Emergency Preparedness

The past few days, I’ve been reading Ashfall by Mike Mullin. Once I’ve finished it, I’ll be sure to review it here but suffice to say, unless it takes a hard right turn into crapville, this book is easily among my top five favorites for the year. The plot centers around what happens with a few main characters after the Yellowstone Caldera blows.

Most of my readers are probably aware that Yellowstone sits upon a very large volcanic region. A caldera is formed when a volcano empties itself of stored magma so quickly, the surrounding land basically collapses into the crater previously occupied by the molten rock. The last eruption of the so-called Yellowstone Supervolcano was about 640,000 years ago. Many experts believe we are way overdue for another eruption.

What will happen when it blows? Simply put, the end of life as we currently know it. The last time, it shot about 240 cubic miles of dirt and ash into the air. This debris eventually covered over half of the continental United States. Today, it would likely wipe out much of the breadbasket of the country. The skies would be dark for quite some time, due to all the debris in the air, and thus have a negative impact on gardens and crops everywhere.

The climate would change as well, becoming much colder for a while, perhaps as much as a 21′F decline in annual temps. The sulfur and other elements in the debris jetted into the atmosphere would bring acid rain for months, even years.

Thousands of people would be immediately killed due to lava and ash falls. Millions more would likely perish in the days and weeks to follow, whether from breathing difficulties brought about by the ash in the air, famine, or disease.

Now, with all that said, how likely is it that the Yellowstone Supervolcano will erupt in our lifetime? Hard to say with any degree of accuracy. Scientists say it is all but certain it will happen in the next 100,000 years. But even that large of a time frame is not much in the grand scheme of things. If you liken Earth’s geological history to the average lifespan of a man, 100,000 years is like 40 minutes or so.

It isn’t a matter of if, it is just a matter of when, just like so many of the other threats we prep for every day.

As you continue adding to your food storage, don’t underestimate the importance of comfort foods. These are the things that might not have much in the way of hard, nutritional value but are tasty and can often help calm nerves because they are familiar.

While these items are important in any food storage plan, they are particularly useful when you have children in your family. Any parent knows the frustration of getting their kids to try new foods, right? Add in a stressful emergency situation and any iota of interest they may have had in trying something new goes out the window.

Many comfort foods aren’t intended for long-term storage. Instead, these are for those “everyday” emergencies like power outages.

Here are some suggested comfort foods to keep on hand.

Popcorn — both bagged “pre-popped” and old fashioned kernels if you have a way to make them without a microwave.

Candy — chocolate, candy bars, hard candy, gum. For myself, this would almost have to include Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Granola bars — marginally healthier than candy bars and will help satisfy a sweet tooth.

Chips — potato, nacho, whatever. Something crunchy and salty.

Nuts — Personally, I love honey roasted cashews.

Drink mixes — Here, I’m not talking about pre-mixed margarita but stuff like instant juice, Kool-Aid, lemonade, that sort of thing. A cup of hot cocoa would be great on a cold winter day. We buy the large “commercial” size canisters of hot cocoa mix and always have at least a couple on hand.

Again, the idea here isn’t to live off this stuff for days on end. Instead, these are treats to be doled out during a crisis to help calm nerves and reduce stress.

What comfort foods would you include on your list?

Tomorrow is obviously turkey day here in the US. As you bow your heads prior to filling your bellies, please give thanks for what you have today. Here is some of what I’m thankful for this year.

Despite all our bitching and worries about the government, we still live in the best country on the planet and enjoy many freedoms others don’t have.

We have brave men and women who are sacrificing their lives to make sure we keep those freedoms.

We have other brave men and women wearing uniforms and badges and making sure we are safe in our homes and communities.

I have a loving wife who works hard day and night, who makes me laugh, and who puts up with my nonsense.

I have three great kids who are energetic, intelligent, and funny.

I have family members who love me and are proud of me.

I’m in fairly good health, have a job I don’t dread going to every day, a roof over my head, and food in my fridge.

I have the knowledge and skills to overcome most obstacles life may throw my way.

Perhaps best of all, I know that no matter how awkward things can get when dealing with extended family members on holidays like this, it’ll never be as bad as what Thanksgiving dinner at the Sandusky residence will be like this year.

Could your body handle the stresses of an extended emergency situation right now? When was the last time you had to chop firewood? Haul water in buckets? Walk more than a half-mile?

I think most of us, myself included, could stand to lose a few pounds and get in better shape. While I am fairly active, were I to have to spend a few days without any modern conveniences, I’d certainly be feeling it in the mornings. Used to be, my wife and I would go on long walks around town. It was a nice way to spend some alone time with each other as well as get a little exercise. I think we’re going to start doing that again.

A healthy body is not only better capable to handle the physical tasks that become necessary during and after an emergency, it also is better able to cope with the psychological stresses. If you get winded walking from the kitchen to the bedroom, what do you think will happen when your already elevated heart rate spikes during an adrenaline rush?

This time of year, we tend to worry less about our waistlines and more about getting that second (or third) piece of cheesecake. There are parties with friends, with families, and with coworkers. It seems as though every time you turn around, someone has placed a platter of cookies in the break room, right? Cakes, pies, not to mention turkey, ham, and all the trimmings grace our dinner tables.

I’ve decided this year, my Christmas present to myself is to get in better shape. Round is not the shape I’m after either. Just a little more physical exercise, coupled with cutting out bit of my daily junk food intake, and I should start seeing results fairly quick. I’m not looking to become ripped and cut enough to grace the cover of Men’s Health magazine. I just want to be better able to provide for the safety and security of those I love.

Who’s with me?

As I’ve mentioned several times on this blog, I believe a prepping mindset includes not only disasters large and small but also safety and security in daily life. Recently, my wife and I sat down with our kids and talked a bit about the Penn State scandal. Not in any great detail, mind you, due to their ages. But, we felt it was important to discuss the topic a bit and use it to illustrate the importance of believing they can come to us about anything.

What happened at Penn State is absolutely horrific and I honestly believe they’ve just scratched the surface of what all transpired over the last couple decades or more. From my understanding, at least some of the victims came from broken homes or were otherwise in situations where they felt they had no one in whom to confide.

If you have children, grandchildren, or even nieces or nephews with whom you are close, I feel it is imperative they know they can talk to you about anything, no matter how potentially embarrassing or uncomfortable. Children who become victims of abuse often feel they have no where to turn, no one who will believe them or protect them. That is absolutely inexcusable and cannot be tolerated.

Talk to your kids every day. Ask them about what is happening in their lives. Offer advice when they are having trouble. Let them know you are there for them.

We’ve discussed “stranger danger” with our kids at length. We’ve also talked about inappropriate touching and all that. But, the other day we also talked about what to do if they hear about something happening with a friend or classmate. To my mind, one of the truly horrid details of the Penn State scandal is how an adult allegedly stumbled upon the abuse as it was happening…and did virtually nothing about it. And how others were made aware of the situation and again did nothing. These poor kids were victimized again and again, over and over, at every stage of the game.

We’ve stressed to our kids that if they hear about abuse happening to someone, to say something. To us, if no one else. We’ve assured them that we will do everything in our power to make sure it doesn’t continue.

Our kids are born loving us unconditionally. The very least we can do is return the favor. Talk to them and, just as important, listen to what they have to say.

Please, if you are the praying type of person, bow your head and say a few words asking your Higher Power to grant those victims strength to get through what will almost assuredly be a stage of their life just as difficult as they went through as children.