Jim,
I wanted to give a shout out to Michael Bane and the others with common sense who helped with the “After Armageddon” docudrama. I was pleasantly surprised when my wife wanted to watch the History Channel for once. The scales fell from her eyes while she was watching, how fragile our lives and standard of living can be.
Right after she started asking “Is that why….” (you fill in the blanks) I was elated! Now she understands my favorite saying, “hope for the best & prepare for the worst.” That used to make her roll her eyes. She always figured I could take care of the family in a bad situation. Now she sees how much we take for granted.
My wife works at a pharmacy, and a day later she brought home extra medical supplies. “What can we store these in?” she asked. “You know those green metal things that are lying around? They work great for storing supplies.” I didn’t mention that there’s already quite a bit of first aid stuff in ammo cans.
Then she started asking about water; how we could get it without electricity and if I could put an old fashioned pitcher pump in the back yard. The realization that people are so soft now has her scared, but I assured her that that realization is a good start for her. Now she’s asking if we can get books to teach us useful skills. I kept a straight face and said yes. I guess they can expand our collection. And my favorite, “Can we move farther away from the city? I’d like to be at more rural place if things ever really get bad. Don’t you have friends in Idaho and Wyoming? Can you get a job there?” Now she’s thinking!
The History Channel gave some of us a chuckle on some subjects, but it has been an eye opener for some. And now I can read “that web site” without interruptions. Thanks for all the great information! – Josh from Michigan.
JWR,
I have been reading your blog of about two years and just wanted to share a recent experience with my wife. First of all, I have been storing food, have solar power and a generator for backup power. We have purchased land in a remote location 2 hours from here and 12 miles from the pavement for a G.O.O.D. retreat and will have a cabin by March. We have rifles and ammo in several common calibers, first aid supplies, etc.
My wife has been agreeable to all this, but didn’t understand the urgency. We have a year’s food stored and she will ask ” Why do we need all this food” every time I bring more home. (We have a bedroom in the house with nothing but food in it and we rotate the food.) I have explained many times and I think she just humors me. Well, last Saturday night, I was out in my ham shack and she was in the house watching “After Armageddon” on the FTA satellite setup. She called me on her cell phone and told me I needed to come in and watch the program because it was about the things I had been telling her about. Before she hung up, she said “We need more food, I don’t want to have to eat a snake.” – Kenneth in Oklahoma