SURVIVAL OF THE 'US'

With the above title, you can choose that 'US' means us or it can mean 'U.S.A.'. Take your pick. Either way, the outlook doesn't seem pretty.

During the last 12 months, it seems that some of the more horriffic natural disasters have taken place. Now don't go telling me that this world/planet is millions of years old and that other terrible disasters have befallen this big blue marble......I am aware that disasters come-and-go. But talking to my parent, she too cannot remember such human tragedies even during her lifetime (excluding of course, the world wars). This means that during the last 90 years the planet has been relatively calm. WHAT IS GOING ON NOW ? ? ?

If you click on: http://www.iris.edu/seismon/ you can check out all the earthquakes for the last 5 years. Most recent are in red. You can see how the so-called 'ring-of-fire has suddenly come to life. Pretty scary in my mind.

Then, of course, there are this year's Category 4 & 5 Hurricanes that have struck the United States. And apparently Category 4 Typhoons have struck China this year also.

Now that we have become a society that is totally dependent on produce and goods that are trucked into our neighborhoods (food/medicine/clothing/gas, etc), how many more natural (or unnatural) tragedies must occur for there to be a total disruption of services to a neighborhood near you ? ? Have you EVER contemplated this scenario??

~WHAT would you do if there were no more food on the shelves
of the grocery stores ? ?

~WHAT would you do if the water was cut off for a day/week/month ? ?

~ WHAT would you do if there were no electricity to run your tv or
your nebulizer or to pump gas into your car ? ?

~WHAT would you do ? ?

I know, I know, even my children DO NOT like me to bring up these unpleasant topics. They say to me "Mom, don't be rediculous, this can't happen." or they say "Mom, don't scare us." Now, I'm not the type of mother who wants to go around scaring my children or anyone for that matter. But I've always said PREPARE FOR THE WORST, EXPECT THE BEST. That's been my mantra. That's how I've designed my life.

So what can you do to prepare for the worst...............well, here are a few easy ideas that might come in handy some day.

.....WATER: take a two litre soda bottle and wash it clean. Fill it with water.
store some of these in your basement (or closet if you live in an apartment)
Remember, you can't even flush your toilet if you don't have electricity.

.....BATTERIES: you can buy some GOOD batteries (not the dollar-store brand)
and store them in your refridgerator. This helps them last longer - for when
you might need them.

.....FOOD: now whether you life in a home and have a garden or if you live in
an apartment with small space you can buy some dried soup mixes and put
them in a separate place. You can purchase some beef jerkey (that lasts
forever!!) and maybe some granola bars. Just tuck them away. You don't
have to spend a fortune on purchasing a years worth of food - especially if
you don't have the $$ to do so. Each time you go to the grocery store, just
decide to pick up an extra item for your shelf.

.....SHELTER: OK, this is a bit tricky, but it can be done. Buy a box of those
lawn and leaf trash bags (you know the really heavy thick ones) or you can
buy a couple of tarps and some rope. You can use the trash bags or tarps
to erect a shelter - should you need to. This is very basic, but would keep
the wind and rain off.

.....MEDICINE: at least get some aspirin or an extra box of bandages. You
can make your own medicine kit. You don't have to buy one. Do like the
food idea and purchase one thing at a time.

.....OTHER ESSENTIALS: You might want to put a board game aside for the
kids. A deck of cards. A book or two you've never read (get at a yard sale
for almost nothing).

.....BARTER ITEMS: have you thought of this? Buy a carton of cheap
cigarettes, a bag of candy bars, something small you could use if the
need arose.

Well, I'm not sure where this doom-and-gloom feeling is coming from. And, like my mantra: PREPARE FOR THE WORST, EXPECT THE BEST, I am expecting the best. But at least, should the worst show it's ugly face, I am prepared for at least a shot at survival.

~ as always,
THE MEDIATOR