Mark Stoller moved to Falcon in 2007.†He and his wife, Andra, both U.S. Air Force veterans, enjoy life with their daughters, extended family and adopted rescue dogs in Latigo. Mark savors the privilege of his wife and daughters being his muse for topics, people to meet and places to investigate.
The year 2020 has been nothing but trouble since Jan. 1. Currently, our country is in political, emotionally charged, criminal crisis mode; NASA announced asteroid 2018PV1 will pass dangerously close to Earth with a 0.41 percent chance of striking us on Nov. 2; COVID is still taking lives; and our state (along with the rest of the western U.S.) is on fire.As an analyst, Iíve followed the negative trends of activity affecting our nation, state and town. I will offer considerations to prepare yourself for making it through to 2021.If you think I am full of it, please stop reading now and go on to another article. If you agree the storm is coming, please read on.There is a movement afoot, much bigger than Black Lives Matters, aimed at tearing down the fabric of American society. Absent is the desire for civilized sit-down meetings to talk about differences and/or affect positive change.There are paid/professional agitators involving themselves in every protest possible across the United States, with the intent to fuel destruction and anarchy.Portland, Oregon: 83 days and counting ñ- the battle continues between citizens and law enforcement. The objects being hurled at law enforcement have graduated from rocks to bricks to fireworks to Molotov cocktails to improvised explosive devices designed for mass casualty.Specific to protests in Colorado Springs: There were two weeks of anti-police protests following the death of George Floyd; between 200 and 300 people protested; and some evenings ended with police firing tear gas to disperse crowds who had thrown objects and shot fireworks at CSPD.Mayor Suthers issued a curfew after significant vehicle and property damage was inflicted; more than 75 locations were defaced with graffiti, traffic stopped by protesters and some drivers harassed in their vehicles.This November, there will be the same, if not, worse activities. The highly touted mail-in-ballot option will likely experience significant issues with the count and announcement of the next president.In the delay between Nov. 3 and the announcement, there will be accusations and counteraccusations of ballot fraud, cheating and demands for a recount.This limbo time could be rife with protests. Again, the protest violence, property damage and potential loss of life will create an atmosphere where a curfew and lockdown would be initiated.What will this mean to us in Falcon? A lockdown would be the same as we just experienced with COVID. Only this time, there will be greater consequences if found out during curfew/lockdown.Why the threat of a lockdown elicits the need to buy out all of toilet paper in a store is beyond me. However, history could repeat itself and weíll see the same phenomena again.Between now and November, assess what you have in your pantry and on your shelves. Can you make it through the month of November without going to the grocery store? What can you do without if the store shelves are bare?Amazon Subscribe and Save is a great service. They can accommodate orders of food and multiple packages of toilet paper, paper towels, feminine products, wet wipes, napkins, etc. It is delivered to your door with the frequency you choose.Think about a menu plan for November and December as well. Purchase the menu items ahead of time and include some cases of water. If you are able, purchase extra meat now while it is still available.Remember to have extra food for your animals and consider their medical needs, too.I would love to be completely wrong about all of this. However, it behooves us to consider the worst-case scenario and face it as prepared as possible.
