Posted on 05/02/2009 2:46:51 PM PDT by appleseed
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jack Spirko owns a media company, is married to a nurse and has a son in college. He has two dogs and lives in a nice house with a pool in a diversified neighborhood in suburban Arlington, Texas.
Spirko, 36, considers himself an average guy with a normal life.
But for the past few years, Spirko has been stockpiling food, water, gas, guns and ammunition. He also has a load of red wine, Starbucks coffee and deodorant stashed away.
"I refer to myself as a modern survivalist, which means I don't do without," Spirko explained. "I have a nice TV; I have nice furniture. We are not living in the sticks, but I take all of these things very seriously."
Spirko, an Army veteran and self-described "stark-raving-mad Libertarian," is part of a growing movement of people who are preparing for a disaster natural, economic or man-made. Referred to as "modern survivalists" or "preppers," they are taking steps to protect and provide for their families should something bad happen.
Theirs is a different breed of survivalist, far from the right-wing militants or religious extremists who hole up in bunkers, live off the land and wait for the apocalypse.
Preppers are regular people with regular jobs who decided after Sept. 11, after Hurricane Katrina or when their 401(k)s tanked that they can't rely on someone else to help them if something goes awry.
"We are normal people just like you," Spirko said. "We just understand that, sometimes, stuff goes wrong."
Donnie, 38, a McKinney resident who is an account executive with an international trade show organization, said Hurricane Katrina opened his eyes. He spent six weeks working as a paramedic in New Orleans.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
I don’t consider being prepared “hoarding”...
Nor did God when He told Joseph how to prepare
for the famine in Egypt. His “hoarding” saved
the entire nation, including Israel.
Storing for a purpose is vastly different than
hoarding. Are you saving for retirement? I am.
I am preparing for a need that will likely come,
if I live long enough. I am preparing for what
I need, not to “hoard” more than I need.
In either case, go and be blessed in what your
conscience tells you. I too, am fine with people
who don’t prepare. I intend to have extra to
share with the grasshoppers - food and supplies
we ants gathered.
All the best,
ampu
Look - I’m not going to go into this further. There is preparing and there is hoarding. There is a difference. Only you know what you are doing and your intentions. I have no idea. If you feel that you are justified and that what you are doing is right in God’s eyes, fine.
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