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Showing posts with label Getting Starting in Preparedness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting Starting in Preparedness. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Urban Survival - My Older Friends Getting Prepared

I have some friends, an older couple, not their real names but I'll call them Bill and Betty, both in their early 60's and raising a granddaughter who is 20 years old and attending community college.  Both of them have started a preparedness plan for themselves and their granddaughter.  They recognize what our politicans seemingly do not, that this country is heading for a major collapse,...whether it comes gradual or is an "all of a sudden WTSHTF" scenario is anyone's guess.  I guess their are advantages and disavantages to both scenarios or collapse timelines, but nevertheless, preparation to survive is necessary.   

Anyway , these friends of mine are starting to put some food away.  Betty is a homemaker and Bill works as a supervisor at a local plant.   Betty has started a garden this year, repalcing her flowers with vegetables and has revisiting the ability to can with a procurement of a pressure cooker and a couple cases of mason jars.  Bill has pulled his shotguns and hunting rifle out of the closet and is looking to get a handgun and an semi-auto rifle.

The other weekend both stopped by and asked what else I thought they could do.  They warned me that they are not the type to grab a couple of Bug Out Bags and "head for hills".  I said of course not, but they would have to have some sort of plan (and contingencies - remember PACE planning?) in case their Bug In plan would lead to certain death,.....either through starvation or a violent end.  So they are re-looking that aspect.  It's a hard thing to do,...be older than some.....and look at your retirement years with anxiety.
SO I told them the easy things they could right now are: 

Get Betty a cell phone.  Bill and the granddaughter both have them and Betty should as well.

Get onto the County's emergency notification text system, where the county government sends out warning messages via text alerts on the weather, power shortages, water shortages and natural disasters. 

Get a family locator system for the cell phones, where you can go to a web based application and geo-locate any of your phones. 

Have some safe areas planned for rally points.  For travel to and from the plant, or grocery sore or college, determine best places to hole up if need be.  If natural or man made disasters make a safe place necessary,...and this becomes a rally point where people can find you.

Join or develop a Neighborhood Crime Watch group in your area.  Local Law Enforcement supports this,....and it is free to do,...only costs time.   The great thing about this is two fold:  you get to know your neighbors and you develop some sort of organization and can be very useful when the collapse hits.     
        
I also told Bill that a concealed handgun class and permit would be a good idea both him, Betty and the granddaughter.

Finally, Bill is old enough to know the history of Gold and Silver in this country and understand the value of having some put away. It is not too late to start. I suggested to them to start buying a little Silver as they could.