“If he knocks on my door asking to borrow a candle or two,...”
I’m glad you brought that up.
Part of being prepared for any emergency situation is having a certain percentage of supplies (you set the amount) set aside to give to the unprepared.
That’s why my first aid kit is a little bigger than it needs to be, and there is a small stuffed bear in my bug-out pack (for someone else’s little kid, or me, if it really drops in the pot).
Cooking oil can be a light source, as can rendered drippings from cooking. They can be burned in an “Eskimo lamp” made from a tuna can and shoelace.
Yep. Been there, done that. Hurricane Rita, 2005. Hurricane Ike 2008. Last storm left over 2 million electrical customers out of power for nearly a week. No anything unless you stocked up. And after the power came back, the grocery stores took a while to restock on perishables. We helped out a lot of the unprepared gladly. We shared food and water and provided a cool dark room for those who were getting overheated. Our church took in about 80 refugees who were really glad to get a roof over them and get a meal and a cot for the night. Part of what God calls us to do. No Problem.
Really, this is where camping and spending time outdoors, scouting programs, etc really make sense. Power outages are not fun but can be managed with just a bit of planning. Candles can be dangerous, any fire
must not be left unattended. Generators out side, etc. Problem is people forget how dangerous the good ole days were!!