My journey to the preparedness world
has been long and winding. Like many of my generation there was no
reason to learn survival skills or think about disaster prep. We had
stores aplenty right? We had easy access to everything we could ever
want or need.
Then I got married. I married a man
raised on hunting, survival, preparedness. Not out of any sort of
paranoia like so many survival shows these days seem to imply but
because it was just how his father had been raised and his father
before him. I was reluctant to even open the doors at first. Who
cared about edible plant or food storage or water filtration? We
lived in a pretty populated place, we have never been rich but we had
enough to go to the store when needed. And guns? Not needed. Violence
and disaster happened to other people.
Then I got a
wakeup call. An active shooter decided to shoot up our apartment
complex. Our complex was situated more like a hotel. You had a secure
door to buzz through and all the front doors were interior. The
shooter’s apartment was not even 3 yards from my own. First I heard
the pops. I brushed those off. Then I heard someone banging on my
door. I was about to answer and ask them to stop as my husband was
sleeping in prep for a late shift but some instinct stopped me. An
hour later my husband got up for work and went onto the porch to be
greeted by SWAT with guns drawn. We were asked if they could use our
apartment to gain entry as the front door was glass and being watched
by the shooter. Then we were evacuated. The officer who led us out
said that ignoring that door probably saved my life
.
That is when I realized bad things can
happen any time and any place and often do to wonderful people. So I
decided to learn to shoot and to prepare for worst case. We have
lived in multiple state but all were earthquake zones. One was also a
volcano zone. So then my question was: How do I start?
The four real issues are: food, water,
shelter, protection. So I have set about learning all I can about
each in different situations. I now live in the desert on the edge of
BLM land. I know where the water sources are for wildlife. I know
where to find game. I also know several escape routes off the
interstate if needed.
Examine where you live. What type of
natural disasters can happen? If needed can you lock yourself down at
home while still gaining access to food and water? If you need to get
out of the area do you know the less traveled paths? Honestly it’s
not about the apocalypse or aliens, it is about knowing that
sometimes bad things happen. Job loss, illness, accident, fire,
tornado, earthquake, hurricane, etc. Knowing that bad things are a
possibility is what being prepared means. It is seeing those
possibilities and doing what you can to make sure you and your family
are able to weather any eventuality.
