Being prepared-is it really just the food?

Being prepared.

Sounds like a boy scout motto, doesn’t it?  “Be Prepared”

Maybe in a sense, it is a good scout motto, because scouting was always about learning things, at least in the beginning.  Knowledge IS power, right?  Knowledge can also be freedom.

Sure, it’s great to be prepared and have that food set aside for that rainy day, whether it comes due to a hurricane, earthquake, job loss, injury, governmental meltdown, or whatever comes down the pike…or interstate…or river.  But the food isn’t all there is to being prepared either.

It’s about being prepared to handle adversity and adapt to new problems and situations.  That is usually easier for the younger crowd, because as we age, we find that change and adversity more threatening, especially when deprived of our “support group” of our family and friends.  Even though its easy for me to forget it most days, I have to remind myself that I’m now officially joining the “older” group myself.

Being adaptable is something we can train for and practice in our daily lives.  It’s called “new experiences.”  Trying new things, learning new skills, getting out of our comfort zones…are all good practice.  I’m quite used to car camping, I’ve done some backpacking, and now…I’m off on this idea of a Great American Adventure, if I can sell GM on the idea…of bicycling & camping across America.  He says I’m nuts, that I can’t do that.  I say endurance is irrelevant, that I would merely go until I was tired, and then sleep until I was rested.  Whether or not I convince him to embark on this (possibly) over-ambitious project, I am pursuing the concept of bicycle camping.  It intrigues me.

I’m also learning about the plants and animals of the estuaries along the Gulf Coast.  It’s not been easy, as everything is unfamiliar to me, with my background in the deserts of the Southwest.  It’s very interesting though, even if I am suspicious of water.

That’s another new thing for this year.  I’m learning to explore the waterways in a small boat.  I’m learning about fishing the coastal waters.  It’s a far cry from the seasonal streams of the desert that I knew in my younger years too.

Learning, you see, is the key I hold in my hand for being prepared.  I am prepared to adapt.  I am a survivor.  I can adapt and change when my circumstances change, no matter how they change.  I survive.

The real key to surviving is just that.  I will survive, I know how to learn, I have learned before, and I know a lot of things on which I can build my new knowledge base on.

I’ve baked that apple pie from scratch, and baked a cake over a campfire.  I’ve build sheds and barns, fixed fences, and milked a cow.  I’ve milked a goat too.  I’ve made soap, I’ve skinned a coyote, I’ve hunted for rabbits, and I’ve fished.  I’ve cooked what we’ve caught too.  I’ve made quilts, and sewn clothes.  I’ve grown gardens and canned and made jelly too.  I’ve ridden horses, and harnessed dogs to carts.  I’ve pitched a tent or two, and I’ve slept in the open too.  I’ve made tarp shelters, snow shelters, and taken shelter beneath rocky overhangs.  I’ve fixed leaking pipes, drawn water from a well with a bucket and rope, and drank from a stock tank.  I’ve had fancy bathrooms, outhouses, and imaginary bushes.  I’ve run off coyotes, feral dogs, and bobcats.  I’ve herded cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese too.  I’ve even roped a few goats myself, as well as a horse or two.  I’ve stacked hay, tended to sick livestock, and disposed of a few of their corpses.  I’ve been homeless, and I’ve had lovely homes.  I’ve been a mom, a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece,  an aunt, and a grandma.  I’ve been terrified, and I’ve been infuriated, and after the day was done, I had still survived.

I’ve collected a lot of t-shirts over the years, all in the name of trying new things.  Some I liked, some I didn’t.  Some were tough to walk away from.  I’ve been deliriously happy, hopelessly sad, lost, found, scared, mad, glad, murderous, and loving.  It didn’t kill me.  I survived even when I didn’t think I could or even necessarily wanted to.  Part of me is just too stubborn to give up, I guess.  Maybe its luck.  Whatever it is…I am a survivor.

Is it by choice or by accident or by fortune?  I’m certain its mostly by choice.  I’ve never been good at playing the victim, I’m much better at playing the competent role.  I am competent, I can and do figure out how to solve problems, I cope.  That’s my primary skill–coping, no matter what comes down that river towards me, I adapt and respond.  If its cold, I find ways to get warm.  If its hot, I seek cool.  If its raining out, I figure out how to stay dry.  If my car is broke down and I need to go somewhere, I figure out how to get there, whether its to ask someone to take me, use the bicycle, walk, or some other way…I get there.

Being prepared means knowing how to break the survival scenario into smaller problems and then attacking each problem with a solution.  If its cold, raining, your hungry, and you are standing there…what will you work on first?

First, get some shelter to protect you from rain and wind.  That will go a long ways towards warm too.  Whether its a tent, lean to, brush shelter, under a bridge, or whatever…that shelter is critical.

Second, fire means heat, as well as a way to cook food and it also provides both light and security.  For that, you need fuel and a way to start it burning.  If you are lucky, you are somewhere with ample fuel.  Look for fuel that may be dry, such as the interior of rotting logs, under logs or branches, etc.  You will also need dry tinder and a way to start the fire, be it a match or striker.

Third, water can be heated in many things, including a paper bag.  Hot water is a good start towards soup, an easy thing to make that renders many foods more edible and easier to eat.  It also helps to stay hydrated, much more important initially than food is.  Most areas have a variety of wild foods.  If you don’t know them, learn them before you have to know what they are.  It’s too late when you are standing there with a rumbling belly to learn.

Knowledge is power, and learning how to do these things and hoping to never have to use them is a very wise course of action.  It doesn’t hurt to learn them, they don’t take up room, and they don’t tattoo you forever as a “weirdo”.  No one will ever need to know you know these things…unless you choose to share that knowledge with them.

So how do you learn?  You are on the internet, with a wealth of information in front of you.  If you don’t have a teacher in person, there is still YouTube, Instructables, and blogs such as this.  There are websites such as Exogeny Network with information too.  There are search engines to help you find specific information and gear.

And, along the way, don’t forget…it’s also a very wise idea to have at least 90 days of food on hand in your home too.  Just in case.  Call it a well stocked pantry, your rainy day supply or your end of the world food…whatever name you want to give it.  Choose some foods that are packaged for long term storage, to simplify that rotation of food required for grocery store supplies.  Pay attention and remember…disasters come in many sizes, colors, and flavors.

If the unthinkable happened, what then?

Part of being prepared for an emergency situation is just thinking about those “what ifs”.  That doesn’t mean obsessing over disasters and gloomy scenarios, but rather doing a talk-through drill of what if this happened to what we’d do if this happened.  It isn’t about stockpiling weapons, ammunition, food, and other supplies so much as being mentally prepared to deal with the unthinkable.

Lately, we’ve heard a lot of talk of a potential civil war in the United States.  In my entire life, I’ve never heard such a thing suggested or even speculated about before, and frankly, it’s a bit frightening.  I grew up in the Cold War era where we spent more time worrying about a Soviet attack or nuclear bomb than we did about the remote possibility of a civil war, let alone hearing one suggested as the result of federal agencies operating in opposition to our constitution.  A civil war isn’t a joke, it isn’t funny, and it is not being suggested as a potential outcome of the federal government lightly either.  Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t heard anyone proposing that we start one, but rather that it is the inevitable outcome of certain federal actions over the past few years.  What is the primary reason for the worry that it will happen? State’s rights.  Guess what started the first civil war in the USA before?  No, it wasn’t slavery like most of us have been told our entire lives–that’s the propaganda part that was prevalent even in that era.  It was state’s rights.  There is that cliche about “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it” and we may be watching that play out once again.  I can’t help but wonder…will the McMansions of today be the “antebellum homes ” of tomorrow?

We also have numerous natural disasters being discussed lately, for a variety of reasons.  Of course, there is the conspiracy element to consider too.  It seems the federal government has been granted all sorts of magical powers lately, including the ability to control the weather and cause earthquakes.  Granted, we all know that our government has a lot of advanced technology and many secrets, but I’m also a bit skeptical of their ability to do much useful with that knowledge.  They seem to be much more adept at chasing rainbows and keeping vast dossiers of information about people than they do at anything else.  Why else is Wikileaks causing such great worry among the powers that be?

But back to natural disasters, we do have a very critical fault line that has been dormant a little longer than anyone expected, which could mean delivering a major “shake and break” session any day.  That’s the New Madrid fault line, which has also been associated with the mass bird deaths in Kentucky, Arkansas and Louisiana recently.  The reality is that if that fault line did deliver a 7.0+ earthquake anytime now, we’d be in trouble.  We’d likely lose communications between the western and eastern halves of the USA, along with severe problems of moving goods and people from one side of the country to another.  We would see a lot of deaths and a vast number of displaced people–it would make Katrina look like a playground.

The West Coast and Alaska both are subject to earthquakes too, and tsunamis are also a possibility there.  Even if you live far from the immediate reaches of such an event occurring on the West Coast, it would affect everyone in the USA, especially if it was a 7.0 or larger quake in the Los Angeles area resulting in that city nearly being leveled.  No one wants to think of such a thing occurring, but it could conceivably occur.

The East Coast is subject to hurricanes, as well as tsunamis, and although the Atlantic region does not seem to be as earthquake prone as the Pacific, they do still occur.

Add in the Upper Plains and their potential for winter storms, dropping vast amounts of snow and incredibly cold temperatures that can paralyze the entire region for days at a time, and we’ve certainly got enough natural disaster scenarios to worry about on a national level.  Don’t forget the tornadoes too.

The real kicker would be what if they happened in a series event.  What if it was multiple events that struck?  What if that civil war DID break out?  What if, as the saying goes, the shit really did hit the fan?  What would you do then?

Who would you want to be on your “team” if the unthinkable did occur?  Have you even thought about a team effort, allowing resources, skills, and manpower to be pooled for maximum efficiency?  This isn’t something you put together at the last minute, but rather something that you need to have thought out and discussed long before an event that requires that team to assemble ever occurs.

We’ve seen it time and time again when natural disasters and civil wars have struck, both here and abroad, that despite everyone being in dire straits, predators appear.  I’m not talking about roaming dogs either, but rather the human predators.  These people really do rape, rob, steal, and destroy without any regards for others.  They roam, not unlike a pack of starving dogs, looking for someone to be their victim.  A lone person or a single family is an easy target for such a roving band of looters as well.  How would you cope with trying to survive while trying to ensure your family’s safety?

It’s the same motivation that caused our ancestors to form groups that we commonly call “tribes” today, that need to provide for safety by increasing their numbers from a single family unit to multiple family units.  While it is hard to find enough resources to supply hundreds of people food and shelter, it is just as hard to provide for the safety of a handful of people.  By having a group of people numbering a dozen to two dozen adults, there is more diversity of skills and greater ability to provide security for the group as a whole.  This also allows for elderly, infants, toddlers, and children to be protected within the group, a very important consideration for those with young children or aging parents.

Geographic proximity is an important consideration when assembling your team.  In the event of an emergency, roads may become impassable or even unwise to travel.  How will your team manage to get together if they cannot use motor vehicles?  Where will they assemble?

Ideally, everyone would live within walking distance of each other, but that is not always possible.  Think about various kinds of situations and how your group would get together, as each situation is very different from another.  Are there any alternative routes?  Would bicycles or motorcycles make it easier?  Would walking be the only way?  How would you carry your supplies?

Think about what your group would do if they were among the displaced during a disaster.  Where would they go?  How would they travel?  How would they provide for their own needs?

How will they communicate?  Who is the leaders of the group?  How will decisions be made and who will make them?  How will the group be housed?  How will disputes be settled?

These may sound like petty issues, but petty issues can cause serious problems within a small group.  It is very important the the group maintains peace and is compatible.  Ideological differences can become massive issues under stress.

If you look at primitive people, “tribes” usually have similar ideology and culture, reducing potential conflict within the smaller unit.  They also have a high percentage of people related through blood and marriage, and often have strong ties with neighboring tribes.  Their neighboring tribes are also their allies when faced with an enemy, and often pool resources with each other during hard times.

Learning from our own past is an excellent idea, and right there is a lesson.  Not only do you need to practice with  your own team, but you should have an entire network of “teams” with whom you exchange information, ideas, and potential solutions with.  This expanded network provides options if one group or another is displaced due to a disaster too.  A  “Plan B” is always a good idea, and when planning for disasters, one never knows exactly how things will play out when and if it does occur.

One’s “team” also can serve functions long before the disaster occurs.  Socializing together ensures that everyone is familiar with each other and how each person functions within the group.  Often, companies selling supplies for emergency preparedness offer group discounts, so by pooling their purchase power, they can effectively maximize their purchasing power while preparation is the best idea.  It is also a great idea for the team to pool their efforts on various member’s personal projects such as building sheds, a barbecue, a deck, renovating a bathroom, etc. to allow everyone to learn how to work together and learn new skills or share skills.  These cooperative efforts have immediate benefits, but in the long term, could mean whether or not a group can function cooperatively with each other during an emergency situation too.

Once upon a time, families were vast and extended and yet lived fairly close to each other.  Today, that is seldom true.  What you are creating is in effect an artificial form of extended family unit.  Unlike a genetic family, this artificial version can choose its members wisely, rather than enduring the luck of the draw.  As you are assembling this group or team, think about the roles each member would assume within the group.  Dividing areas of expertise among the group is an excellent idea, and ensures that each team member knows exactly what they are responsible for within their group.  Don’t forget, everyone has an active role.  Even the developmentally impaired can manage tasks like picking up firewood, carrying water, and cleaning.  The elderly are often excellent at teaching younger members of the group how to do things as well.  Someone who is physically impaired may well possess other skills and knowledge that more than make up for their inability to help with the physical labor.

So, when you sit there, musing about what you just read, who do you think you want at your back if looters are headed your way?  If the power and gas are gone, who do you want ensuring that you and your family will have food to eat that is safe and healthy?  If you are displaced, with no roof to shelter you from the storms, who do you want in your group to help figure out how to stay warm, dry, and comfortable in the meantime?  If the trucks and trains and ships stopped coming one day, who do you want around to make sure that you stay safe and warm and fed and have enough to drink?  If soldiers showed up next week and confiscated your valuables, your food, your weapons, and your transportation…maybe even your home…who do you want around then? (and don’t say that would never happen…it happened during the Civil War.)

Think about what you would do if the unthinkable happens, and then when you go to sleep tonight, pray that it never does happen and that all of our preparations for an emergency are for nothing.  I’d rather put my faith in God than in Uncle Sam any day.

Doomsday?

I’m usually not into the whole doomsday thing. I’m just way too optimistic for that.  I do believe in emergency preparedness, but in my mind, its usually about the natural disasters that can quickly descend upon us.  But…in light of the times, I’ve listened to the gloom and doom more.

Civil war anyone?  We haven’t done that in the United States in a very long time.  But what starts a civil war here anyhow?  Well, when I cast my brain back to my college days, it was states’ rights.  Yeah, you read that right…states’ rights, not slavery.  Slavery may have been part of it, but face it, economically speaking, slaves weren’t particularly efficient.  They were expensive, and it was far cheaper to avoid “ownership” and merely employ people at starvation wages like they did in the North.   The real issue was about whether or not the federal government could override states’ rights in determining their own laws.

Apparently, that lesson has been forgotten, because last year Obamacare was passed…and it mandates commerce, something that has always been under the jurisdiction of the states themselves.  Now don’t get me wrong…I am all for universal health care, just not that particular healthcare plan or how it was passed.  It seems that the states feel the same way.  There is a LOT of conservative agitation over that particular issue, and the complexity of that bill makes disinformation rampant.

Add in an economy that is still struggling, compounded by rumors of war and a rising deficit.  Unemployed people tend to be real grumpy, and they have more time to stew over political issues.  Some of them have been unemployed a long time, and these unemployed and underemployed people tend to be educated people too.  They are not happy with government’s bailouts and they are tired of handouts.  They want to see some change happening, and it hasn’t been change for the better so far.  Now we have rumors of war with North Korea coming around the grapevine, and war is expensive…which increases our skyrocketing deficit.  How long before we’re in Greece’s shoes and looking for SOMEBODY to bail our spending butts out of hot water?

Our biggest employer in the United States is the government.  That’s not healthy.  What are we going to do when THEY start laying off?  And…it’s already happening at the lower levels.  States, counties, parishes, cities and towns have been laying off some of their workers.  Hiring freezes are in effect.  Next its going to be the federal government…and what are they going to do, just put a pay freeze on the soldiers and tell them they aren’t going to get paid this year?  (I say fire the IRS workers…then they can’t collect taxes!)

We are seeing gas prices that fluctuate a lot, which means fuel for heating homes in the frigid North is skyrocketing often too.  Cold people are unhappy people.  Food prices are unstable, randomly seeming to rock up and down, as though stores are trying to gauge what we’re really going to spend on our food.

And our illegal immigrant issue isn’t going away, and no matter how much everyone wants to point their fingers at Arizona and their laws…if the Federal government was addressing the illegal issue, then they wouldn’t have to.  It’s not just Mexican nationals either, nor just the Mexican border…and the problem isn’t ending with the Mexican border states.  Illegal aliens are not just picking lettuce, they are often taking far higher paying jobs, even with companies holding government contracts, far away from the Mexican border.  They hail from all kinds of countries too.  When a man who’s just been laid off is walking away from his job site, knowing that those illegal aliens still have THEIR jobs…how do you think he’s feeling?

And how do you tell if someone is an illegal alien?  Are we all going to need to carry our papers to prove we are citizens?  Are we all going to have to assume that we’re going to be challenged several times a day about our nationality?  Logic says that is inefficient, and profiling is necessary, even if it isn’t fair to citizens who may be Hispanic, have an accent, or have difficulty speaking English.  I guess its a case of so sorry, but English IS our mainstream language.  MY ancestors had to give up THEIR language to live here, so why is the current crop of immigrants any different?  Granted, I’ve known some technically illegal aliens that spoke perfect English and didn’t look any bit like a “foreigner” because they had been here since infancy.  They didn’t make the decision to come here illegally, it was done for them, and they were very American.  It isn’t an easy or cut & dried situation, but most people don’t see it that way.  They see illegal aliens that have jobs that they don’t have and would like to have.

What does all of this mean?

A potentially bankrupt nation with most of its armed forces scattered across the globe, unable to adequately supply their armies or bring them home, as riots begin to erupt in one city after another as social unrest, shortages, and unemployment provide the sparks for the flames.  As the government begins to break down, so does shipping of goods, and as cities endure one shortage after another, rioting only gets worse.  Crime rises.  Black markets begin to flourish.  Homes, businesses, government offices are destroyed, police and fire departments are helpless against the rising wave of unrest.  The National Guard, once intended as a force remaining here to protect the nation, has become an auxiliary source for soldiers, and many units are far away from the United States, unable to assist in restoring order here, and the situation continues to deteriorate.

That’s if no foreign government steps in, that’s if the United Nations doesn’t step in.  Then, we’d become an occupied nation living under someone else’s martial law.  The production of our fields, farms, factories and refineries can be confiscated and shipped overseas, leaving Americans still struggling to survive.  After all, we have to pay the bill for their soldiers…

Of course, that situation could be compounded.  We have seen our shores landed on by boat people before.  It can happen again, and what if they are carrying things like cholera, diphtheria, yellow fever, and diseases far worse?  As these diseases spread out at an epidemic level, we could add sickness, quarantines, and panic to the equation, further speeding along our descent into chaos.

Mother Nature hasn’t been adverse to striking too.  How about a few really nasty blizzards, the kind that dumps 5-6 feet of snow across the Heartland and Midwest?  Maybe a nice earthquake on the West Coast, shake things up a bit there.  And…the Madrid fault along the Mississippi river is about a century overdue to shake things up all across the center of the country, along a major shipping alley too.  The river flowing backwards would be an awesome sight, I suppose.

And too, there was Katrina…and there can be another Katrina again.  Where shall it land?  The East Coast?  Florida?  Somewhere along the Gulf Coast?

If you have disease running rampant, social unrest resulting in serious urban rioting, a breakdown of the ability of the government to respond and restore order, and then comes natural disasters on top of it, sending a couple of million people to find a refuge elsewhere, while those they left behind are struggling to survive…what then?

How will you survive?

What will you drink? Eat? Where will you sleep?  How will you stay warm or cool?  Who will protect you when the bandits, rioters, or looters come?  What are you going to do when they want YOUR food, YOUR water, YOUR safe haven, and maybe YOUR sons or daughters?  It’s a fact of life, they WILL come.  Look what happened with Katrina…all that death and destruction, and people went into flooded houses and stole what hadn’t been damaged.   Gangs of looters roamed neighborhoods, unafraid of the curfew, and respecting little except a confrontation with armed residents who were still in their homes.  There are cops who were convicted of wrongfully killing people during those times…but how many people died at the hands of looters and it went unreported and undetected?

Think about it.  Do you have food and water to last you…maybe a long time?  How would you protect yourself?  Who are your neighbors?  What if you aren’t allowed to find your family?  What if travel is too dangerous or not permitted?  Look at the humiliation people now have to endure in order to be allowed to fly…what if it was like that to drive to the next town…or worse?

Being prepared means thinking about worst case scenarios.  It means getting the tools together to achieve a successful outcome.

Sometimes it means making sure you have the right to do so too.

Critical survival gear and child’s play

What is the most important part of your survival emergency preparedness kit?  The one thing that you MUST have?

What this item is not:

1. bulky
2. heavy
3. expensive
4. hard to find
5. illegal (yet anyhow!)
6. hard to store
7. need to be rotated
8. easy to lose
9. prone to spoilage
10. needs special tools to operate correctly
11. need accessories

What it is:

1. critical to survival
2. works for your entire group
3. can be boosted by others
4. adaptable
5. ingenious
6. useful
7. hard to lose
8. easy to carry along
9. doesn’t need special sizes
10. uses many accessories
11. adjustable
12. renewable
13. works better when shared with others, whether before or during an emergency
14. works better when used before the emergency occurs
15. works better with frequent usage

Know what it is yet?

It’s your brain and knowledge it carries.

It’s the single most important piece of survival and emergency preparedness equipment that you can make sure you possess.  It works when you have little else, and even when that emergency backpack is missing, damaged, or destroyed.  It can get you out of situations that no weapon or rope alone possibly can.  It can attract the attention of rescuers when there is no flare bright enough.  It can find food and water when there isn’t much to be found anywhere.

It also works better when shared with others, even before the emergency even actually occurs.  It’s effectiveness is compounded by being used frequently before the emergency too.  Sometimes, its potential effectiveness can be multiplied simply by sitting around with others and mentally going through potentially challenging situations and thinking about how they could be solved.

A lot of the ideas that can become useful skills are born out of the play of children.  Playing house?  Building a house out of found materials in the wooded lot next door can give birth to the same skills that create a shelter out of found materials in the woods in an emergency too.  “Fun” childhood activities can lead to survival skills too…like boiling water in a paper bag or heating rocks to boil liquids in a flammable container.  Cooking on a stick.

The games we play as children, and the games we play with our children have much more meaning than we realize sometimes.  Those childhood games lead to problem solving skills, adaptability, and being able to think creatively.  Cooking that hamburger patty on a hot rock isn’t as silly when you compare it to preparing food without utensils in a survival situation.  What is the difference really between building a ‘cool snow fort” and building a snow shelter?

Realizing that those playful excursions build skills and provide a foundation of knowledge for survival in our children, as well as hones adult skills, really changes the whole concept.  Just as play provides learning experience for other mammals during their youth, it does the same for our own.  Just in our case, we can continue learning in playful manners as adults.  Lessons learned in such play are also the lessons that will provide both the adults and the children with the foundation of knowledge that can turn into real survival skills when under stress too.

Too often, as adults we take learning new things too seriously, and take the fun out of it.  Without the fun, our brains don’t make the same critical connections that we need to make to ensure that knowledge is retained and accessible during an emergency.  It is our brains that are a critical tool for our survival, and the knowledge that is retained from childhood builds the entire foundation for our ingenuity and inventiveness at solving survival situations.  Those lessons will be the basis for our children’s ability to adapt and find solutions for the infinite possibilities that can occur in an emergency, whether it is suddenly being stranded in a winter storm, a natural disaster, an invasion of a foreign army, or breakdown of the modern infrastructure or anything else.  No one can have an emergency backpack that is prepared for all eventualities all the time.  Everybody should have their brain prepared with that framework of knowledge and problem solving skills that give them the best possible chance of survival, however.

Taking knowledge and playing with it creates associations of pleasure with the skill set.  It may sound silly initially, but the most dangerous risks for anyone in a survival situation is hopelessness, mind numbing fear, depression, panic and similar negative responses to the stimuli being delivered during the event.  If you add in your companion(s) emotional response, it can become even more daunting.   By creating associations with fun and pleasure prior to the emergency in association with skills for survival, you are in essence putting in an emotional insurance policy.  This emotional insurance policy is multiplied by confidence and knowledge too, so the more practice and knowledge added, the greater that potential pay off.

And doing these activities with novices and children has an additional pay off.  Not only teaching these things to others increases your own knowledge and understanding and gives you practice that creates confidence, you are passing the knowledge on to others.  Tenfold to your own experience, you discover the things that can go wrong when trying to successfully achieve a goal, whether its cooking food over a primitive spit over a fire, build a fire using no matches, build a shelter…or whatever.

Camping provides another way of preparing for emergencies, as silly as that may sound.  In an emergency, we’re often forced out of our familiar situation and into an unfamiliar one.  We may have food and shelter, but we have to adapt to living in close quarters with our family or friends, of using common restrooms and showers, of dealing with strangers with whom we have nothing in common.  We may have to cook food over a camp stove or campfire and wash dishes out doors.  We may have to sleep on a cot or pallet on the ground in a tent.  We may have to eat food that is unfamiliar or ill prepared.

We’ve all seen photos of refugee camps on television, newspapers, and the internet.  What do they resemble?

Overcrowded campgrounds!

Loss of privacy, crowded and primitive quarters, uncomfortable beds, communal restrooms and showers, lack of control over our environmental comfort (heating and cooling of our quarters) and our own food seem like minor issues.  In a refugee situation, these become major issues.  If you lack the ability to adapt and stay positive, managing to live through a refugee situation can become an insurmountable problem.  You may be laughing, and saying that this is the United States and we don’t have refugee camps.

FEMA camps?  Katrina?  We saw that on the Gulf coast, and we saw how incredibly long some of these FEMA trailer villages existed as people tried to get back on their feet.  The entire Katrina experience is an excellent example of what can occur during and after an emergency, and what the most critical areas for survival for an American refugee.

The refugees then that survived best were the ones that were best able to adapt to changing circumstances.  Not because of money or social status, but rather because of that internal ability to adapt.  Those same adaptable victims were the quickest to return, whether they returned to their previous homes or found alternative housing.  They were the first to resettle in other areas when their job and home had vanished and there was no alternative available for them.  These were also the same people that needed the least amount of assistance from relief organizations and the government to get back on their feet.

This vividly illustrates the importance of teaching skills to prepare people mentally and emotionally to adapt to situations.  It’s important for society as a whole to teach the individual these skills, as it reduces the drain that individual presents on the greater group.  Taking these same lessons and applying them to your own “survival group” whether it is your nuclear family or a larger group of family and friends, and ensuring that everyone CAN adapt to an emergency situation is important.   It is much harder to remain positive and keep on thinking on your feet when a family member, significant other, or simply another member of your group is continually focused on the negative, and protests the situation with every breath.  The best way to prevent this is to maximize their adaptability quotient prior to an actual emergency, and camping can be an excellent outlet.

So, try out those survival skills you read about.  Get that unused tent out of the garage.  Go camping with the family and make it fun and enjoyable.  It’s a lesson worth learning.

 

 

 

 

 

Can’t afford to be prepared?

So you’ve priced long term storage foods, and you can’t afford to buy even a 3 month supply.  What then?

Can you really afford to not be prepared for the future?

A lot of people make jokes about emergency preparedness and survival efforts.  It’s commonly referred to as “the end of the world.”  All of that stuff is for some major disaster that causes a total breakdown of society around the world…supposedly.

But its not like that.  Those supplies are to get you through whatever happens, whether its losing a job, a major repair on a vehicle, unexpected bills, a hurricane, earthquake, quarantine for the bird flu they’ve been scaring us with for years now…or whatever unforeseen event that has us unable to go to the store and buy what we need.  You don’t have to buy it all at once, and you don’t have to buy expensive foods to start creating that cushion either.

Start small, and consider whether you have family or friends that are interested in creating that cache of food in their pantry along with you.  Buying together means that you can often get a bigger discount.  Start by purchasing tightly sealing containers, about a gallon in size.  Screw on or clamping lids work best, either in rigid plastic or glass.  If you are clumsy or live in an area where tornados, hurricanes, or earthquakes are likely…plastic may be a better bet, as it is less likely to shatter from an impact or fall.  Staples such as rice, flour, sugar, salt, dry beans, etc. can be stored in these containers.  It also may be a good idea to freeze your dry goods for 24 hours in  your freezer–this kills the eggs and larvae of weevils and grain beetles, the biggest cause of loss of dry goods in your pantry.  (Pet foods are your biggest culprit for introducing them into the home, but often dry goods are contaminated with these eggs in the warehouse or store too.)

Think about what your family eats, and what you can cook with minimal tools and heat.  You may lack electricity and gas, and be forced to rely on alternative heat sources for cooking, such as a camp stove, fire pit, charcoal, etc.  What would you use for fuel if you didn’t have utilities?  It does little good to have plenty of food but no way to cook it.  Store this fuel appropriately, and in sufficient quantity to match your pantry.  If you are starting out by assembling a 72 hour kit, match the fuel.  72 hour kits mean 9 meals, plus boiling water, if necessary.  In my case, I know that my single burner propane stove can prepare food for a 3 day weekend with 2 cans of the disposable propane.  If I am using my ultra light single burner stove, which provides similar heat, I would use about a quart of white gas.  The butane stove I own would use about 3 cans of fuel, and using charcoal I would probably use about 15 lbs. for frugal preparation of simple meals.  I also have a “pocket stove” that is designed to burn very small twigs, small pinecones, bits of paper, etc. and these items can often be scrounged, even in an urban or suburban environment.

Stock up a bit extra of the foods you actually eat.  Grocery store foods have a relatively short shelf life compared to foods packaged for long term storage, and a 90 day rotation is a good idea.  You have no idea how long your canned goods sat on a warehouse or grocery shelf after processing, unless you can decipher (and find) the mysterious can codes.  Use a marker to label cans with the purchase month & year, this helps ensure that things are used in a timely manner.  For a 72 hour kit, make it foods that require little heating, if any.  Canned soups, fruits, vegetables, etc. can be eaten directly from the can without heating if necessary.  Ramen noodles are very inexpensive, versatile, and can actually be eaten directly from the package.  Despite the directions, these noodles can be “cooked” by simply pouring hot water over them and allowing them to sit and soften for about 5 minutes.  Granola bars, energy bars, nutrition bars, etc. are also good choices as they are individually packaged and usually quite tasty.

That 72 hour emergency kit should be portable, and packing it into an inexpensive backpack is a good way to ensure it is actually a “grab and go” sort of portable.  It also ensures that you have 3 days of food ready to go and clearly planned for each person.  Even a used school backpack will work for this purpose, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy.  Put a full change of clothing for each person in the bag along with the food, and add any other essentials, such as prescription medication, OTC medications commonly needed, a small first aid kit, a flashlight (with batteries), and emergency kit with a poncho, blanket, and tube tent.  These emergency ponchos, blankets and tube tents are made of plastic or mylar, very compact, and very cheap.  They also last indefinitely in your pack, waiting to be used in an emergency.  Matches or a lighter are another good addition to the pack, enabling the user to build a fire, if necessary.  Packing the items into gallon zipper closure bags is a good idea for organizing and ensuring the items stay dry inside of the pack too.  Don’t forget to include hygiene items such as toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, small bar of soap, shampoo, comb or brush, and a hand towel

That 72 hour backpack can have very simple and cheap foods, or the more popular MREs.  MREs are bulky and heavy, and packing even 3 of them into a backpack adds considerably to the weight.  However, the food is tasty and easy to eat, as well as very convenient.  A cheapskate alternative can be to assemble your own version.  Pack each day’s food in a separate zipper close bag.  It can be as minimal as 2 pkgs. of ramen noodles, a can of vienna sausage, a packet of instant oatmeal, three granola bars, a pack of gum, a single serving package of peanuts, and a small box of raisins for each day.  Adding single serving sized packets of coffee, tea, instant cocoa, soft drink mixes, sports drinks, sugar, and creamer can also be a nice touch.  Hard candies are also a good source of energy, a morale booster, and a thirst soothing item to suck on.  Prepackaged crackers filled with peanut butter or cheese can also be a good on-the-run sort of food.

Remember you will need water too, about a gallon per day per person.  In an emergency, think about what your water source would be.  If you had to take your backpack and leave your home, you will need a way to carry at least some water.  The water-carrying container can be as simple as prepackaged single serving water bottles (not very durable, but easy) or a canteen.  You also need to think about how you would carry that water along with you.  If your backpack has pockets for the water bottles, it makes it easy.  Another popular way to carry them is to tie a thin cord around the neck of the bottles, then attach the cord to the pack.  If this is going to be your option, you will need to put the cord in your pack now, before you need it, as well as keep fresh water bottles with your pack.  Don’t forget to rotate the water with the food items–you don’t want foul tasting water when you need to drink it.

Once you have assembled your cheapskate’s 72 hour kit in that backpack, pick it up and weigh it.  The average adult, couch potato version, is not going to be able to carry more than 20-25 lbs. for any length of time.  The elderly and very young will not be able to manage even that much.  Don’t overload anyone, but anyone able to walk is able to carry at least a portion of their own supplies.  It may be necessary to add more to the most fit of the adults to reduce the weight carried by children or aged persons.  Water especially is heavy, and it is also particularly important to both the old and young to maintain health.  A child of about 5 should typically be able to manage their snack items or a single day’s food along with a change of clothing, flashlight, poncho, emergency blanket, and a single water bottle of a quart or less.  Try walking around the block with your load–it should not be making you groan after a short walk.

Being prepared means thinking ahead.  Purchase a few items at a time and once you have assembled that critical 72 hour kit, start working on a pantry capable of sustaining your household for a week..then two weeks, a month, etc.  Long term storage items can be added slowly to your pantry, and many of them will likely become household staples as well.  I happen to LOVE the freeze dried peas, dehydrated stew vegetables, butter powder, fruit, etc.  We actually USE these items as part of our regular routine, at home and when camping.  It makes it easy to rotate them on the pantry shelf, and we know that if we have to live on the pantry, we will not mind eating those foods too.  I typically buy items when they are on sale, and a little extra each month means that soon, I will have my pantry cushion with at least a 6 month supply for our household once again.

Emergency preparedness, camping, and interesting and helpful websites

Last night, on Gia Scott’s Dawn of Shades, I promised to post the websites that we were talking about on this blog.  (My guest was the mysterious Mississippi Hippy and the topic was outdoor survival, emergency preparedness, and outdoor/camping skills.)  I use a LOT of websites, some recently, some were favored in days gone by.  They are all worth checking out!

Emergency preparedness (food storage):  www.foodinsurance.com (recommended to me, but I have not shopped with them.)  www.beprepared.com (I like this company, have shopped with them, and will be shopping again with them…what more is there to say?) 

Camping: Each state will have a website for their state parks, with individual sections for each state park.  Typically, the address is going to be something like www.statename.gov/parks but its much easier to use a search.  Just make sure you are accessing the state’s own website!  Other sites may have interesting and relevent reviews and comments, but may not be current in their information.  For car camping, I LOVE state campgrounds.  Why?  They usually cost about 1/2 to 3/4 of what the national park’s campgrounds in the area are charging, offer better facilities, have more polite staff, have more interpretive programs that are of interest to children and families, are more tent-friendly, and are better maintained.  Even 30 years ago, I learned that state campgrounds were far better–at that time, hot showers were unheard of at any national park campground.  Today, many national park campgrounds will offer things such as flush toilets and showers, but they are NOT tent friendly.  Requirements consistently require that the tent be erected ONLY on the tent pad, which at about 10×10 is far smaller than a family tent, resulting in sometimes over a foot drop as the tent hangs over the edge of the pad.  Sites in Mississippi that I have visited were also prone to flooding during relatively minor rainstorms, resulting in not only campsites being flooded, but the roads within the campground as well.  I do enjoy primitive camping in national parks, where it is permitted, but I recommend steering away from national park campgrounds unless you have a camper.  So much for the image of a tent camping in the national parks!

Other camping and hiking information–I used to LOVE www.gorp.com and got excellent destination information for hikes and camping trips that made me look like a pro even in unfamiliar territory.  Last time I checked…that lovely feature was gone.  I haven’t been back recently to see if it has been reinstated on their website.

Current favorite is www.backpacker.com  Even though I don’t backpack right now and don’t know if I will ever be able to again, the information is good solid information about a lot of gear that tent campers find relevant even when car camping.  Their magazine is also highly recommended–great information!  There is really a shortage of websites, magazines, and communities devoted specifically to tent campers.  Those of us who cling to our tents with every penny pinching muscle we have…seem to be becoming a rare breed.  There seems to be more backpackers than car camping tenters these days, if the web is reflecting reality.  RVers seem to rule the campgrounds, and while I enjoy a comfortable stay as much as anyone, I cannot afford to haul a 6000 lb travel trailer every weekend to some destination.  I cannot afford a vehicle to tow such a trailer anyhow, let alone afford the gas to drive it anywhere.  It’s just plain good sense to tent camp in terms of environmental responsibility.  And yes, I whine when its really hot and humid.   GM whines when its cold and rainy.  We make a good pair!

I use Google Earth to look at terrain and maps at home prior to venturing out into new territory, largely so I have an idea where things are in relation to each other and the general lay of the land…it’s the next best thing to being there.

As for emergency preparedness, here’s my routine for storm season, our largest threat on the Gulf Coast and we’re now in the early stages of the worst part of it.

1) keep your vehicle in good repair, well maintained and with good tires

2) keep your vehicle fueled at all times, do not let it have less than half a tank of gas (in my case, half a tank means I can drive about 200 miles.)

3) keep your important papers and files in a grab & go box of some kind.  I happen to use a portable hanging file folder box with a hinged lid.  Everything really important from birth certificates to titles are stored inside of that box.  It’s easy to add files, find files and transport.

4) have your emergency backpack packed and ready at all times.  keep it with you (we carry ours in the van normally.)  Each person needs their own backpack, and it should be appropriately packed for that person and their ability to carry it.  Mine is very heavy for me right now with my limited ability to carry anything, as it weighs in at 27 lbs. (Yes, we weighed it.)  Its an inexpensive internal frame pack with a waist belt and chest strap.  GM has a limp and back issues, but his weighs about 38 lbs.

5) have extra supplies packed into a “drop bag.”  This bag includes extras that would be nice but aren’t essential for immediate survival.  This bag goes if you can take it, but your real needs are in the backpacks.  This drop bag will have extended supplies, additional clothing, food, and comfort items.

6) be prepared for stay-at-home emergencies as well.  The H1N1 scare turned out to be nothing, but it may not always BE nothing.  There may be times when it makes sense to stay home and wait out a problem, whether it is a pandemic, job loss,  or other problem.  Every family should keep a full year’s supply of food on hand, but if this is not possible, at least 30 days should be stored in the pantry.  Having recently suffered from “economic stress” myself, as well as having moved, and gone through my stored foods to remove items that needed used or were spoiled by insects or the integrity of the can, I recently calculated that we had approximately 22 days of food on hand.  We are also going to switch to dehydrated foods packaged for long term storage after ascertaining that loss of supplies due to spoilage was an unacceptable event that was happening all too quickly and too often.  Previously, we had been using traditional grocery store supplies, with a 6 month rotation.  We were regularly suffering losses as high as 75% per 7 day unit (it was packed in 7 day boxes) in that 6 month time frame.  Not only was that wasted money, but what if we had needed that food 5 months after the last rotation and discovered that it was unusable?   At the same time, even though it would be much easier, we cannot afford to buy the 12 month units from any of the emergency food supply companies.  We have VERY limited space for storing this food as well.  We will make our purchases a case at a time, choosing foods that we will actually also USE in our day-to-day life.  We want to make sure we want to eat the stuff, after all!  We will also supplement our long term storage food in #10 cans with more stable grocery store products that we pack using a vacuum sealer.  Sugar, salt, some flour, and some other grain based products will be sealed with oxygen absorbing packets and tested after 12 months of storage.  We already know the sugar and salt will store well in this way, but flour and grain products may become stale or become otherwise less-than-palatable.  Hard candies will also be vacuum sealed for storage–these items can be stored for very long periods of time without much degradation of quality.  I grew up eating candy in the 60s and 70s that had been made for World War II and packaged in small drums.  Those red or yellow lozenges had little flavor besides sweet, but we loved them anyhow! 

Certain items that we find to be “comfort” items such as coffee, tea, and artificial creamer, are not available from the long term storage companies.  These items will have to be purchased from traditional grocery sources and regularly rotated.  Oils and shortenings are also not suited to long term storage, and must also be sourced from grocers and regularly rotated.  Dog food is also needed by dog owners, and once again…must be sourced from traditional sources or additional meat and fats must be stored to allow for their calorie needs to be met.  Since dehydrated meat is very expensive, I’m likely to vacuum pack traditional kibble for them, with additional oil being added to my supply lists to add to compensate for missing calories and fat in the kibble.

Being prepared mostly is about thinking ahead and using common sense.  Skipping your car payment to allow for purchasing MREs does not illustrate common sense unless you have inside information that a disaster is arriving.  Since few people ever receive prior notice to an emergency, we’ll assume that we won’t have much notice that it is going to arrive.  At the same time, in a world  where jobs are uncertain, natural disasters are potential threats, and rumors of potential pandemics run rampant…having at least that 30 day supply on hand does illustrate common sense.

Here’s some things to think about:

1) most cities will run out of food, both in stores and warehouses, in less than 72 hours if supplies are cut off and cannot be delivered.

2) some of the first things that stop during an emergency situation is utilities such as telephone, natural gas, electricity, water and sewer.   How will you have lights, something to cook on, or a way to keep warm without these utilities?

3) during emergencies, hospitals, pharmacies, and doctors are often unavailable.  How long will you be able to survive without these facilities?  Do you have your medication on hand?  Can you handle minor injuries and illnesses with your first aid supplies? 

4) A group can share supplies, knowledge, skills and provide security.  Do you have a local network for your own little survival group?  Have you got a plan?

5) Do you have a plan for your family in the event of an emergency?  Have you practiced, even by sitting around the table and going over who would do what and why?  On the Gulf Coast, we typically have about 3 days before landfall when we know whether its apt to hit our area and evacuations of vulnerable areas begins.  Depending on a person’s occupation, they may be required to perform certain duties for their job before leaving to return to their own families.  In the meantime, who is going to be preparing one’s home and vehicle for the incoming storm?  Who packs what for evacuation?  Who makes sure that there are adequate supplies, whether you are staying home or evacuating? 

6) THINK about emergencies…even wildly unlikely ones.  Talk about them with your family, friends, or survival group.  Talk about what you should do, could do, or would do.  Assess risks for various actions and for the various members of your party.  Sometimes things you never dreamed could be real…can turn out to be suddenly very real.  There are many stories of people being suddenly confronted with over 6 feet deep water in and around their homes as they were forced to swim to safety, including the very elderly and very young when the surge from Katrina suddenly struck their homes.  The ones that survived had family members who had thought about the situation and were able to make a decision on how to ensure everyone escaped safely in the brief moment that was available to make that decision.  The ones that didn’t survive were the ones that no one made a decision fast enough or made the wrong decision.  Floods, fires, riots, pandemics, civil wars, travel restrictions, infrastructure breakdowns, power outages, terrorist attacks, mud slides, plane crashes, avalanches, earth quakes, winter storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, chemical spills, oil spills…we’ve seen all of them happen in the past few years.  What kinds of situations could happen in your neighborhood?

Outdoor gear advertisers & spammers

I am absolutely amazed at the number of comments that this blog attracts from people wanting to advertise their company or product, written in a manner that they are deemed “spam.”  So, for all of you out there who want me to advertise your products on this blog or on my website, I’m going to offer you a solution.

I’m not even being sarcastic, this is sincere.  IF you are a legitimate vendor with a real business, and not someone trying to make a quick buck off of unsuspecting buyers, I want you to send me some very specific information.  Part of it is also requiring that you speak English and are capable of reading this post, which may not be particularly fair in some people’s eyes, but I think it is entirely fair since that’s the language I speak & write, and the language that this blog is written in.

I want your website, a list of your products/brands carried, and a brief paragraph telling me why I should want to list you on my lists of websites and vendors.  If you have something unique, tell me about it.  If you offer a unique service, I’d love to hear about that too.  If you are the owner of a website, and would like me to link to your website because of the information that you could offer to readers of this blog, send me that email!  If you have a product that you would like us to review, that is a possibility too, but send the email first.  We don’t want you to waste money sending us a product that doesn’t fit the type of camping and outdoor activities that we participate in and advocate for others.  (Examples are things like mountain climbing gear-we are a bit short on mountains on the Mississippi Delta, and I don’t have any immediate plans to schedule a mountain trip at this point.)  We do a lot of different things, and while we don’t go mountain climbing, I am supposed to learn the basics of rappelling this year.  Yeah, imagine that…a fat middle aged woman hanging upside down off of a cliff…it ain’t pretty, folks! Especially if it scares me enough (I’m deathly afraid of heights) that I end up peeing my pants…upside down.  That’s one outdoor adventure that doesn’t sound appealing, to be honest, but…I agreed to it, and I’m going to go through with it.  I figure its safer than free climbing on a rock face, and I’ve tried that too.  I will not, and I repeat that one more time, I will NOT agree to bungee jump.  No way, no how, and I’ll freely admit in public that I’m too chicken to try it.  There is NOTHING appealing about bungee jumping to me!  That also goes for sky diving.  I may have a sister who loves it, but I have sense.  I cannot see any good reason to deliberately jump out of a perfectly good airplane for the “fun” of it.  I have friends who have done it, for fun and/or for military training.  I’m not a soldier, I’m too old and too fat.  No thank you…I like the ground under my feet!

See now that I’ve digressed enough that any insincere spam type person has given up, I’m going to give my email address.  Make SURE you put “Get Ready GO blog” in the subject line to prevent ending up in THAT spam folder too!  The email address you can send this letter to is (take out the spaces, you know the routine) giascott (at symbol) gmail dot com.

In the meantime, all you spammers out there, you may as well give it up.  You get deleted, that’s all.  If you can’t be bothered with reading a whole entry and following directions, I can’t be bothered with your spam comments, plain and simple.

Get-Ready-Go! has a Social Networking Group site

Get-Ready-Go! has a Social Networking Group site on Ning.com the URL is: http://exogeny.ning.com/getreadygo Membership is FREE. You do have to have a Ning ID Account to join the site. Like everything else we do, if you decide to include yourself, remember that the Ning site follows our Privacy Policy, so your information is as safe as we can hope for. As well, remember that even though we include Family Activities (of course), the site does not encourage users 13 years of age or younger, even though we are “G-Rated”. Kids, if you want to visit Get-Ready-Go! Have Mom, Dad, Grandpa or your Adult guardian’s help while you are visiting our sites!

Get-Ready-Go! Group on Exogeny Network