Doomsday Prepper

My family has been doing some prep work...if you want to call it that. Do I believe the government will or SHOULD take care of us?? Hell no. We are active in learning and living a sustainable lifestyle. My teen and 18 year old (boy & girl) both know how to use a gun to hunt, fish, live off the land, garden, reuse, re-purpose and many other things that many people in this fast paced, so far from the 'old ways' society have forgotten. It was an eye opener for us when Hurricane Charlie went through Central FL. and caused power to be out for 5+ days in our city. We had a charcoal grill and set up shop in the back yard. Our neighbor smelling the coffee was amazed we were able to literally brew on the grill. It seemed weird that he didn't realize he could. Many of our nieghbors didn't know what to do. Although we had been learning ways to do things differently if the need arose, living that week without what we all take for granted really got us to wanting to know more about sustainable living. We are not even close to living off the grid; however, if the world did stop as we know it, we would be 90% prepared to live through it, learning from others and our experiences along the way to make up for what we are lacking.

I went through and survived Katrina. So, I know you cannot depend on the govt or insurance companies for that reason. I agree, it is a bit of a hobby but why not be prepared?

Hurricane Andrew, here...you can't count on the government. You can't count on Jeebus. It's smart to plan and prepare.

The theory that concerns me is that the world wide power grid could go down in February 2013 because of the solar maxima. (look it up it's a real thing) So I see nothing wrong with keeping extra on hand and bottling some water in old 2 liter soda bottles. I'm just keeping an eye on the latest info regarding the 2013 maxima and will plan accordingly

This show made me feel very unprepared....

However, I have been perfecting my Zombie slaying skills.....Cardio....and twinkies....

I prep - I have enough food/water/supplies for 3 months for me and my family. And me, my wife and son all have zeroed long arms, sidearms, silencers, night vision and body armor to make sure that stuff stays with us.

Am I paranoid? No not really- the problem is that when a disaster happens it happens very fast and the time to try and find items has basically ended. And by disaster this could be anything from LA style riots to Katrina style looting. If nothing every happens- cool... I have shelves full of stuff that will begin to go out of date in 10 years. If something does happen I feel a little more secure that we can ride it out.

Prepping is also a mental thing- it amazes me how many people just blithely wander through their day and think everything will be ok if a disaster happens. They assume "someone" will provide for them- well I am not that someone. I keep my preps pretty well under wraps because I dont want a flood of people assuming I will share- which I wont. I am willing to help guide and advise people on prepping but other then that forget it- you are on your own unless you are jsut as prepped and we can benefit from one another.

Everyone should have a Bug Out Bag (or BOB). If you dont know what that is then Google it. This is a minimum in prepping.

I have a friend who lived through Katrina. When the levees broke he and his next door neighbor were prepped. His entire neighborhood left and he and his neighbor agreed to help protect each other. When the loot gangs forst appeared on his street he and his neighbor walked out onto their porches in full tactical gear with their ARs and said you can loot any house on this street but these two. The loot gang agreed to that deal and he watched as the gang kicked in the doors to the other houses and ransacked them. A few days later another gang appeared and took a shot at him- he, his neighbor, the wives and the children all shot back and that gang tore out of there never to return.

As for the TV show Preppers - good lord do those people give prepping a bad name! I turned it off after 15 minutes (similar to the idiocy on Sons of Guns...)

I enjoyed watching the Doomsday Preppers. It is not about the end of the world (put your Bibles down). It gives different disaster situations and people (a bit extreme) that prepare for it. There is some good information to be pulled from the reality blitz of the show. I like the guy that knows which weeds are good / safe for humans to eat (if there is no food on the shelves).

On a darker note; yes I think it is important to have some emergency supplies on hand: water, canned food, MRE's, medical supplies, weapons, clothing etc. These are basic needs that could come in handy in any disaster - natural or otherwise.

I do not rely on my government to do crap except protect certain groups that they feel are needed / important.

Two answers here:

1. We live between three military bases and not far from a huge army base. The only preps we have are to be able to grab our ankles and kiss our a... goodbye.

2. We are in a hurricane zone, I have a generator on hand, and replenish food supplies each September.

And, I might add, we are locked and loaded in case of invasion.

You're right, but any amount of preparation is good. If I had longer than 2 mins, which I hope I would, I feel pretty good. I do keep a bottle of unopened rum here at work just in case SHTF. I work on a Air Force base. Does that count? lol

A bottle of rum and access to a plane might work! LOL