The Key is to be Enthusiastic About It

I decided to load up on pharmaceuticals today.

While I was in Turkey, I developed a sore throat. This happened shortly before I was due to take a PCR test to determine whether I would be allowed to fly home to the US. Something similar happened on my recent Egypt trip. I got a cold. Both times, I was concerned that I might get stuck in a hotel in a foreign country while coronavirus ran its course. I was also concerned that I might take a long time to get over the bug. Extending a foreign trip can be fun, but after a month or so, it would be less fun.

Obviously, I passed both times. I am here in my gun room, typing away.

Does this mean I didn’t get coronavirus? Maybe not. In spite of inexplicable, delusional MSM articles calling the PCR test “highly accurate,” in fact, reputable sources (not Mike Lindell or Alex Jones) claim the reverse is true. Some analysts have found false-negative rates as high as 67%.

I’m pretty sure I did not get covid in Egypt, because all I had was a runny nose. In Turkey, things were different. Things started much as they had in early 2020, when I got a mystery ailment with symptoms consistent with covid. I started out with foul-smelling diarrhea that didn’t last long. Then I felt nausea. Then I got a sore throat and a low fever. Then I got thick nasal discharge, which is still with me. In 2020, I had conjunctivitis, similar diarrhea, brief nausea and vomiting, a runny nose that persisted for a long time, and a dry cough coupled with sharp but mild chest pains.

In Turkey, I wondered if I had strep. I don’t think I did, because nausea and diarrhea are not common with strep, and they’re common with coronavirus.

In 2020 and on my Turkey trip, I got very strange diseases which could have been covid but didn’t seem to be anything else, based on my layman’s scrutiny of Internet symptom lists.

I took ivermectin before leaving for Istanbul. I expected to take more in Turkey. I had my wife pick up tablets in Africa, and I told her to bring some for me so I could avoid depleting my American stash of horse paste. She misunderstood me and left them behind, so by the time I got sick, I had been off ivermectin for maybe 10 days. People who push ivermectin for coronavirus prevention claim you only need one dose per month. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, and for that matter, I don’t know if ivermectin helps even when administered as directed by my fellow fringe nuts.

Following guidelines provided by actual doctors who treat coronavirus patients, I’ve been taking ivermectin every day for several days. They recommend a 5-day course for active cases. Today is my last day. Hope I don’t drop dead tomorrow.

Yesterday, based on my travel problems and the general craziness of today’s world, I decided I should pick up a few disaster medications. Shortages are everywhere, the Revelation promises more plagues, and it’s not always easy to get to a doctor, especially when you’re traveling.

I ordered more ivermectin, amoxicillin, metronizadole, azithromycin, and doxycycline.

How did I get the antibiotics without prescriptions? I did it the same way I got the ivermectin. I took the veterinary route for most. You can get all sorts of prescription medications that way, and the prices are nice and low because malpractice lawyers haven’t managed to wreak havoc on the cost of veterinary medicines.

I already have enrofloxacin (a ciprofloxacin relative) and something called ronidazole. I picked these up for Marvin. Enrofloxacin is not approved for humans, and it belongs to a family of drugs which can cause tendon damage and severe nightmares, so I am not planning on using it, but Marv or some other pet might need it in our dystopian future, so I’m keeping it. Ronizadole is considered dangerous for people, so it will also stay in my pet-medicine stash.

I plan to pick up a few more things. I’m considering antifungals.

Ciprofloxacin is a preferred drug for treating anthrax, which is a popular biological weapon. Because cipro is so scary, doxycycline, the other preferred drug, looks better to me.

Despite the dishonest MSM hubbub, there is no ivermectin supply crisis. It may be hard to find locally for some people, but you can still get it online for under $8 per tube. Nobody’s horse is going to die because you or I buy a few tubes, and if horses do die, I don’t care, because people are more important.

Reader Ed Bonderenka alerted me to a different ivermectin preparation. Apparently, ivermectin penetrates skin, so you can apply it externally. Drug companies sell very inexpensive topical drenches.

I don’t know how safe these products are for people. A cow has very thick skin, so it may be that drenches are made very strong in order to get through it. Don’t ask me. Interesting alternative, though.

Taking a drench internally looks like a bad idea. You would have to drink 2 ml of isopropyl alcohol with every dose. Alcohol is part of the product.

I’m strongly tempted to drive to Tractor Supply and grab a vial of injectable penicillin for $18. They don’t sell oral preparations, but there is no reason why you can’t measure out the injectable stuff and swallow it. What if I have strep? Penicillin would probably help.

Or I could just drive to an urgent care doc-in-the-box like a normal person.

There is something appealing about off-the-grid medical care, though, as long as I’m not wading into the deep end. I’m not transplanting lungs or doing heart bypasses.

Playing amateur doctor when I don’t really need to is not the point here, even though I do it sometimes. The purpose of snapping up a few medications is to prepare me and the people I know for times in which we have to be our own pharmacies.

Maybe I should also stock up on loperamide (Imodium), famotidine (acid blocker), ibuprofen, antibiotic ointment, bandages, topical antiseptics, swabs, tape, gauze, vitamins, and whatever else intelligent people keep on hand during apocalypses.

I guess it would be smart to stock up on toiletries, too. That 3-in-1 shower goo is a big convenience. Shampoo, wash, and shave, without getting out of the shower or leaving hairs and dried shaving cream on the sink, and it doesn’t leave soap scum behind.

Should I grab a few ladies’ products? I’m in the dark there. I can ask Rhodah and order a bale of them on Ebay.

Costco says toilet paper may disappear again soon, so I may add to my monumental collection, along with more paper towels. Walmart’s high-end towels seem like a real bargain.

Batteries. Obvious.

Okay; I paused and ordered a few more things. For a couple of hundred dollars, I got enough antibiotics to provide a measure of protection for two or maybe three people. I could never have persuaded a doctor to give me this stuff. One online vendor even threw in two Cialis tablets, which, let me stress, I did not ask for. That stuff scares me.

I’m leaning toward buying dry disaster food, although I think the only real answer is to grow things. It would cost a lot of money to buy food for 6 months, and it would take up a lot of room. When it ran out, my wife and I would be right back where we started. Until now, my plan has been to have enough food for one month, eat it, and then die without complaining.

In case anyone cares, the Florida coronavirus spike is over. The press is not talking much about it, because the end of a spike doesn’t make Ron DeSantis look bad. They’re also not talking about Florida-style spikes that have, and are, taking place in blue states. When a spike hits a red state with a governor who may run for president, it’s proof Republicans are idiots. When a spike hits a blue state, it’s a mystery. Which probably proves Republicans are idiots.

I’m wondering what will happen. Will the end of the wave of spikes also be the end of coronavirus as a major epidemic, or will the virus find a way to come back and keep biting us in the butt?

One thing is for sure: whatever happens will prove we need more government control, more socialism, and confiscation of wealth. You can bank on that. Democrats believed those things were called for before coronavirus ever became a problem.

Will we ever get real vaccines? The ones we have now are terrible; that is indisputable, as the many, many dead “breakthrough” victims could tell you. Will covid turn out to be like AIDS, which is impossible to eradicate? Both diseases are curses which came as rewards for rebellion against God, so maybe both will be with us until God destroys the human race again. Humanity is not going to repent. We’re not going to admit fault or confess that only God can save us. God has no reason to take covid away.

Maybe old people, fat people, sick people, smokers, and people who vote for Democrats will have to live like bubble boys forever.

Now that I think about it, our flu vaccines are also really bad. Smallpox is gone. Polio is gone. The measles are gone. The flu infects millions of us every year.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back in Florida. As soon as I found my car at the airport, I put my gun and huge, sharp knife back in my pockets, and I’ve only worn a mask once since I got home. While I was in Turkey, I kept reaching for my right front pocket because I thought I had left my gun in a restaurant or something. At least they let me carry a small Spyderco.

Rhodah and I are trying to get our US visa application submitted today, and after that, we need to start working on visas for another third-country trip. We will probably be apart for quite a while, so another trip will be needed.

Israel is still, predictably, overreacting to covid. Other desirable countries will be cold by the time we are approved to visit. Greece is a good target, and they claim they accept Zambians. Italy is still closed. France could work, if we can convince them Rhodah doesn’t want to squat and collect welfare. That should be easier now that she has visited two countries without trying to stay.

Paris in winter is not that alluring, but it’s warmer than New York. There are warmer destinations in France, so we should have good options.

Biden, or whoever is doing his job, finally faced reality and decided to open America’s borders somewhat wider. I don’t know if it will help Rhodah or not. America does not care about Zambians, so even when a president helps visitors from other countries, Zambians may remain stuck in the pipeline.

I guess all we can do is pray, try to be ready for the rapture, and make earthly plans as well as we can.