Tag: Evacuation

Hey there and welcome!

Today we’re talkin about the question,  Why would you start a show of GenXers Talkin – on being prepared?

I’m Matt Marshall, overall preparedness enthusiast. And I’m here to remind us all with preparedness comes comfort and peace. Something we can all use a bit more of.

why would we create a whole podcast on being prepared?  I would break it down into a couple of reasons, among others…

First, imagine any worst case scenario. Like, maybe you’ve put in a long week at work and heading home, looking forward to a weekend relaxing. and you hear a news broadcast or see a post on social media. 

… Hurricane Fred reaches the coast this weekend!! …

Ugh!  And you find yourself having to stop at the grocery store to buy those last minute items before the storm. Only, at the store you see the long lines, you realize, there’s no more milk, no pasta, no meat…. Or heaven forbid…  no toilet paper!!

<<Thanks COVID!!>>

Little bit of stress?  Maybe, but not if you’re already prepared.

Weather of course is a big part of this type of event.  So preparing the home in those fairly common instances of difficult weather is very important. Having items on hand at home already relieves pressures that might come up unexpectedly.

But we’ll also review those less common times, what are referred to as High Impact , Low Frequency events.

EMP, Electro Magnetic Pulse is an example of this. Preparing individuals and communities for these types of events are completely different. And only certain people can really grasp the concepts of what this means.  We’re here to help people understand what can be effected and how we as everyday people can respond.

With each episode We hope to encourage people and familiarize them with the many different aspects of preparedness and perhaps hone in on just one or two at a time. Maybe by doing this everyone improves their overall preparedness.

An exercise for you, consider some of the many different aspects of preparing for times of difficulty. Should be easy right, if you think about it from the perspective of say… the survival rule or threes:

• A person can only last about three minutes without air
• Three hours in a harsh environment, hot or cold
• three days without water
• Three weeks without food

Well our initial response to being prepared seems simple then, right?  Start with getting a gas mask to protect you if air is bad, then pile up a mass of water.  Build a shelter, add some food and your all set!

Maybe not so much. 

Because you immediately start delving into the slightly more obscure components of water shelter and food.

• Thoughts like:
  • how much food and water?
  • How and Where should I store it?
  • How soon will it go bad?
  • Or… gas mask?  What?  Why?

There’s so many interesting things to work though related to just these 3-4 items.

But What about some of the other much less talked about areas of threat?

• Consider a Three second psychological reaction time to make a decision in emergencies – think security and healthcare.
• Three months without interaction with other people before a person begins to feel effects of loneliness or loss.  And here we begin to get really deep into a rare topic – psychological preparedness.  This isn’t something that you can pay a bit of cash and start inventorying. Right? This can sometimes take a lifetime to build the skills. And for some people, only In those times of upmost stress, do they realize they were not prepared at all!

When I was growing my dad always suggested to us that the human is composed of three areas; body mind and spirit. And we should strive to improve all three as equally as possible.

To improve the body we could submit to the many diet and exercise programs to stay fit. But really we can just keep in mind it’s a fairly logical process. The inputs (the foods and amounts we eat) and the outputs (activity and exercise) should be as close as possible.  Of course there’s a lot more to unpack here.

For the mind, we should always be learning. One of the greatest results of the tech boom is education, online and free education. We could be learning artificial intelligence one week and breaking down the Extar EP9 the next. It really doesn’t matter what we’re learning. The point is … to be learning!

Finally, the spirit. And this becomes important in so many parts of our lives. Find something that feeds your soul.  Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddha… it doesn’t matter for the purpose of preparedness. If we can each recognize that there is something larger than ourselves, then we can find ways to strengthen our own spirit.  Even if a person doesn’t practice any organized religion at all, its still possible to build ones spirit. Many find it in nature hiking, biking, kayaking, or just sitting and breathing the fresh air. Build your spirit as much as you can.

Putting the three together can lead to such a powerful life experience. And as those difficult times hit us, if properly prepared, we can respond well and recover faster.

It is my hope, and will be my joy, to share with you our thoughts, our goals and maybe even our dreams.

Thanks for your time. Enjoy the ride!!