preparedness

The Truth and Honor of Preparedness

(Author’s note, this is a previously published article from our “Best of Collection” with a few modifications to reflect the challenges of today.)

preparednessPreparedness is a full-time focus for me as opposed to a hobby or a trend. I live it, breathe it, and think about it constantly whether I”m working or playing.  Obviously I teach and write about it regularly as well.  I will also choose to use spare time  to learn about how I can be better prepared by spending time reading a novel or non-fiction work that illustrates other possibilities for which I’m not yet prepared.

Why?  Because I believe that preparedness is about honor.

The Guilt or Innocence of Bystanders

Some time ago I was greatly disturbed by an article which announced that a state judge ruled that New York Subway  employees who stood by as mere spectators as as a young woman was gang-raped were innocent of any wrong doing.  The judge stated that the workers had no obligation to help the girl regardless of the all of the safe options that such onlookers had to help the woman such as the telephone, walkie-talkies, or at least the intercom system.

Perspectives from Joplin

I’d like to share just a little bit of perspective that I thought of while watching the events in Joplin unfold over the past couple of weeks. I have to admit, I read everything that was printed on the subject, listened to many radio interviews, watched YouTube videos and viewed many pictures which reflected the unfathomable loss that the people of Joplin suffered so suddenly.  Doing so taught me a few things, reinforced lessons which I had already learned and gave a face and a realistic purpose to much of the preparedness efforts I practice today.

More Cheese Wax Controversy??

Over the weekend I received 2 postings on the cheese waxing topic. Both postings were strongly AGAINST someone waxing their own cheese. Unfortunately, I feel that this leads folks astray just as much as telling a person that there is no need to prepare. So I wanted to add some clarification and THEN post the main part of the body of the message these individuals posted.

Preparedness Pro Update

 Well, I’m back from playing around and taking some time off, so your update is coming on a Wednesday. 🙂 Hey, better late than never I suppose. Wow. Can you believe it’s June already? The weather sure isn’t manifesting that. We’ve got record levels of rain, snow, and even low temperatures here in the West. Record dry weather back east. And record number of tornadoes and devastation as a result of said tornadoes.  Think Someone is trying to tell us something? Wow. What a way to start off the summer season.  These records aren’t just for the decades. Some of these are records for the last 150 years! It will be interesting to see what the hurricane season is like this year.

Eggsactly Right

Like many, I tend to be an emotional eater. And dog-gone-it, if I want a fried egg, I want a fried egg. And no amount of seasoning of French name-calling will sufficiently entice me to mentally switch from the envisioned savor of a fried egg to settle for an omelet made from powdered eggs. Yes, this certainly is a problem if I find myself completely out of real, honest to goodness eggs!  Powdered eggs and other egg substitutes are great for baking and such, but there’s just nothing else that compares to a real  fried egg, over medium–not to mention the fact that it’s also been impossible thus far for me to make my sinfully delicious cream puffs with any of the substitutes. So, not one to leave something as important as a hankering for a fried egg to chance, I’m happy to say that there’s a great alternative to powdered eggs or “egg substitutes.

Facing Reality–A Continuation of “Get Out of Dodge”

The last article I posted dealt very specifically with the fact that in the event of a major crisis, it’s not realistic that folks can just stay put in their urban environment and be safe, secure, and healthy. Instead I made several suggestions as to when it would be prudent to leave one’s urban home and head further out in order to have access to sustainable food resources, more water for long-term needs, proper sanitation, less crime, and a few other important reasons. The responses that I got from the article were mixed, as I fully expected them to be. After all, over 50% of the people on this earth live in a urban setting. However the various comments I read on this story actually brought up some great questions or at the very least a great opportunity to further teach about this topic.  I decided to do a part II t this because I am concerned that some of our readers are stymied in addressing the possible solutions that exist for them which will enable them to prepare AND thrive in peace in spite of some more serious circumstances becoming a real part of their life.

Preparedness Pro Weekly Update

Hey everyone! I  hope you all had a DRY weekend. My heart is just aching for the folks in Missouri and KS who have suffered some serious set backs. I hope we can remember to include them in our prayers AND we can learn from this scenario in order to better the protection and safety of our own families as well.

Last Saturday’s Preparedness Pro Radio Show was all about the impact of Freedom in our everyday lives. I shared countless examples of stories which have circulated in the news which reveal blatant trampling on our unconditional human rights, given to us by our creator, and our Constitutional rights as well.

Get Out of Dodge–“Urban Survival”

I was once asked to teach more about urban survival “because all anyone ever says is that you have to get out of the city when disaster strikes.” I also came across a radio show host who ostensibly discusses urban survival every week on her show. Well, I hope she’s got a very creative mind because if I were to address “urban survival” it would last about one hour, because frankly, there’s no such thing as urban survival folks. When it comes to dealing with a bona fide disaster, you need to get out of the city, plain and simple. This means that there’s a reason why you “only hear instructions to get out of the city when disaster strikes assuming you expect to last longer than a couple of weeks, at best. The problem, though, is that the longer you wait to get out of the city, the more dangerous your exit will be and the more problems will confront you as well.