"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Preparation Station

I mostly listen to talk radio on my drive time home and sometimes I turn off the jeep without turning off the radio first. 

The other day I hopped back into the Jeep and I caught an ad in the middle saying that "the only thing there was to eat in the house was a granola bar."  I was confused for a moment until the ad said it was a message "brought to you by Homeland Security urging you to visit their site and become better prepared ".

I've heard HS ads before and besides being slightly "dumbed down" (lowest common denominator?) and creepy, I'm always surprised to hear them.  They seem covert somehow.  Like they don't really want to tell you these things because "while we all know that the Government is in charge and keeping you safe, there's a teeny, tiny chance that you just might be on your own, so don't say we didn't warn you."  It's weird.

SM said he'd heard one that asked "Do you have 3 days of food and water?  Do you have a plan?"  This was about a year ago and he said it creeped him out a bit.

Now, I'm personally fascinated by the "prepper movement."  While it seems like it's an "underground movement" I find it to be an honest and common sense philosophy.  Living on the East coast in an urban area, I realize that while this concept is "news to me" it's not news to a lot of people.  Imagine my surprise that a department of the government is pushing this idea.  On the other hand, I think that they secretly hate having to promote it.  Very strange. 

So I thought I'd do a Google search for some of these ads. I'll hear one every now and then but I was curious to hear more.  (BTW, Homeland Security's website is a bit of a bore if you ask me.  They generally refer you elsewhere for more information.  I swear I learn more from your blogs than I would from them.) 

Anyhow, when I Googled HS radio ads, I couldn't find any to listen to. 

But I did find this.  Blog Talk Radio - Preparedness Radio Network
Have you ever heard of this?  I had no idea that there were radio pod casts/networks/programs that were out there to support their community.  Wonderful!

So I wanted to ask you.  What resources...blogs, radio, websites...do you follow that you find enjoyable and informative.  I'm not looking for TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) sites, although I admit that I'm fascinated by them too. 

I just feel that I'm a common sense person who wants to re-learn some common sense skills.  Therefore, I'd like to access that library book, or website, or radio station that can help me along. 

Do you have favorite information sources?  What do you think of sites like The American Preppers Network?

3 comments:

  1. Tami - I don't have any particular site that I follow, but I, too, have come across a huge number of TEOWAWKI blogs, and they also get me thinking.

    SO I guess you could say that I subscribe to "putting a little aside" (like dried goods, etc) just in case they could one day be useful. But I don't go as far as getting RMan to stock up on ammunition! LOL

    And I do believe that having basic knowledge / appliances which may assist in times of need as a beneficial necessity - and not only because I don't / won't have the grid power to run them, but also because I believe that the more we can all do for ourselves the less dependent we are / will need to be should the occasion arise.

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  2. I don't have any sites to give you. This was all common sense stuff in my day. We were always taught to have at least a few months worth of food/T.P./supplies on hand---because it made sense. My mother was convinced that the "wolf" was always at the back door ready to take away our lifestyle......(job loss/sickness)
    So yes, it made a lot of sense. It's how I was brought up. It also saves a TON of money in the longrun because I'm always stocked up through the "high-price" periods that come and go with coffee/flour/whatever. And when the price inevitably drops, I stock back up again. So --common sense. Unfortunately, it's seriously in short supply. I can't believe there are people out there withOUT at least 3 days food in the house. That would mean they are ALWAYS paying full price for stuff. I don't know about YOU, but I can't afford to waste money like that.
    I'll be curious to see what sites you find. I do find them interesting.

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  3. This whole "prepper" movement kinda gets my goat. I am with Sue, this is nothing new. This was just the way of life for the last thousand years. Get some food and provisions stored or die. Now it is a big marketing thing. You NEED to buy $1000's of dollars of worth of canned good to sit in your basement for years, buy all these books, or knives, or this gadget or that. What ever happened to people just being smart and responsible for themselves and having enough stuff on hand for emergencies ? Maybe a few back ups if the power goes out for a while? Plus people get a false sense of security if they have this laundry list of things these "preppers" recommend. There are bad things that happen that you can never prepare for. The best form of prepping is Knowledge on how to take care of yourself, just like Grandma did.

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