I was recently accused of being “one of those fanatical, crazy prepper people”! I asked the gal for a definition of a Crazy Prepper. Apparently, anyone who stocks up on food, medical supplies, has an evacuation plan for emergencies, or carries a gun for any purpose falls into this person’s definition of a Crazy Prepper.
That definitely puts me and my family into that category! We are working on a small building as a hurricane shelter here on our property because our house is a mobile home. We plan to use it as a canning kitchen and storage for our home-canned food, but it’s secondary purpose is to make sure we can withstand a hurricane without having to get on the highways with possibly millions of other people. We have both done that before and trying to evacuate before a hurricane is almost as scary as the hurricane.
We do stock up on food, to some degree. We can and preserve as much produce and meat as possible. Aside from job loss or medical issues, we also worry about not being able to get to town after a natural disaster. On good days, it’s a 30 minute plus drive to the closest small town, and nearly an hour to get to a slightly bigger town with more than one grocery store. So, yes, we keep plenty of food on hand.
We also keep medical supplies on hand. A well-stocked first aid kit, at least one month extra of all prescription meds, and extra cold and flu medications. If one of us wakes up sick in the morning, driving at least half an hour to town is not something I want to do. The nearest hospital is also in that small town, so being able to treat minor injuries may save us a trip to town, or may keep minor from becoming a major injury.
Evacuation plans are a way of life for Floridians. Most of us know, or quickly learn, which major highways are close to us. After trying to use the major highway to travel north when a hurricane is coming, most of us learn what the back roads that lead that direction are as well. We live fairly far out, with only a couple of ways to get to our property easily. However, I know at least 5 ways to get here or evacuate that aren’t necessarily “easy”, but they will get me to one of the kids’ houses, or far enough north to rent a hotel room outside of the projected hurricane path.
Guns. Sigh. Everyone wants to talk about guns. I do own a small firearm for personal protection and I carry it whenever I’m outside. We have bobcats and rattlesnakes in our area. Our “neighbors” in our general area have killed six rattlesnakes in the last few weeks and we have seen bobcats twice in the same time period. Not to mention feral hogs, which seem to want to come visit our female hog in her pen.
So, I guess that we are “Crazy Preppers”.
