Sorry, I couldn't resist :o)
Posted on 06/27/2009 2:13:31 PM PDT by appleseed
Have I told you about my Scarlett O’Hara moment? It was a couple of years ago when a hurricane was just hours away from coastal Florida. The news video showed a bewildered looking woman staring at empty grocery store shelves. At that moment I said, “As God is my witness, that will never be me!” I vowed to never be the woman on TV who hadn’t given a serious thought of preparing for a disaster and now stood, vulnerable, to whatever dangers lay ahead.
Taking steps to be prepared for various emergency situations or a significant downturn in our economy is simply prudent. I trust my intuition and can list at least a dozen times when I ignored it and paid a price. Not this time.
Now, not everyone in my circle of friends and family think I’m 100% sane when I bring up the topic of preparedness! Okay, I’m just the tiniest bit pessimistic about our economy, and buying dozens of cans of soup, tuna, and tomatoes is now a way of life. I don’t even want to tell you how much toilet paper I have stored! A little crazy? Maybe!
Ignoring the naysayers has been easy, though, because I’m driven by my desire to protect and provide for my family. My intuition tells me that all is not well in our world. If I have doubts about my sanity, I just look around. Within my own circle of friends there are those who have lost jobs, families who have been without a steady income for a year or more and some who have lost their homes. Daily headlines report that, perhaps, the worst is yet to come. Add to that a variety of national security threats and crazy, unpredictable weather, I’d say it’s my non-prepared friends who are irrational!
Don’t ignore what your intuition, what your instincts are telling you to do. If it’s storing up water for an emergency, take steps tomorrow to buy those water barrels. Have you been stocking up on food half-heartedly? If your instincts are saying, “We need to have at least three month’s worth of food…”, don’t delay. You can find simple steps to take toward preparedness throughout my blog and in my Blogroll links. Trust your gut, mom. Believe in your intuition.
Been through a hurricane in Georgia at Hunter Army Airfield in the 80's. Been through the Bay Area earthquake in 1989, been through tornado's here in the midwest and back east, been through a major flood last year. Got news for those who think I'm crazy - 0bama can't control the weather, shoot he can't even control the economy or murderers in Iran. Just my opinion but God helps those who help themselves. If this is considered crazy, then call me crazy and post pictures of tin-foil wearing nut cases. As for me and my family, we are prepared.
Self Reliant/Survivalist ping list
Sorry, I couldn't resist :o)
The only trouble here is that you’re usually away from your supply when the disaster happens... LOL...
Amazing how much food you get with about $200. $20 a week for a few weeks at Dollar Store and a family can get by for a couple of months. Eat the oldest food on a regular basis and let new purchases go to back of pantry. Even works if you lose your job. What worries me is some sort of infectious disease where we all might need to stay home for a few months.
parsy, who has books, bullets, and beans.
What I’m contemplating is what to do about a nuclear bomb going off in the neighborhood. I haven’t figured that one out yet...
BTTT!!!
Nice blog...thank you!
SAN DIEGO -- Six months ago, Jim Wiseman didn't even have a spare nutrition bar in his kitchen cabinet.
Now, the 54-year-old businessman and father of five has a backup generator, a water filter, a grain mill and a 4-foot-tall pile of emergency food tucked in his home in the expensive San Diego suburb of La Jolla.
Wiseman isn't alone. Emergency supply retailers and military surplus stores nationwide have seen business boom in the past few months as an increasing number of Americans spooked by the economy rush to stock up on gear that was once the domain of hard-core survivalists.
These people, snapping up everything from water purification tablets to thermal blankets, shatter the survivalist stereotype: they are mostly urban professionals with mortgages, SUVs, solid jobs and a twinge of embarrassment about their newfound hobby.
From teachers to real estate agents, these budding emergency gurus say the dismal economy has made them prepare for financial collapse as if it were an oncoming Category 5 hurricane. They worry about rampant inflation, runs on banks, bare grocery shelves and widespread power failures that could make taps run dry.
[snip]
You and Cookie ARE NOT INSANE but, everyone who’s not prepared is.
If it goes off in YOUR neighborhood.....FAGITABOUTIT
If a nuke went off in your neighborhood,
your worries would be over... in a flash!
You said — If it goes off in YOUR neighborhood.....FAGITABOUTIT
—
Well, it could be one of those North Korean ones, you know... the one they never can tell if it’s a real nuke or just a big boom...
And then, it could be one of those al Qaeda Russian suitcase nukes and then it may not have been maintained properly and it just blows out a lot of material into the air...,
or perhaps they’re trying to do a “dirty nuke” and just poison a lot of people...
Then again, I might be right on the edge of it and the blast knocks down my house and obliterates the neighborhood, and I was in the basement, seeing daylight over my head... LOL...
Could be all sorts of reasons why I might want to be holed up somewhere for a few weeks... :-)
Well, I was using the term “neighborhood” sorta loosely... :-)
IIRC, the 1918 flu pandemic went through a region in about 6 to 8 weeks and then died down. I think that is a reasonable goal as a time period to sit it out for, especially if you want to be prepared for it by this fall. Which, I think has an even-odds chance of happening. Of course I was watching some CSPAN thing that had the Red Cross on, and they were ramping up to be able to drop food, etc. off in neighborhoods that might be put under quarantine with the Swine Flu - so you could rely on that I guess. (I can only imagine what THAT scene would look like).
You said — I’ll always remember my grade school training. Go under your desk and cover yourself with a raincoat and you’ll be fine.
—
For sure.., me too. I remember them from my days in Houston and Dallas (and you can imagine they were really “into it” in that area... :-)
Also, had a number of relatives with those shelters in the ground. One uncle had one way down underneath his house (and I’m absolutely sure that shelter is still there, way down under the house, to this day). And then, going to the Texas State Fair, those things were a popular attractions, different companies trying to sell them back then...
This is true. I was speculating a direct hit with a *real* nuke.
I wish I had this paper on all the different scenarios for different types of nuclear attacks. It was pretty fascinating. (If I find it, I'll forward it to you).
Supposedly one can survive fallout and such if they barricade themselves in their home and avoid breathing or coming in contact with it. (kind of tricky unless you have a Geiger counter)
There comes a point where you can go outside but, if the bomb was detonated as an EMP, the world will be a very different place.
You said — This is true. I was speculating a direct hit with a *real* nuke.
—
And you can be hit by a real nuke, too, and there are survivable boundaries to that hit... (just not right on top of your head... LOL...)
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