So why do you prepare? And what was the catalyst?

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Modus Operandi, Sep 15, 2019.


  1. Well? For me I look at it as an insurance policy. Only this one, hopefully, will be there for me and not require that i be ill, injured, or deceased. Food stocks are there on car I are to lose my job and I need to eat until I find another one. Emergency lighting is the in case the power goes out or again, I lose mu job and can't afford grid electricity or gasoline. Medical supplies are there because I'm a paramedic, and I'm obligated to help others. Comms are so that I can obtain information or pass along information if the cell towers are down or landlines are.
    What was the catalyst to get me in this mindset? My Great grandparents and grandparents lived through the Depression. They always had a stocked pantry, oil lamps with spare oil and wicks, and plenty of matches. When though they lived in the city, they still had an old kerosene heater and lots of quilts in case the power went out. They would bunker down and shut off the rest of the house and stay from the kitchen back (bathroom was there too. Great grandads recliner was dragged back there so he could relax and stay warm. Granny would make sure of it, she bought that recliner with money she earned sewing curtains and dresses for local women on her old Singer pedastal sewing machine. They always had a small garden and any excess veggies got canned. My granddad always had a much larger garden that was spilt between him and his two neighbors. He didn't can, but the old Widow woman (Faye) did. His back door neighbor and fishing buddy Hoyt would till the land as it was on Fayes property, they would plant the veggies that Hoyts wife often started from seed stock, and Grandpa would hoe that garden and take care of critters. They would get sweet corn, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, peppers, snap peas, rsdishes, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, carrots. They would pick apples and plums and make apple butter, jam and preserves. Faye's husband had planted a small grape arbor before he died that had the best grapes you would ever want, nice and sweet. They watched out for each other (and me, lol). They taught me about community and watching out for each other. They also taught me to not rely on the government and to do what you can on your own. But that it was ok to ask for help when needed but be prepared to answer that call when you were needed. My grandmother taught me that even though your body is failing, you can still be strong in spirit. She had rheumatoidal arthritis, 3 heart attacks, and breast cancer (twice). The cancer is what finally took her down. But she placed herself in a nursing home when it became too much for my mom to take care of her and me. And while in that facility she always strove to help "the old folks who didn't have anything". She made arts and crafts to sell to people and every penny went to help those in the home who didn't have anything or anyone. So I guess she taught me strength of character and civic duty. My mom raised me pretty much on her own working 2 and 3 jobs to make sure there was food on the table for me. She was a LEO and then quit after nearly being killed one night while investigating a B&E. She worked in security & sales and did her best to make sure i had a roof over my head, food in my belly, and clothes on my back while often going without for herself. She taught me personal responsibility and to rely on one's self.
    All of these contributing factors have helped shape me into the person I am today.
    So all of these people helped make me prepare. From keepeing money at home, stock food and emergency lighting, have a strong defense because it takes 911 a while to respond, to make good friends with your neighbors, to bring civically responsible.
    So, how about you?
     
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  2. GOG

    GOG Free American Monkey

    I prepped a bit for the big "Millenium" scare because it seemed prudent at the time. That was the start.

    I prep because Mr. Murphy likes to arrive unannounced.

    I could give a whole story, but after all this time, that's really it in a nutshell.
     
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  3. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    For me, it started very young, Growing up on a small farm, we made do with what we had or could find, trade, or barter, and we would hunt and fish to supplement our needs! In Rural Oregon, this was pretty easy with abundant fish and game to be had pretty much year round! Growing up, this was completely normal to me, the rare journey to a Store for things usually found a pick up bed load of flower, sugar, salt, and various sundries as needed, including several bolts of cloth and other needed supplies, all paid for in cash! It was a happy time, we were self sufficient and we always put up food for those times when game might not be around or as easy to harvest, or our farm animals were not ready for the butcher's block just yet! We NEVER did with out, and NEVER went hungry! Fast forward 38 years and upon my retirement, we bought a nice ranch and set to work making it functional ( though currently not being used due to some family issues) but it's there and its mine, and it will be able to get going again! I can produce the same results I learned as a youth and continue on just fine! It's not really a "prepper Life Style" for me so much as Normal Live, it's how I was raised and what I learned!
     
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  4. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

    My "Road to Damascus" moment came early - October 1962.

    This was the Cuban Missile Crisis thing, a Democrat Presidential f'up of the first stripe.

    My family was living a couple of miles from a major SAC base and had a mass of Titian ICBM Missile silos surrounding the city. In other words, I was living inside of a big fat nuclear first-strike bullseye... Needless to say, those that could afford to lose work hours/pay had already hauled ass to the White mountains, way in north of the State.

    The rest of us peons had been warned "to be ready to evacuate"... Where to, what to take etc seemed to be missing completely. Ah, yes. The FedGov, an organization caught perennially with its figurative pants around its ample ankles...

    My dad had just put a footlocker in the back of our old Mercury wagon - with some minimal camping stuff.. Boxes of Mac & Cheese, some canned goods. A couple of blankets. No water, tent or anything else. This for a family of 5. When I innocently asked what he planned to do...he screamed at me. I was just a punk kid, but even I could see a scared shitless adult when I saw one. - BTW. my Dad had survived the hell of the Pacific theater of operations in WWII, so he wasn't easily spooked....

    It only took a bit of thinking on my part to see why he was so scared. He didn't have a plan, a clue or even any minimum gear if we did have to haul ass. To be fair, he wasn't alone..... Back in those days, it seemed nobody had a clue - or those that did were keeping their pie hole shut.

    That's when I started schooling myself in Post Atomic Attack Survival 101 or How I Learned to Love Living In the Stone Age - these skills became a real priority. I've always thought of myself as someone who, with just a bit of luck, could muddle thru even the worst of things. I'm still kicking - so must have done something right.....

    Many say those Cold War days are long gone - in which case I say - Hooray. But I still practice my old PAAS101 skill set. You know, just in case.

    The days of wide-area power outages, massive earthquakes, loss of utilities, labor strikes, riots and all manner of chaos is, unfortunately, still with us today. So, like the Boy Scouts of old,the motto of Be Prepared seems to be timely advice for everyone.

    Mt personal motto -
    I'd rather be a disappointed pessimist than a horrified optimist
     
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  5. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    I was raised by a Prep’er Family going back 4 generations, as was AlaskaChick... and we raised our children in that lifestyle... and so far the Grandchildren, seem to be headed in that direction...
     
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  6. Lancer

    Lancer TANSTAFL! Site Supporter+++

    You commentary has a very short sentence fragment that say it all: "strength of character and civic duty".
    THAT is what America is. nothing more and nothing less. That is what the old geezers, (to me at that time anyways - they were actually about 35 years of age), demonstrated in our very small town, parades on the 4th, and Memorial Day during my childhold. And it's exactly what the progtards are trying to destroy.
    Their efforts should be a capital offense...
    But I also prep for precisely the same reasons.
     
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  7. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I do it because that's what I saw growing up around my grandparents . My parents didn't do it to the scale of their parents , and I probably don't do it as much as I should , but I do keep a pretty good stockpile for the unknown .
     
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  8. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Being a lifelong Floridian at times facing massive storms, being prepared for disaster or adversity is only natural. And my folks grew up during the Great Depression and the shortages during WWII. So I come by it naturally.
     
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  9. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    Being prepared is only a part of it.
    Actually, I like thumbing my nose at the power company and laughing at rich people with big power bills that cry over them and still do nothing about it.
    What got me into prepping,, as a kid the power went off from time to time and during the winter with several feet of snow, it was nice to be ready for it.
     
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  10. Zimmy

    Zimmy Wait, I'm not ready!

    I thought it was normal.

    We grew up old fashioned and thrifty. I'd always worked the old immigrant ways beside modern improvements (if better).

    I was a very durable and adaptable young man up until my mid-20s. I figured if hell or high water came I'd just hire on to a good outfit and weather or work though it.

    After I started having kids then I started preparing to help a tribe of my own survive. Then the learning really began.
     
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  11. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    My family always bought in quantity so as to always be "stocked up", though not so much prepping as being frugal. A powerless week during an ice storm where I erected a tent in the living room to stay warm, and two weeks during Hugo taught me to make some preps for power and heat. Starting to work for the State once and not being paid for two months (they held back the first monthly pay check) taught me to stockpile food. The government and crime rates determined my self defense status. The Y2K thing was what pushed me to make it a lifestyle.
     
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  12. snake6264

    snake6264 Combat flip flop douchebag

    When I got my first real job I started and life experience has made me do more
     
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  13. Oltymer

    Oltymer Monkey++

    One look at the morons running the government and anybody with any sense at all will start prepping...
     
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  14. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    I prepare for tomorrow... if things go sideways when I awake... I have a plan to survive.
    I started as a poor kid living on a plot of
    land. The folks started a large garden when I was little, we incorporated pigs, rabbits and such as time went on. Mom canned when produce was ready, we hunted and fished year round.

    I try everyday to get back to that way of living!!!
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
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  15. Oddcaliber

    Oddcaliber Monkey+++

    Same story here, grandparents, aunts and uncles made it through the depression and WW2. In grade school I remember the Civil Defense containers in the back of the school cafeteria. Did the duck and covered drill. Early teens I was in the Boy scouts. Joined the Navy and got a real education about being prepared. Got out in '87 with the cold war still going on. From there it just became a part of life as we know it. Still doing it to this day.
     
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  16. Big Ron

    Big Ron Monkey+++

    listening to my dad talk about starving when the lived in occupied Holland. He got really thin and sick and almost died. Not enough food or food with any fat to it. The Dutch people had no guns and were treated like sheeple by the German soldiers. All the Jewish neighbors were marched away and never came back. Usually by one soldier with a gun.
     
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  17. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    When I was a kid in Virginia they would call for enough snow to close schools for 1 day and grocery store shelves would be cleared.
     
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  18. BlueDuck

    BlueDuck Monkey+++

    My grandparents and my parents started it for me. They lived through the great (real) depression. They remembered it well and passed on some of the things they learned to survive it. They were always conservative in their wants and always had a large pantry loaded with food.
     
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  19. BenP

    BenP Monkey++

    As a father and husband it is natural to provide for my family and protect them in every circumstance, this is my most fundamental reason for being prepared. I believe there is a natural order to things and I have been slowly modifying our lifestyle to fit in with the natural order. Below are a few steps I have taken:

    Farms - Food grows on farms; If I wanted to always be able to provide food for my family I thought it best for us to live on a farm where we could grow food.
    • Generally in rural areas with low population and crime.
    • Hunting opportunities provide a good reason to keep firearm skills sharp.
    • Fences provide a security barrier.
    • Fewer regulations allow you more flexibility in the type of home you build.

    Earth Bermed Home - Humans have been living in caves for a long time due to their sturdy construction and natural temperature control; building an earth bermed house for my family seemed only natural.
    • Naturally resistant to bad weather, nuclear radiation, and flying projectiles.
    • Relatively cheap to construct.
    • Require minimal to no power to heat and cool depending on you comfort needs.

    Grid Power - A/C Power is quite literally the lifeline for most of America and if that lifeline was interrupted for any significant amount of time most Americans will die. The thought of my family's life or death being determined by the reliability of a power company is absurd to me. The prices for solar power systems and wind mills have come down dramatically, solar panels can be purchased for less than 50 cents per watt making them very affordable for off-grid power.

    Being earth bermed our home requires a minimal amount of power to cool in the summer and you could survive the winter inside with no heat if necessary.

    Heating with Firewood - This is also something else that humans have been doing for a long time. A wood stove provides you with a lot of flexibility to keep your family warm in the winter. I cut firewood on our farm from dead trees. If I am too busy sometimes I buy a load or two for cash from the firewood guys around here. If I had to buy all of my firewood it would be worth it to me to have the source of my heat piled on the porch instead of depending on the power line and all the unknowns that come with it to bring heat to me. Also, in an emergency if you cannot find firewood you can burn just about anything to keep your family warm.

    Exercise - Working on the farm for exercise is rewarding and earns you money instead of you paying money to go work at a gym. There are also many opportunities for team building (Stacking firewood comes to mind) and generally you can keep your family busy being productive instead of spending money to entertain them.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2019
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  20. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    I distinctly rember ONE event that really stuck with me all these years! Grand dad and I had taken the pickup to eastern Oregon to hunt elk, now when I say eastern Oregon, this is the Steens Mountains, about as far east as it gets, on the way home after filling both tags, the truck broke down several miles from French Glen, we couldnt figure out what went wrong or get it running again, so grand dad had me stay with the truck and all that meat while he went to get help! 6 hours later he comes back in a Tow truck amd we get it hooked up and towed to town. Grand dad always carried a hundred dollar bill, two 50s and 5 20s, and wjen it was time to pay the tab for towing, he jad just enough after the driver gave him a brake! I learned to always carry some emergency cash on me, and later, i started to stash more in the truck! Nobody ever carried that much cash back in those days, but we were sure glad he did!
     
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