Notes from The Edge

Riverguy is a little confused these days...I was going about my life in my usual oblivious fashion, when I ran into my old friend, Chowder. Chowder was always one of these guys living on the edge - sometimes the exciting edge of life, sometimes the dangerous, and sometimes the crazy edge.

The first thing he says is "Hey River...got enough food, water, and money stashed in a safe place?"

"Huh?"

"Come on man, you gotta be prepared. One of these days the shit is going to hit the fan, and you have to be ready." He gazed at me and made a splattering gesture with his hands.

"What are talking about, Chowder?" I scratched my head and waiting for the next wild thing to come out of his mouth.

"River -- haven't you been paying attention to what's goin' down?"

"I watch the news, if that's what you mean" I said, a little indignantly.

Chowder snorted. "So, you know all about the European Debt crisis, the possibility of global financial collapse, the Mideast about to erupt in war, and radiation from the 3 meltdowns still going on in Japan....?"

"Chowder, I know about all of that, or most of it, anyway. It's all under control. What does this have to do with water and the other stuff?"

Chowder grimaced..."When things get worse, the stores will be closed, and dudes are gonna be after your food and water. The banks are gonna close their doors so people don't rush in and get all of their money out." Chowder spun on his heels and started marching off. Probably on his way to his next crazy adventure, I thought.

He called out, without turning around... "Prepare!"

I shuddered a little, and kind of cleared my head for a few seconds, and didn't think much more about it. Ol' Chowder can get really worked up over things. Nobody's gonna steal my water...that's crazy, I thought for the second time.

An hour or so later, my phone rang. It was another friend - Tom, a guy I used to go to school with. His voice shook, and he was all excited. He told me he had gone to a Black Friday sale the other day, and stampeding people pushed him to the ground, and pulled a new blender out of his hands. He was stepped on several times, and then pinned against a display when he tried to stand up. "River...they didn't care! They trampled me for a BLENDER!" Tom kept talking, but I didn't hear the rest. I felt a little wobbly for a second, and then Chowder popped back into my mind. "Prepare!" echoed through my brain, and the ground underneath me seemed a little less solid...