That quote came from Jim Phillips, a preparedness guru. I didn’t know him. I first read this quote a couple of weeks ago at the preparedness camp I mentioned last week. This gentleman apparently passed on a few years back. He seems to have been rather revered in some circles.
And you know I’ve written a few blogs along these same lines.
Pain Relief Is for Those Who Prepare
Of course, I have a little problem with the quote in the title, as it suggests that everyone is going to survive the coming festivities. We know that is definitely not the case. So says scripture. Chapter 9 of Revelation says that the “third part” of the earth’s population will die. That’s a lot of dead people. We don’t know how quickly it happens. Maybe we’ll be able to keep up with the workload. Maybe not.
I firmly believe that most people who survive will be miserable. Because most people do not prepare. Yeah, there are the ones who say they’ll use their guns (and by extension, their extreme weapons proficiency, lol) to take what they want. I think it’s the Dunning-Kruger effect in action. Stupid people don’t know they’re stupid. The ones using their guns to steal can’t fathom that those who have prepared food and other supplies have also prepared with guns, bullets, and skills to protect their families. The Dunning-Kruger effect also tells them that they’ll be happy eating beans and rice 24/7. Yes, we know that there are cultures where they do eat the same foods every single day. But that doesn’t happen much in this country. We Americans have enjoyed a varied diet since birth.
Some of us can transition to beans and rice (or whatever staples comprise your diet) every day without issue. Others will not fare so well. And particularly those whose every culinary whim has been indulged, especially if that whim has been pizza and chips. Have you seen how obese American children are today? I knew exactly one overweight girl in elementary school, Rhonda. She had a rough life. And yet, she was nowhere near as chunky as kids today.
When it comes to food, we can prepare to survive and be miserable, or we can prepare our food so that we can survive and be comfortable. That same preparedness camp I attended featured a potluck dinner Friday evening, where all the participants were supposed to share a strictly food-storage dish. And the dishes ran the gamut from MREs and Mountain House, to prepared fresh produce from the garden, to simple fried bread from food storage staples (can’t remember what he called it—it’s late as I write this), to one couple who brought their own dehydrated just-add-water meals and didn’t partake of the other dishes or share their own food. (They were really nice people and fully engaged in the event otherwise. Maybe one or both of them had food allergies or sensitivities.)
I sampled most of the offerings, but skipping the MREs entirely and only taking a token sample of the Mountain House, which tasted ok. It was interesting to see people’s choices and preparations. Keith made some kind of bread fried in tallow and served with honey butter. That bordered on the divine. One older woman spent an hour preparing fresh squash from her garden. (It was bit bland, but nice having a fresh veggie.) I don’t remember what my new friend Shawna made, but I sure envied her set-up.
I loved spending the day with like-minded people who are planning to survive and be comfortable. It gives me hope.
Links to related posts:
As iron sharpens iron, seeing other folks efforts to prepare inspires me to make one more step prepared.
ReplyDeleteIf you tried the white bean bean pot as a meat extender you'd save money and perhaps find diabetes less difficult to control. The fresh ginger we spoke about is a mild control for mild diabetes.
Store what you eat, eat what you Store and grow as much as you can.
MREs and Mt House runs out.
Dry beans can be planted for more.
Michael the anonymous
Yes, I will work more beans into the menu. And, yesterday's doctor appt showed that my hA1c dropped from 6.6 to 6.0! Diet changes, weight loss, and exercise do pay off!
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