I saw this thread the other day and thought about responding to it at that time but I had other stuff to do.

I was very active in the survival movement back in the late 70's and early 80's. My wife and I started a family and I calmed down somewhat. I always had food and water, just in case. A medical kit that would make a small town proud. Some really cool equipment for specialized needs and just fun stuff to play with.

My survival instinct has come roaring back in the last year or so. I can't explain it or put a finger on it, but something is telling me to really get ready. I even bought some radiac equipment and my kids are having a real blast learning how to operate the stuff. I have bought enough "stuff" to supply my entire family unit and our kids families. My wife of 30+ years just considers it a "thing" I'm going through.

My kids range from 29 to 18, they think I'm eccentric. When they see September is preparedness month and all the stuff available at Sam's, well it gives them a pause and they think. When my oldest got a flier, in the mail, from FEMA about being prepared for disaster, he called me about it. I didn't send it to him, FEMA did a mass mailing in different parts of the country about disasters. He just happened to live in an area that got fliers.

It's a little odd that others are sharing this same feeling, maybe for different reasons, but it is the same feeling. I'm probably older than most on this board, so it's not an age thing for the most part, IMHO.

I can say, if I was a real betting man, something is going to happen on a very bad scale. I don't think it will just affect the USA. I'm thinking more in line of a planetary event. May or may not be man driven. Will it happen in my lifetime, hard to say... in my kids lifetime... without a doubt.

Just some rambling thoughts from an eccentric middle aged man....

I didn't get hit by the bug until I knew that I was going to be a father, and then everything kicked into high gear and I turned into the protective papa bear.

It really doesn't matter what causes you to start thinking about preparedness, unless you think you're psychic (then here at ATS your right at home). What matters is that you had the spark and that you are opening your mind to the possibility that the world may not be all air conditioning and videogames in the future, and that no matter what you are worried sit-x may be (ELE, Zombies, Nuclear War, Virus outbreak, etc.) your level of awareness has been elevated, and you are now taking the initiative that only a small percentage of the population is doing to guarentee survival of you and yours should anything happen.

Do not give in to paranoia, because that will make you jumpy and choke if sit-x does come to pass. Make your BoB, get your contingency in place, start a group of like minded individuals that you can trust and discuss possible scenarios and find a good all around plan that would work with almost any of them. Talk to your family, I've been planting the seeds with my father and have him keeping a decent stock of food, water, and batteries at home using a possible local natural disaster (we're close to the New Madrid Fault line) as his motivator.

One of the best pieces of advise I can give you is talk to the people in this forum, everyone is knowlageable, and has thier strong points on issues across the board. Orangetom (gotta give you props man) is a vast weath of info and he's earned more WATS votes from me then I can count, when he posts adhear that info to memory.

Good luck on your preperations, we're here for you.