1. The price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the U.S. will hit $6 a gallon sometime this Summer, and perhaps $10/gallon or more by the end of the year. Measures will be taken by the federal and state governments to temporarily alleviate the financial burden on some people, but nothing sustainable. Some people will not be able to get to work at all, while others will have to carpool more, take the bus, ride their bikes, and walk.
2. The U.S. will initiate military action against Iran, probably in the form of heavy air-strikes. There will be no clear notion of victory or desired outcome other than to significantly destroy the country’s own infrastructure, especially targets related to nuclear facilities. This action might be justified to the American people by…
3. An apparent attack on one or more U.S. locations, resulting in significant loss of life or infrastructure.
4. The U.S. airline industry will significantly cut back or even cease flight schedules as we’ve known them, and air travel will (once again) become a privilege reserved for the rich and famous who can afford private flights. Any frequent flier miles you’ve accumulated will become worth near nothing.
5. Most grocery stores will significantly scale back their inventories and restocking schedules, and significantly raise prices on what remains. Obtaining food from non-local sources, even basic staples, will be difficult at best, and most communities will begin to take emergency steps to feed their residents.

Hey, look, I don’t like the thought of these things happening any more than the next person, but perhaps there’s some value in naming what might be, even if it seems a bit outlandish or gruesome. Maybe if we believe these things are possible, we might feel more prepared to prevent or deal with them if they do happen.

What do you think? Too cynical? Worse? What are some other scenarios?

These sounds had exactly the desired effect – shock and awe. The leader of the pair –er, gang retreated to a tactical position approximately 7 feet to my 2 o’clock, while the junior member lost geo-spatial orientation and proceed to scurry underneath my seat in an oval shape, about 2-3 iterations worth. This increased the pitch and intensity of my screams–er, warnings further, as the prospect of having a gang member sharing the same vertical airspace was not pleasing. When the leader realized that I had strategically separated them, it reversed its retreat and made attempts to reconnect with the rest of its team. I further increased the intensity of my firm imperatives to “git” and they eventually made a full retreat.

I realize that some of you might wonder how I can blog about this experience so soon after it happened without just completely breaking down, but I know it’s my duty to share my bold example with others, so that they may be inspired by it.