Would you survive a disaster? Would you want to?

I have had a survival kit for more than a decade. My offspring and close friends (you don't tell just anyone you have one) have scoffed at it and mocked me, but I'm more certain than ever that I'm on the right track with this one.

The world is a crazy-scary place, and all the disasters – whether made by nature or mankind – should give us a dope-slap of reality and make us confront the question of whether we would be prepared if something catastrophic occurred.


The kit

The survival kit started out with the basics - you know, first aid kit, flashlight, batteries, portable radio, etc. That seemed enough once upon a time. Then Y2K came and predicted doom, so I added things like blankets, some canned goods and a can opener and granola bars (they never go bad, do they?).

I forgot about the kit for awhile, but then 9/11 came, bringing with it for the first time in my lifetime the realization that not everyone loves America and that what had been happening on foreign soil was now happening here. And, given a chance, the perpetrators would do it again, and again, and again.

More was needed for my survival kit. In went potable water pills, iodine pills, masks that would keep air-borne particulates out of our lungs, a thermal body cover, heavy duty first aid items such as blood-clotting spray, a tourniquet, lots and lots of bandages, tons of triple antibiotic cream, bug repellent, a small tent-like cover, Sterno, and on and on.

Will I use it?

So here we are, 2013, and I'm more fearful now than I've ever been about the fate of my world.

The entire Middle East region is in the middle of something that I'm pretty sure will be felt 'round the world for decades to come, and Korea can't wait to obliterate us.

Here in America, we're well on our way to financial collapse, which can't bring anything good with it.

So now I have to ask myself a question, not about what I should add to my survival kit, but whether or not, in fact, I actually want or need one.

There are some things you can “survive” but, given the circumstances of your surroundings, would you want to? Other things, such as those that have been going on in the world in recent years, seem more a matter of lasting long enough to see yourself and those you love die of starvation, dehydration, radiation poisoning, disease, or the ravages of the elements.
I'll hang onto the survival kit for awhile longer, I guess, but whether I'll use it when the time comes, or be able to grab the (now) four bags it's in, is another matter altogether.

Those of you who might be interested in establishing a kit to use, or not, can find helpful information atReady America (ready.gov).