those ... 

[NT2C]

I don't quite live in the path of totality but I'm pretty close.  I have a friend who has a camp further north that is. She's invited a bunch of us to stay there for a few days so we can view the event. The camp is pretty primitive so we're considering it a camping weekend. Maybe closer to glamping. Aside from the traffic going up and coming back, I'm not expecting too much drama.

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership.

Be a nice entry for a Mock Bug Out Contest if we were to have one...  Just saying. 

Either that or the backdrop to an entry in a PAW fiction contest if we were to have one of those ... 

Might even make an entry in a "Cool Story, Bro" Contest to win a Brr Bag.

[flybynight]

We're not in the path of totality. And Acu-weather forecast is for strong to severe thunderstorms on the 8th.  So it will probably end up looking like the end of the world around here

[Lambykins]

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership.

Actually....yeah, there are conspiracy theories in abundance out there. I've heard the Rapture one, a nuclear war one (eclipse will knock out all the satellites so launches won't be detected), power will go out for 3 days/3 months/years...I have heard all the BS, unfortunately not all online. Some locals are really *into* some of these theories....sigh...

[NT2C]

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership.

Actually....yeah, there are conspiracy theories in abundance out there. I've heard the Rapture one, a nuclear war one (eclipse will knock out all the satellites so launches won't be detected), power will go out for 3 days/3 months/years...I have heard all the BS, unfortunately not all online. Some locals are really *into* some of these theories....sigh...

Remember, don't let them know that this isn't actually the moon passing in front of the sun, it's the lizard people's mother ship that's been orbiting the planet for thousands of years. 

[Anianna]

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership.

Oh, you don't hang out with the, uh, right? people.   

There are several who believe the total eclipse will somehow last for four days across the entire line of totality (some say three days).  They have various ideas of what that means or why it will happen, but many agree that it will happen.

Alex Jones claimed that this is Biblical, that the line of totality passes through every US city named Nineveh (it doesn't; it will pass over maybe two of eight), and that the eclipse is a sign from God that Homeland Security will interfere in some Biblical event.  Or this Biblical event?  I'm not really clear on that point.   

Some are associating the extreme storms and natural disasters we have experienced either with the upcoming eclipse or this eclipse coupled with the last one that will be creating an X across the country.  Some say something massive will occur at the point where the lines cross in Carbondale, Illinois. 

Many have said that some cataclysmic event will occur in Carbondale to usher in the end of the world.  This theory is bolstered on the Biblical theory side by the fact that the area is commonly knows as "Little Egypt".  If you have even a passing understanding of the Bible's relation to Egypt, I'm sure you can imagine the thought process there.

One theory along these lines is that Nibiru, a (fictitious) small planet, will crash into the Earth at that point.  This was a theory posed about the 2017 eclipse, but further bolstered this time around by that convenient X marking the spot in Carbondale. 

Another theory says that the movie Leave the World Behind was not just fiction, but a warning about this solar eclipse (never mind that the movie featured a lunar eclipse) and that a mass human sacrifice event will begin in Carbondale.

Some pointed out that there were earthquakes along the New Madrid Fault in the Mississippi Valley months after the 1811 eclipse and claim that means that this eclipse will cause more earthquakes along the New Madrid Fault. 

On a lesser scale, there have been those referring to the Mayan belief that a solar eclipse will usher in the end of the world in an event in which spirits of the dead in the form of jaguars will emerge and consume the living.  This theory is further bolstered among US theorists by the appearance of another jaguar in Arizona.  There have been eight distinct jaguars identified in the wilds of the US since the 90s.  They're coming to eat us for the eclipse! 

I'm sure there are many, many more theories.  These are just the ones that I have encountered that, once posted, were lent credence by commenters confirming their belief in said theory and that have been repeated by different individuals. 

[Anianna]

Perhaps I'm being naive. I'm kind of surprised that someone hasn't announced this is connected to the Mayan calendar or the rapture or something. It always seems like there are plenty of gullible people perfectly willing to follow anyone who commands them to sell off all their worldly possessions, disown their families and gather on a hilltop somewhere to await the arrival of the mothership.

Actually....yeah, there are conspiracy theories in abundance out there. I've heard the Rapture one, a nuclear war one (eclipse will knock out all the satellites so launches won't be detected), power will go out for 3 days/3 months/years...I have heard all the BS, unfortunately not all online. Some locals are really *into* some of these theories....sigh...

Remember, don't let them know that this isn't actually the moon passing in front of the sun, it's the lizard people's mother ship that's been orbiting the planet for thousands of years. 

There has been a split lately on whether the lizard people are positive or negative.  Used to be a pretty clear delineation that The Cabal of evil (political leaning) politicians and celebrities were the lizard people and that was bad.  Lately, there has been a shift to using the all powerful lizard people to explain how the (other political leaning) people were gaining access to advance technology, especially medbeds that are going to heal us all of everything.  So now there is a sizeable portion of conspiracy theorists who love the lizard people and certain other alien species for gifting us their advanced technologies. 

It can be challenging to keep up with the shifting narrative, but it is entertaining while also enraging that a lot of it is a grift preying on the desperate and ignorant.

[TACAIR]

My wife's hometown (3k+ a bit) was dead middle for the recent annular eclipse.

What a giant clusterhump!   Thousands showed up.  

I truly feel sorry for the small towns in the way of this thing.   I suppose it could be seen as an exercise in dealing with the oft-quoted Golden Horde....

[wolf_from_wv]

Meet the new apocalypse, same as all the other ones in recent times...


I wonder if this is available in a flag, or could be made into one...

[TACAIR]

 
there is a ton of 'morale patches' on the web - pick your disaster

[Anianna]

there is a ton of 'morale patches' on the web - pick your disaster

What?  No Mayan Calendar 2012?  Quite the oversight. 

[Zed hunter]

Or Y2K!

[majorhavoc]

Or Y2K!

Why, back in my day we'd didn't have no "H1N1we-all-one-one" fancy-schmancy viral strains.  No "global pandemic"!  Or "crypto-currency-why-the-hell-ain't-the-dollar-good-enough-for-yah?" international financial meltdown gobbley-goop! 

All we had "Why Too Kay"!  And that was all we needed to end the world, dagnabit!  Why?  Because back then we was nothing but a bunch of dumb, ignorant hicks with nothing better to do than set aside only two f*cking digits for our computers to know what year it was!  And someone says "Boo-hoo! Now our computers won't know if it's 1900 or 2000!  And planes will drop out of the sky and all the lights will shut off and Boris Yeltsin's gonna think it's a nuclear attack so Russia'll fire all their missiles and we'd fire all ours and we'll all get incinerated while eating our TV dinners and watching reruns of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on cable TV."  Why? Because we was just a bunch of dumb, ignorant hicks, that's why!