A Big What If, And Be Prepared

Over the last few years my family, or at least the adults, has been preparing for the future. In the last 10 years we have been moving in a direction of preparing our own food as much as possible, always trying to produce more each year. This has led us to the preppers movement. We have met in person and online many wonderful people and gathered much information. We have tried to share what we know. As with any group of people there will be choices some make that others won't. Sometimes the discussions can be quite strong. All of this has moved me to think often about what my core values, thoughts and beliefs are about the future, both personally and as a nation. Ultimately it leads to actions in relation to these thoughts.

We as a family have some things going on that will come to a head probably in the next year or so. Currently one child is married, two are in school and one is in the Army. So for the most part our children are raised and mostly on their own. They are always welcome to come home, but for them that may not always be an option. We are approaching retirement of a career, but that doesn't mean that I'll stop working. With the garden and prepping ideas, these thoughts have been turned into finding more space and adding more crops. With another set of hands working full time, this would be possible. This cauldron of thoughts is constantly being stirred and who knows how the soup will turn out.

Recently there was a cable cut in a town near us on a construction site. It resulted in our internet and cell phone service being down. I don't use a cell phone much and I was at school at the time. I didn't find out about the stoppage until some students asked if the school was blocking cell service on campus. After digging around a bit, the reason was discovered for the problem. Our phone was out of service for a few hours and the internet about 24 hours. In reality it was a minor inconvenience to me personally, but to many the loss of cell service hurt, at least emotionally. Couple this with the recent fires in San Diego and the issues there. Law and Order had a show about a hedge fund company that owned two energy companies. The hedge fund leader would cause a brownout at one company and force the city to purchase energy from the second company at 4 times the cost. Possible? This has had me thinking more about man-made disasters.

What are our plans in the event of a catastrophe? Are we prepared for such an event? We live in an area with little flood danger to the town we currently live in, though around us the waters have historically flowed. Known earthquake faults are 50+ miles away. Forests are just as far, though range land fire potential is closer, but still not much of a real threat. I think we are probably ready in the event of a natural disaster for our area. We have more things to do and get, but mentally we have been thinking about the “what ifs.” Again it's the man made events I worry about.

So one of the bigger questions I have been pondering is the "Where do we want to be?" question. Do we need a place to go to in the event of a problem? If you read much on the subject of a catastrophe you will see the Bug Out place, Bug Out vehicles and Bug Out bags being discussed. I want stuff as much as the next person, but there is a finite amount of stuff you can carry if your car won't work, especially over a long distance. Which brings me to another question, “Does one stay or go?”

I work four blocks from our house. I ride a bike to work or walk. We don't travel much except to see family, and that not too often. During seasons I am coaching, I really don't go many places except when I'm traveling with the team. I guess I should carry a bag of supplies with me on the bus. Just another step in being prepared.

The reality is our house is where our stuff is stored and most of the time it's easy to get home. So for us the best place to hunker down is at home.

But is this enough? It has seemed to me that the best prepping a person can do is mental. What are you willing to give up? What can you not give up? Collect the things you can't do without and don't worry about the rest.