The place for general talk about gun, shooting, loading, camping, survival, and preparedness related tools and gear, as well as gear technology discussion, gear reviews, and gear specific "range reports" (all other types of gear should be on the back porch).
Still - be nice to give him a click at the link above!!
DD
Normal Disasters, by Blane
By James Wesley, Rawles on January 12, 2010 10:17 PM
I live in the suburbs of our nation’s capitol and of course I want to keep myself and family safe, so I have taken steps to mitigate and eliminate the dangers of my area. My challenge for a while was getting my new bride on-board with my preparations. She thought my supplies, guns and gear were “weird” and she chalked it up to my military experience and largely ignored it. If anyone else has a similar problem getting buy-in on prepping from their partners they may find this useful, it sure works better than arguing.
As Mr. Miyagi said in the Karate Kid 2 “Best way to block a punch is not be there.” Your advice to move and live in a rural setting is sound, but not practical for many people, so I do have the next best thing in a retreat on some family owned land. It is occupied by some older and retired family, so my preparations there both include and are guarded by them. I make a point to drive there and back by as many different routes as I can divine from a map reconnaissance that do not include the interstate highways. It takes more time, but it keeps us familiar with the routes and we notice any changes (Like a bridge that was getting rather rickety) that may influence our route choice if we need to G.O.O.D. She thought this was a weird way to travel, but I convinced her to go along with promises of new scenery, hidden treasures (Like a wonderful greasy spoon off the beaten track) and a more relaxed setting. I taught her how to read a military grid map and use a compass for “fun” demonstrating my old and valuable military skills. After she had been on all the routes though, she wanted to do the interstate to save time, but I knew traffic in our area is some of the worst in the country and decided to take advantage. On a holiday weekend, prime time we set out to follow the herd. It went exactly as I expected; a normal disaster. There was bumper to bumper stop and go traffic for hours. I let her drive this time and when the frustration set in, I threw in a “what if” scenario at her where a disaster had even more people trying to flee. There have been events in recent memory where people abandon their cars on the road and take flight on foot –however ill prepared they are to do so. She saw what I meant and recognized the value of both her new map reading skills and knowledge of the back roads. My back routes are no magic bullet, the Interstate was still faster, but the images I put in her head made her a bit less skeptical about my “weird” travel routines.
I visit there often, and take interest in the workings of the semi-retired farm. My wife loves it there, but thinks it strange I care so much about taking care of the place, like the time I was on-hand to help retrofit the windmill to make electricity once the water tower was full, or why we keep the grain silos in good shape even without a lot of livestock....
Last edited by Dedicated_Dad on Wed Jan 13, 2010 3:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
workinwifdakids wrote:MV Gun Counter: "We're like Blackwater, except without the impulse control."
Random Internet Moron wrote: "High Caliber Magazine Clips are only useful for random slaughter of innocent civilians, so they should only be used by the police."
One point I'd like to make is that these normal disasters is enough reason to be prepared. With some preparedness a normal disaster will stay just a normal disaster. If you're not prepared, being out of power for 24 hours in cold winter weather could turn into a major disaster for you, instead of just a warning and a training opportunity.
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid."
John Wayne
I know I'm going to end up feeling stupid, but....
How in the sam hill did you find that?
DD
workinwifdakids wrote:MV Gun Counter: "We're like Blackwater, except without the impulse control."
Random Internet Moron wrote: "High Caliber Magazine Clips are only useful for random slaughter of innocent civilians, so they should only be used by the police."
It's interesting how this guy's wife is against any sort of disaster preparedness until it actually happens to her or someone other than her husband suggests it be done.
It simultaneously reminds me of the old saying that a conservative is a liberal who just got mugged, and the way teenaged children don't believe their parents' warnings or praises until they hear it from someone non-family.
Let's hope she is less resistant in the future.
Of course, I should talk. It took the '94 Northridge earthquake to motivate me to put together the house and car kits.
The use of the word "but" usually indicates that everything preceding it in a sentence is a lie.
E.g.:
"I believe in Freedom of Speech, but". . .
"I support the Second Amendment, but". . .
--Randy
Erik wrote:I used your link, scrolled down and clicked the title: "Normal Disasters, by Blane". It doubles as a direct link.
See, I KNEW I'd end up feeling stupid...
I swear, I'd tried that and it didn't work. I'm not going to even try to figure it out at this point... I'm ....
DD
workinwifdakids wrote:MV Gun Counter: "We're like Blackwater, except without the impulse control."
Random Internet Moron wrote: "High Caliber Magazine Clips are only useful for random slaughter of innocent civilians, so they should only be used by the police."
"She was a fan of the famous money advisor, Dave Ramsey, before our prepping, and has correctly drawn corollaries from his advice –'Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else.' "
Thus endeth the lesson.......
"Life is a bitch. Shit happens. Adapt, improvise, and overcome. Acknowledge it, and move on."
