Prepping...the "Storms" of Life!

 

 I’ve been watching the news this week following the path of the storm. Not the Tropical Storm, just the one that decided to settle over the Southeastern part of the US. While many were worried and paying attention to the possibility of a hurricane coming this way…the area was blitzed by a “mere” fall weather storm! Who could have imagined that there would be such devastation from it? Who could have imagined people needing emergency evacuation? Or that people would die from it? Life often brings about storms that we have no control over, but with a little “preparation” can weather  a bit better. How ready are you and your family for an unexpected emergency? Here are a few areas for you to work on in planning ahead.

-Bottled Water.  (I’ve mentioned this one a FEW times before J) Since the storm hit water has been the most needed item. Four days later the need is even greater. For each of your family members, store 3 gallons, per day, per person. (Did you know the average person uses between 80-100 gallons per day?)

-Canned Food. Something easy to open and something you COULD eat cold if necessary. Think PB, jelly, crackers, tuna, canned chicken, beans, spaghetti, etc. Ask each member what they would eat and store it. Put it in a box and leave it alone. Mark it “emergency food”. Next year, rotate it all into your regular storage and replace. Your crackers will be totally stale…feed them to the birds!

-Light. When the electricity is out it is SUPER dark. No street lights. No light coming from the neighbors house. Store several different types of light. IE: candles & matches, flashlights & batteries, lanterns, wicks, fuel. Lightsticks for the kids. It will make all the difference in an emergency.

Do SOMETHING. You may not have all you need, but anything you have will help!

BE PREPARED

Super blood moons, the shemitah, the idiot behavior of secular leaders, aggressive foreign governments, the threat of pandemics, signs, symbols, and portents, and you’ve got the last days folks. Oh, I don’t mean it’s the end of days.

I mean, that no matter who you are or what you believe, your days are numbered.

Deal with it.

“Why you always getting ready for the apo[p]alypse, YaYa.” Conner (age 8) wanted to know.

“Because I watch the ‘Walking Dead,’ kid. That’s why.”

It was a joke, kind of.

Actually, I’m a prepper because I’m not stupid and experience has taught me and I have learned and that makes me teachable.

My grandparents lived through the great depression in Chicago, Illinois. My grandfather watched business men jump to their deaths in the financial district. He thought it was people throwing garbage out of the windows. The depression changed them. They saved string, tinfoil, paper, Kentucky fried chicken buckets, and silver coins, which they buried in the backyard in an ammo box.

When I was child, my father came home from his job at Cape Canaveral in the middle of the day. He and my mother sat at the Formica kitchen counter discussing whether or not they would be joining the evacuation of Florida because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The world teetered on the edge of nuclear devastation. They opted to stay in our home on Rose Marie Drive in Titusville and ride it out. Besides A1A was a parking lot, jammed with cars of South Floridians trying to escape. It was too late to leave.

When I was a young mom, hurricane Andrew flattened South Florida. My husband went with members of our church to help with the cleanup. He came home talking about honeybees. When the relief workers sat down to eat their lunches, bees swarmed their sodas looking for sugar. There were no flowers left. The hurricane had blown all the flowers away.

Ten years ago, hurricanes crisscrossed our state, forming a kind of giant X on the map where they all intersected. We lived at the center of the X, and X absolutely marked the spot.

I have watched the devastation of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars and rumors of war on my television, and I’m not so arrogant to believe that it could never happen to me and mine. Of course it can.

So, I pay attention. I don’t panic. I don’t run to the mountains to hole up in my underground bunker. (What bunker? What have you heard?) Slowly and surely, I add a few things to my food storage every month, preparing for whatever ill wind may blow through. That’s all.

“Be prepared.”  It’s the Scout motto and a good one.

              

You asked and we're going to answer!

WHAT made Colonel Kennedy do what he did? And, WHAT did he do??

We don't know  the time line exactly of Beyond the Strandline, but we have plenty of challenges facing us today. Hopefully, we can gain some knowledge from his wise choices. The following are a few "natural disasters" from the news:

**Hurricanes/Storms/Flooding
**Fires
**Power Outages

How are you prepared for any of these? If you are new to the "Prepper" scene, it can be overwhelming. Here are five areas to begin thinking about:

**Water
**Food
**Shelter
**Light
**Hygiene

We'll share some ideas this month about each of these areas to help you get started or check what you already have stored.

Have specific questions? Let us know in the comments and we'll do our best to help!

Linda & Mindy