Would I Be Prepared If . . . .

Dean  (the husband)
Shalane  (the wife :O)

I love watching movies and TV shows that really make one think about how humans will react in a high stress situation.  I have always been drawn to that sort of entertainment.   Don’t get me wrong, I love a good mindless comedy as well, it’s just that watching something that makes me think, stays in my mind for an much longer period of time as I think of how I might have handle the situation.  One of my favorite TV shows, that probably no one has ever heard of, was a show called, “Jericho”.  It was set in  a fictional small town in Kansas.   The premise to the show is how the people of Jericho interact with each other and those of neighboring towns after a series of nuclear detonations go off all around the United States.   Life for the people of Kansas (and the rest of the country) changes completely overnight.  Lawlessness, bartering (money no longer had value), and hoarding became the norm.  It was fascinating to see how the writers of the show envisioned how mankind might handled this situation. 

I promise there’s a point to my writing.  Today,  I want to express just how thankful I am that the material things that are  important to my wife and I can not easily be taken from us.  The bank or credit card companies have no claim on the things we own.   In the above situation, I do think that we would be able to survive for quite a while with the things we have.  Yes, I would miss some TV shows, my cell phone and of course the internet.  (We really do love doing these blogs)   However, my wife and I have had some great experiences living off the grid.  It is no longer something that we would be afraid of.   If something dreadful happens to the world as a whole, the nation, or the region where we live, we will be able to get by on the things that we already possess such as, our solar oven, solar electricity, and solar shower.  We’ve also made it a point to have a long term supply of food storage, which hasn’t been easy given that we live in such tight quarters.  There are no compartments or cubbies that are not filled with some sort of survival supplies.

Now, I am not saying that the scenario I described in the TV show is going to happen.  No one knows what the future holds.  In fact, I will be completely content if nothing major happens in the world;  no  great wars, no major earthquakes or tsunamis, no major weather events, and no more major economic downturns.  Yet, as I watch the news, I can actually see that these things ARE happening almost on a daily basis.   I guess what I am saying is that a certain peace of mind comes with knowing that we are more self-reliant than we’ve ever been and that we would be successful in living off of the land. Best of all, to an extent, we get to ‘practice’ this daily, as we do what we love to do.  Every day is a new adventure, and we look forward to it!  Sometimes, I think that our writings make us seem like anti-government fanatics.  :O)  We’re really not!  We just believe that preparation is so important.  For example, how lucky are our friends in Joplin, Missouri that had a nice storage of food, water, sundries and first aid supplies tucked away in their basement?  Not all of us are going to sell our “sticks and bricks“ and move into an RV, that’s not the point, but ALL of us can make some basic and smart decisions about disaster security.  We hope that your life is proving to be a safe, happy and great adventure!  Happy Trails!