Preparing for the coming year change is all most people are talking about this week.

Wednesday, December 29, 1999

Preparing for the coming year change is all most people are talking about this week. Will there be water? Will there be power? These are just two of the many questions Americans are considering as they prepare to welcome 2000.

And although most of the concern is probably hype, there is one piece of Y2K advice that seems to be worth listening to – be prepared.

That does not mean that Americans should go out and buy thousands of dollars in generators and lay in month-long supplies of food, but there is something to be said for making sure you have the basics that you would get if you were worried a snowstorm would hit. And, after all, that might happen, too.

Make sure you have some bottled water and fill your bathtub before 7 p.m. Dec. 31, just in case there might be a brief interruption of service.

If you need medication, get your prescription filled and make sure you have the necessities like toilet paper and toothpaste, just in case.

Get the basics from the grocery store, too. A little extra milk, baby formula and cereal could come in mighty handy.

Fill your car with gas and make sure you have all important bills and papers in the mail early this week.

And, those are just the beforehand preparations.

When the new year dawns, don’t immediately pick up your phone to see if it is working. If you do, you will clog up the lines for emergency calls from people who really need help.

If your power is out, don’t automatically assume that it is a Y2K blowout. Bad weather or some other cause might have caused the problem. Keep calm until you know there is a reason to worry.

And, if you need help, know where to go.

A little preparation could make the dawn of this new year a lot more fun and a whole lot less of a reason to worry.