Preparedness

very true, GM - in our area, the big dangers are blizzards and power outages; sometimes both at the same time. like you, i am not a prepper, but i was a boy scout, and there are always plenty of ways to be prepared.

For those of us living in the boonies, all this is just common, everyday stuff. We have to be prepared to go it alone at any time.

Reminds me of the whole Y2K nonsense. I was asked, "what will happen to you if it comes to pass."

Well, the worst case scenario would be my inability to cash a check for a week or two. Hardly the end of life as we know it.

While I love my freezers, I also keep shelves of canned goods just in case. Most of our disasters, though, come in the winter, when keeping foods frozen is not an issue.

What scares me are the in-town and city folks who not only are unprepared, they don't know what to do when they have to. During our last major problem (an ice storm that left us without power for two weeks) the local radio station went all call-in so people could vent. That's important. Just being able to share the misery does help. But two callers, in particular, stand out.

One was the lady who wanted to know if it was alright to put her milk out on the back porch, because the fridge wasn't working. Hmmmmm? Lady, it's 12 degrees out there. Trust me, the milk will keep just fine.

The real killer was the one who called four days into the problem. She related how their power was out all that time. But, fortunately, they had a fireplace. "So," she told the DJ, "we're able to keep the house warm. But we haven't had a hot meal in four days."

Trust me, I wouldn't make that up.

Then she added, "But now the wood is getting low, and we don't know what we'll do about that."

Look out your window, lady. The reason you can't get to town is because there are dead branches and tree limbs littering the roadway.

I figured that one out, though. Apparently, if it doesn't come in those shrink-wrapped bundles it doesn't burn.

Lawd, I wanted to nominate her for a Darwin award.

I've only got the one, Mark. And 10 acres of woods to feed it.

But I don't think of it as survival gear; it's just a basic cooking tool.

One benefit of running on LPG fits the preparedness mode. Doesn't matter if the wires go down or the gas mains are inoperable. you still have the necessary fuel to outlast any reasonable emergency.

I take folks out into the back country every year.  Most of them newbies.  I do a mountain bike trip every October along the 100 mile White Rim Trail loop in Canyonlands National Park Utah and one or two easy backpacking trips as an introduction to newbies interested in how to operate in the mountains.  The Conundrum Hot Springs above Aspen is a favorite backpacking destination of mine to really turn peoples heads around.

Given the frequency of nor-easters and hurricanes and other nasty stuff here in New England we are fairly well prepared for any event. Also given my background in military survival and the fire service I tend to be a bit anal about having a stocked pantry at all times. We'd be good for at least two or three weeks.

Gracoman,