I made someone think today., page 1

Today i had the opportunity to make a guy think about stockpiling incase of emergency, i usually keep quiet about it, but i ended up being put on the spot.

This morning i had an electrician in to do some major circuit work in the house, i've been having a bit of a declutter around the house and have used my bedroom as a dumping ground for everything whislt i sort the house out.

So at the end of his job, the guy had to test all the sockets....including my bedroom. I asked him to excuse the mess, but all he could talk about was the near on 200ltrs of water i had in 5ltr bottles in one corner of the bedroom.

He said, "OMG, what on earth have you got that much water for?"

To be honest, i felt a little stupid at first, like i say i rarely tell people around here what i stock, some wouldn't understand and some would probably just laugh.

However as luck would have it, two things sprang to mind. Yesterday morning, i was listening to a survival podcast from Todayssurvival about starting up conversation about survival. It mentioned finding common ground with the person, and letting that lead you into the subject.

So i remembered that the electrician was telling me that like myself, he also had two young daughters. So that was my common ground.

I acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary, and just said that i always make sure i have a few weeks worth of water in the house incase the utilties in the area are out for any reason. I said that most people will statr feeling the effects after a couple of days of no clean water, and theres no way i will let myself or my kids be put in that situation.

I said i know it looks strange to someone who has not see it before, but for very little cost i now have peace of mind that we'll be ok.

The electrician gave an interested "Ahh i see" and seemed to be uninterested, carrying on with his job. He had obviously seen a couple of my plaques on the wall and said that he'd never been in the army so didn't learn about anything like that.

I said it was nothing to do with the army, people from all walks of life do it, and being a soldier doesn't make you any more concerned for your kids safety than any other parent. He nodded and agreed.

When he was on his way out of the door, i thanked him and that was that, but his last words were....."So just out of interest...where did you say you got those big water bottles from?

That made my day. It's the first time i've spoken about the subject outside survival forums, and you could see it made someone think for the first time about being prepared.

It was a nice feeling, one that also gave me reassurance that am doing the right thing by my family too.

CX.

reply to post by CX

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You don't have to be paranoid to plan in advance for emergencies. There are a ton of government sponsored websites, ad campaigns, and pamphlets that may help you convince your family.

I am in Florida and there are radio ads, bill boards, etc. Even the grocery stores here stock up and market things related to hurricane season.

The NE and Upper Midwest people prepare for ice storms, power outtages, road closures, Floods, etc.

The West Coast prepares for Santa Anna, Wildfires, Earthquakes, Mudslides, etc.

Midwest gets it all, Tornadoes, Heat Waves, Ice Storms, Floods, you name it.

Everyone should have supplies to live, at the very least, 1-week in a survival situation! The bug-out-bag goes along with that, because you could be forced out of your home with very little time to prepare. (IE. A train derailment in TN/KY forced about a thousand homeowner's out for several days because of possible toxic chemicals.)

If they don't find your concern inspiring, point them to the FEMA, DHS, Local Health Departments. I am attaching some links here. I won't go into all the preps you can make, there are a bunch of threads already for that.

In addition, if you are interested in this subject, it could make for a great career, and many colleges are offering degrees in the field, so toss that into the argument!

Good Luck!!

www.ready.gov...

www.fema.gov...

emergency.cdc.gov...



Main One
www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.todayssurvival.com...

reply to post by CX

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Nice post , I was at a house warming the other night and somehow the topic of being prepared for an emergency came up(must have been the fact that winter is right around the corner) anyway I didn't tell people to much about my own plans , but I did point out that at any given moment there is only a 3 day supply of food in our supermarkets and that we all reley on trucks moving from wharehouses to stores constantly all I said was it wouldn't be pretty if something came up and that flow where to stop,it was easy to see that they had never thought about it before but I bet they are now.The way I look at it is if people are ready to look after themselves for a while in an emergency there will be fewer people looking for supplies that won't be there! hate to be in a city if anything goes off the rails.
I luckily got out of an urban setting a while ago moved to an area where if push came to shove you could surrvive for quite a while providing you where prepared to get throught the first 3-4 weeks of anything big. Lots of water,wood,small and big game, and more importantly a more or less civil population the type of people that will give one another a "hand up".
Once again good post , nice that you helped open your electricians mind !

reply to post by CX

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CX, thanks and I'm glad my "common ground" message helped. I learned a long time ago that people won't listen unless they can relate to you. Talking about family is usually a good icebreaker.

You never know how that will effect that electrician later on down the road. You may have planted a seed that will grow.

Bob
[site name & link removed]



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[edit on 12-9-2009 by 12m8keall2c]

reply to post by CX

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I think you did good... it is difficult to actually wake people up to the fact that there are such things as natural disasters and such, let alone a terrorist act....

considering that many of us have been called everything under the sun when it comes to being a survivalist...... you did a good thing.... keep it up.

reply to post by DaddyBare

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I did not mean anything by what I said... but it is a progressive thing...and it takes time and hard effort..... so please do not take me wrong...i menat nothing by it....

reply to post by lilwolf

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I don't remember being offended by your comment... like you I applaud his actions... Planing for the worse can tag us many different labels the end effect is the same. or efforts keep us going while other's panic

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by lilwolf

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I don't remember being offended by your comment... like you I applaud his actions... Planing for the worse can tag us many different labels the end effect is the same. or efforts keep us going while other's panic

Oh I agree with you on the names we all get called .... but it is always a process of staying ready for something that many here know is coming... just a slight matter of when....

I fully intend to be around to stay alive with my group when SHTF...and i personally do not think it is going to be very long....I hope i am wrong , but somehow i do not think so.

I actually get a kick out of peoples reactions when i bulk purchase... but here in this state there are so many LDS folks that most think nothing of it... but there are always a bunch around that honestly think the government will be there for them..... I always chuckle at that and tell them...."remember Katrina, they did a good job on that didn't they"

reply to post by exile1981

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Remember I said we used to live in the country... now we have a townhouse in the city. as evidenced but the last crises I'm certain in a long term emergency I will have to defend what we have... push comes to shove I'm going to feel bad about shooting my neighbours... if pressed to it...but not so bad I lose sleep over it...

if your wondering how I can say that let me also point out were not in the best neighbourhood... it used to be... but now we have gangs...

Originally posted by mamabeth

Originally posted by CX
Glad you liked it.

Thanks for the reply, i think i'm more concerned about speaking up about this here because where i live there are very few who would take this seriously. Too many people who are completely reliant on the supermarket.

Looking forward to your thread.



CX.

I have some people give me strange looks when I'm at the store check
out.Today,I bought 30 cans of spaghetti sauce,it was on sale a $1.00
a can.I tell people they better start stocking up.I don't know if they're
listening.
People have it in their minds that the government will take care of them.
I had rental property,in another state,that was damaged by a flood.Fema
was out there,but all they did was offer loans to people to repair the
damage.
It was volunteers from churches that helped people out.These churches
donated bleach and other cleaning supplies.I had debris that covered
the entrance to the crawl space.A group of young mormons cleared
away the debris.One even crawled under the house and cut holes in the
vapor barrier.I know those volunteers saved my house from really
serious damage.
Everyone should remember what happened after Katrina.I'm not waiting
for some government agency to help me out in a crisis.I will take care
of my own.

Who cares about strange looks? They won't give you strange looks when the shtf and you are the one with resources to help them! Glad you're stockpiling. Unfortunately they are not listening, but I do think we survivalists are gaining ground. People are slowly waking up, IMHO.

It's frightening how many folks still rely on the government when it's so perfectly obvious that most government run programs fail.

Keep stockpiling, ignore the strange looks, remember that it's their life they are risking.

All the best,
www.todayssurvival.com...
Today's Survival Show


[edit on 8-10-2009 by TodaysSurvival]

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by exile1981

---

Remember I said we used to live in the country... now we have a townhouse in the city. as evidenced but the last crises I'm certain in a long term emergency I will have to defend what we have... push comes to shove I'm going to feel bad about shooting my neighbours... if pressed to it...but not so bad I lose sleep over it...

if your wondering how I can say that let me also point out were not in the best neighbourhood... it used to be... but now we have gangs...

Always remember that if push comes to shove...they are going to shoot you to take what you have.... and i really doubt they would lose sleep over capping you.... I do not know how else to say that with out sounding offensive or insentitive/// but that is reality..

ALways look out for you and yours first....

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