To Prep or Not to Prep?

For many, that is NOT a question.

However, consider these points:

• Are you living in a location where you have many neighbors? The more people, the more likely that an adequate amount of food and other supplies will be taken by those that failed to prepare.
• Are you able to defend your stores? It's not simply a matter of having guns, you will need to have the willingness to turn them on unarmed people who are trying to steal what is yours.
• Is your location one that is often affected by adverse weather/natural hazards - the kind that might send you and your family on long journeys to escape the destruction? If you try to take the stockpile of provisions, you may find you have to abandon it, should fuel become hard/impossible to get. If you leave it behind, will it be lost in a tornado, spoiled by flooding, or burnt up?
• Will your spouse/children also accept the need to keep your goods secret from family and friends - many of whom did not, WILL not, prepare? It only takes one loose-lipped person to ruin that plan.
• Do you have the fortitude and character to make a plan, and carry it out fully? Will you be persuaded "just this once" to forego the regular stocking up for some other, more frivolous use of the money? Will you regularly rotate the older food out by using it, and put news supplies into the mix?

Prep, however, doesn't just mean food. It also includes:

• Medicine, both OTC and prescription. Will you build a stockpile (3-6 months worth) of vital meds - those that, should a family member not have access to, will likely kill them?
• Cash money, both paper and coin. In a true emergency - a SHTF type of crisis - the ONLY way to get any supplies will be to use hard currency. Your EBT/debit cards/credit cards will likely be blocked, or severely limited. You need to have smaller bills, too, as you will likely not be able to get change for the larger ones.
• Communications equipment that EVERY member of the family over 6 is trained to use. That means radio. Your cells will be blocked. Internet will be blocked. Your various TV/cable/Dish will be blocked. Only the 2-way radios will work reliably. For a cheap and easy solution for the whole family, try getting some GMRS radios. You can buy them without a license, but - technically - it's illegal to use them without going through the FCC to acquire one (it's good for the whole household). That may not concern you when the SHTF. They are easier to use than amateur radio UHF/VHF handhelds, but have a similar range.
• If you don't want to commit to buying the long-distance radio equipment (and, I can't fault you for that, it can be expensive), at least hang around the local radio groups, if available. Or, get to know local hams. They can help you contact people outside of your local area, if needed. And, buy a 2-way handheld. It's legal to listen to them, and they can be a great source of local news.
• Get fit. Ideally, take care of any needed surgery before the Zombie Apocalypse. But, in any case, start - TODAY - that fitness plan designed to bring you to your best condition, given your age. For most of us, that includes dieting. Be able to walk for extended distances. Buy a bike, and use it. Use weights to increase strength (this is quite useful even for the senior members of your family, and will not only improve appearance and endurance, but also improve chronic conditions, and mental functioning, too).

1/5/2022 - 3:35 pm

So, what am I doing right now?

Watching Judge Dredd. I saw it a long time ago, on network TV (Hey, remember those days? When you had to pay attention to the 'schedule' and arrange your RL plans to fit it?)

So far, it holds up well. The chaos in the streets could have been taken from today's AntiFa/BLM 'peaceful protests'. Some parts are dated - the huge numbers in the big cities is laughably wrong, particularly in the aftermath of the "15 days to shut this virus down" movement to virtual work/meetings/school, and the increasingly frenzied rush away from those 'troubled' urban environments.

Other parts are still prescient - the push for "Recycled Food - GOOD for the environment, and OK for you".

The first 1/2 hour sets the stage - introduces the main characters - Stallone's Dredd, Diane Lane as Judge Hershey, the "kinder, more compassionate judge" who challenges Dredd's more inflexible morality, and the TV personality who exposes the flaws in the judge and criminal system.

Dredd's character, and his nemesis's, are the most extreme. The other characters are relatively true to life - and, in fact, could be seen in modern life with little change.

The case against Dredd (he has been accused of murder) includes video evidence of a very low quality (Shades of the Rittenhouse trial!). It was ruled inadmissible.

Technical DNA evidence is used against him to yield a conviction. The idea that the evidence may have been tampered with, or the records falsified, never seems to occur to any of them.

The Chief Justice is, Fargo, is counseled to retire, and, as is customary, to allow him to be granted a final request. He requests that Dredd (his protege) have a life sentence, instead of the mandatory death sentence.

Fargo is last seen exiting the city for a wilderness.

The new Chief Justice is confronted by the arch-enemy, Rico, who knows about Janus (still secret from us so far). Rico is directed to cause chaos.

The Rob Schneider character, a petty criminal who had been arrested and tried by Dredd, is in the ship carrying Dredd to prison. The ship is intercepted by criminals outside of the city (appearing to be a parody of hillbilly rednecks).

One plot anomaly that is obvious is that Dredd, a person of high moral standards, has no compunction about killing other judges/officers who are shooting at him. Those people who are attacking him are, after all, acting on behalf of the lawful authority. And, yet, he has no hesitation about his return fire. That seems illogical, unless you consider that he still considers all of his actions to be under the authority of his formerly judge status.

I won't go further, as I wouldn't want to spoil the story, if you've not seen it. Suffice to say that the storyline has relevance to today's issues.