Planning for Disasters and Survival: No one’s Really 100% Safe — Does that mean I am becoming a Prepper?

I used to laugh at preppers — not anymore!

I used to pooh-pooh the statement that disaster is everywhere. I read with a great deal of skepticism that disaster was in the streets, inside campuses, and even inside your home. The question is not whether we are safe (because no one is really THAT secure anymore) but whether we can do something to lessen the odds of ever becoming a victim.

I used to laugh at preppers.

We were very happy in our little ranchette in South Central Texas and even laughed in February of 2021 when the weather forecasters predicted a polar freeze coming.

Zap! We were without power for over a week and without water for seven weeks and only got water restored because my son flew in and spent 24 hours repairing the twenty-plus breaks in our line from the well to our house. It took over three months until the plumbers could get to us and inspect his work.

We did not freeze because we had a propane heater in our living area and our bathroom and a propane stove. They operated continuously for three weeks until we could count on electricity again.

We thought it can’t happen again then in Feb 2022, it happened again with a severe ice storm. Although it did not last as long, it still caused significant damage tom our property.

It got me to thinking.

What is a disaster, anyway?  By definition, a disaster is any catastrophe or tragedy that occurs (can also be identified as a destruction or calamity). That doesn’t sound good at all, does it? We should be alarmed at the mere mention of this term, and we have good reasons to be because there are so many kinds of disaster.

Name it and it has it. Think of the natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, flood, tornadoes, tsunamis, cyclones, or even fire and, you wouldn’t want this last one, aggression.

So, now, I am starting to invest in some books we found on Amazon to help us survive in case we get involved in another situation. So I am slowly but surely ordering books from this list so we are better prepared. (Full disclosure – have placed this list in an affiliate link where I might get a few pennies if you to order any book from this list.)

We also ordered and received a 90-day supply of emergency food with a 25-year shelf life like the ones on this list (also another affiliate link). I am also looking at ordering more from this list.

I am also looking into putting in a whole house emergency backup power generation system to ensure if the electrical grid goes down again, we will have power.  

In conclusion, things are changing and after being the victim of unforeseen circumstances, I am starting to prepare a little at a time.