The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Preparedness, BOB's, and Serious Discussion

Phil Ca · September 1, 2005, 08:56 PM

We live in Modesto in the Central Valley of the PRK and are in a quiet area. We used to live in another nice area but it was filled with too many people and noisy kids. Since we are sort of retired we appreciate a quiet area and less commotion. We had kids on motorized scooters and bikes and in cars with mega-watt sound systems. my feeling was that while we had some very good neighbors there we also had a few shiftless types that I would not trust in a disaster situation. I also do not believe that many of these folks were prepared for anything except watching a football game or MTV.

Here in our new neighborhood we have a large number of retirees and and while I see a number of them on morning walks I do not believe them to be able to mix it up with any rioters that might come into the area. My wife and I have arthritis and walking any great distance is out of the question. My plan is to hunker down and ride out the problems that come up if at all possible. Ihave my own contingency plan for dealing with interlopers into our area.

Since our economic situation took a major downturn in 2002 we are living on the edge, so to speak. We just had our tranny on the van repaired and if the mecanic had not given us a discount and was willing to take a couple of additional payments the van would still be parked out front. We took it out to buy gasoline last night at 2300 hours and it cost $75.00 to (almost) fill it up. The pump stopped automatically at that amount. ($2.99 per gallon)

I am reconfiguring our BOB's and gear that we will be keeping either in the van or in a ready area in case we do have to leave for any reason. Just watching the despair of the people on the Gulf Coast has been very revealing. It is also obvious that a great many people still believes that "Big Brother" is there to pluck them out of any problem. On the evening of the Loma Prieta EQ a SFPD officer was announcing to people that they should be prepared to take care of themselves for 72 hours. If the people in this storm area had done that there would not be nearly the chaos that exists there.

Being fit is a definite plus and while I am able to get around my brush with the a member of he criminal element while in Switzerland in June has left me with a few painful areas and I am not as "spry" as I was before.

One of the most important things we need to remember during these uncertain times is that we retain our humanity. Some of the scenes coming out of the aftermath of the storm depict people that have there humanuty intact and othres seem to have lost theirs.

September 1, 2005, 08:56 PM	#30
Phil Ca Senior Member Join Date: October 5, 2000 Location: Central Valley, PRK Posts: 238	We live in Modesto in the Central Valley of the PRK and are in a quiet area. We used to live in another nice area but it was filled with too many people and noisy kids. Since we are sort of retired we appreciate a quiet area and less commotion. We had kids on motorized scooters and bikes and in cars with mega-watt sound systems. my feeling was that while we had some very good neighbors there we also had a few shiftless types that I would not trust in a disaster situation. I also do not believe that many of these folks were prepared for anything except watching a football game or MTV. Here in our new neighborhood we have a large number of retirees and and while I see a number of them on morning walks I do not believe them to be able to mix it up with any rioters that might come into the area. My wife and I have arthritis and walking any great distance is out of the question. My plan is to hunker down and ride out the problems that come up if at all possible. Ihave my own contingency plan for dealing with interlopers into our area. Since our economic situation took a major downturn in 2002 we are living on the edge, so to speak. We just had our tranny on the van repaired and if the mecanic had not given us a discount and was willing to take a couple of additional payments the van would still be parked out front. We took it out to buy gasoline last night at 2300 hours and it cost $75.00 to (almost) fill it up. The pump stopped automatically at that amount. ($2.99 per gallon) I am reconfiguring our BOB's and gear that we will be keeping either in the van or in a ready area in case we do have to leave for any reason. Just watching the despair of the people on the Gulf Coast has been very revealing. It is also obvious that a great many people still believes that "Big Brother" is there to pluck them out of any problem. On the evening of the Loma Prieta EQ a SFPD officer was announcing to people that they should be prepared to take care of themselves for 72 hours. If the people in this storm area had done that there would not be nearly the chaos that exists there. Being fit is a definite plus and while I am able to get around my brush with the a member of he criminal element while in Switzerland in June has left me with a few painful areas and I am not as "spry" as I was before. One of the most important things we need to remember during these uncertain times is that we retain our humanity. Some of the scenes coming out of the aftermath of the storm depict people that have there humanuty intact and othres seem to have lost theirs.