Emergency Preparedness: what did you do today?
 

The Scout motto is "Be Prepared." In efforts to promote preparedness, I ask this question of myself and others--what did you do *today* to be more prepared for an emergency?

Today, I bought 2 x 5-gallon gas cans. Hurricane evacuations here in Texas have demonstrated how critical it is to have extra gas. Gas stations ran out. People with full tanks of gas had to abandon their vehicles after going 20 miles in crawl-and-go traffic due to running out of gas. The state brought in fuel trucks on the interstate so people could gas up and keep going.

The infrastructure can't support most people in a large city evacuating. Period.

Far-fetched? Not when you've seen it yourself, and have friends who actually did it.

Had a couple of Italian sausages and a triple cheeseburger for lunch thus adding to my already ample, around the midriff, emergency stores.

Called my home insurance agent to discuss possible exclusions on firearms.

Many home owners policies in the USA only cover firearms up to 2,000 or 2,500 minus the deductible. If you own a couple of hunting rifles with scopes, a shotgun for duck hunting, and a handgun, you can easily be above that limit.

Say you own $5,000 worth, and you are covered to $2000, and you have a $1500 deductible. Your guns are gone and you get a check for $500. Ouch.

But wait, you say, I own a safe! I paid $1000 for it. If the thieves break in, they won't have time to open it, because I also have an alarm system. Ok.


If you decide you want/need more insurance, you can get a rider attached to your home owner's policy usually. Or you can take out insurance with a third party. One that I have heard recommended is this one:
http://www.collectinsure.com/ There certainly are others, including one that has an association with the NRA. NRA membership comes with $1000 of insurance, but I don't know the details.

Having said all this about insurance, a safe is critical in my opinion. If nothing else, it should keep the kids away from the long guns.

COme on, mike. The only insurance YOU need is Mr. Walther, loaded, under your pillow.

I want to say something:

I am not a survival or emergency preparedness guru. Nor am I a firearms expert.

However I am someone who is interested in being prepared for emergency situations, in a cost-efficient low-effort manner.

A lot of people spend $300 at the drop of a hat for frivolities, but can't be bothered to spend $300 for food storage. They snicker at someone like me. I merely point out that I didn't spend a lot of money, and it didn't take a lot of effort, and now I am prepared. And they are not.

Bought a cheap poncho. Good to have. Esp. for the campout in rain tomorrow at sub-40deg temps.

I didn't really do anything today. I am setting up my shotgun, so that it can be used for home defense, rather than just shooting clays. Some feel that a shotgun is the ideal tool for home self-defense, and there may be a lot of truth to that. But quick-access safe-storage of it is somewhat problematic if you have kids. There are solutions, but none of them terribly elegant in my opinion.

Need to get some rock salt shells just in case the wrong type wanders over here to CG.

Well it turns out they don't sell rock salt shells where I buy ammo. I had to settle for 12 gauge 2 3/4in 00 buckshot instead.

The chances that I will ever fire such a round, with deadly purpose, are close to zero. But it's part of a mantra, a feeling down to my core, that it is our job to be prepared, to be our brother's keeper, and to preserve those things that are most valuable, even by force, if necessary.

I pray that it never comes to that.

Well....today I am more prepared than yesterday. The march continues.

Took a practice test for a technician's ham radio license.

http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl

Scored 73%, but was incorrectly given 2 to 3 wrong answers by hitting the button when it was loading.