How soon before rationing kicks in?

I've read quite a few postings on these forums about final trips to the grocery store, and I'm really curious about something.

If YOU believe that things are so threatening that you are making what you believe to be your very last trip to the grocery store..... WHY do you believe that that store will even be open?

AND if it is actually open, won't the management be setting some quantity limits on items purchased?

By the time it is actually identified, won't H2H avian influenza be EVERYWHERE, due to the airlines?

Why would it be SAFE to make a last run to the store at that time? Shouldn't one avoid all crowded places? Will grocery clerks even show up at work?

What will happen?

we have a local store, run by a very greedy man.  everything is very expensive- a gallon of milk is 4.25..- anyway i think i will hit him up at the last minute.  most people will head to the big store.  have been saving my change and just to be mean i think i'll pay him in change

If I owned a grocery store I would be building a wall around it about ten feet high, topped with barbed-wire, and with a BIG sign outside saying "Closed due to Bacterial Infections"

omega wrote: I've read quite a few postings on these forums about final trips to the grocery store, and I'm really curious about something. If YOU believe that things are so threatening that you are making what you believe to be your very last trip to the grocery store..... WHY do you believe that that store will even be open? AND if it is actually open, won't the management be setting some quantity limits on items purchased? By the time it is actually identified, won't H2H avian influenza be EVERYWHERE, due to the airlines? Why would it be SAFE to make a last run to the store at that time? Shouldn't one avoid all crowded places? Will grocery clerks even show up at work? What will happen?

My final "run" to the store will be the one before the last time I get close enough to it to see that things are way beyond my ability to cope with without using force.  Following me on that point of clarification?

My final prep will be to go to this little natural vitamin or homopathic type store.  It's actually in the same shopping center as the local Safeway, but on the other side of the parking lot.  They sell all those chinese anti-virals that have been mentioned so often in these forums.  I've already been there, pricing and checking to see what they carry, I just didn't buy yet.  I had other priority preps like water & food to accumalate.  I doubt that store will be ransacked the first couple hours after they announce h2h, and I'll go grab the things I'm planning on getting.  I also didn't want to have to spend the money yet....I hate wasting money on things I'll never use, so I've tried really hard though this whole thing to just get what we will use anyway. 

I think rationing is a good idea.  We have had informal rationing in the Uk before when there was panic buying because of shortages of one thing and another - shops would only let people have say 2 bags of sugar each.  Small corner shops would only serve their regular customers.