Dave and I started watching this show on Netflix called Jericho. It's about a town out West that survives after every major city in the US is bombed. The town bands together to survive and protect themselves from other towns that wanted their resources. You later find out it was our own government that did it to us. I'm not into conspiracy theories, and I usually don't like shows like this one, but I was hooked! We watched 31 episodes in 48 hours. Finishing a show like this is like finishing a season of 24, for a few days you feel like life is an adventure in HD, and you start noticing cars on the road, people walking past, and strange noises. Basically, you become a little paranoid because for the last 48 hours you have been living and dreaming about the world ending and needing to survive. Now it's pretty comical really, when you realize that you've started thinking like a weirdo, but since I am usually a bit naive when it comes to street smarts and common sense, maybe it's good to every once in a while realize that the world is not all rainbows and ponies.
Though the world went back to normal, I made a realization: if I were all of a sudden in a survival situation I would be completely helpless. Completely! Sure, I could figure out how to make a fire if I was lucky enough to have dry wood and matches or a lighter on hand (not likely). But I wouldn't know how to build a shelter, find food, or figure out how to stay alive if I was by myself. It's a little bit alarming when you think about how fragile humans are, and how reliant we are on our technology and comfortable living situations. I can't go two hours without a snack, let alone a day looking for food. I killed a chicken once in Africa, but I didn't have to find it first, or clean out the insides afterwards. And when it comes to snakes, bears and other predators...count me out!!
Before Jericho, we were watching this awesome show called Man, Woman, Wild. The husband. Mykel Hawk, was a captain in the US Special Forces. He takes his wife out into various wilderness situations and teaches her how to survive. He wants to know that his wife would be able to take care of herself . Dave feels the same way. He may be Mr. Survival Expert, but the reality is there could be a time when he isn't with me, like say a plane crash, car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, or, God forbid, I got kidnapped or something. I can't use a map. It could happen!
We took a drive into the nearest town with a mall (about 40 min away). First we hit up Barnes and Noble. We found the survival section and found Mykel Hawke's easy to read book about survival. There were many different books but this one seemed easiest for a beginner. It's actually quite funny in some parts and I like reading the different ways of starting a fire and building a shelter. I am actually pretty excited to try it out for practice. We also bought a book on identifying edible plants. When we get back in PA we will put together a bag we can grab in case of emergency. would have been nice to have one during our tornado adventure the other day.
We also hit up Dick's Sporting Goods. We checked out the sleeping bags and tents - always a good idea to have those things on hand, and unfortunately Dave's stuff is all back in PA at his parents' house. We were shocked when we got to the gun section, and it was completely bare except for a few hunting rifles and paintball guns, and there was no ammo to speak of. We've been hearing reports that people have been buying up all the guns and ammo around the country but it was shocking to actually see it. We are going to try to get on the waiting list for two different hand guns sold at a local shop. I am going to try to get my concealed carry license down here as well.
In the end, we bought some fire starters and a pepper spray gun for me. I had been wanting one for my walks alone to and from the senior center, since one of the ladies said she had been followed home the other day.
Now this probably all sounds extreme and paranoid. I know that I have nothing to truly fear because God will protect and provide. But I also think He gives us a brain connected to hands and feet so that we can learn to do things for ourselves as well. I don't want to sit around hoping for the best, knowing that I wouldn't survive a day in my own back yard if I had to. Plus, I'd like to know that in a crisis I wouldn't lose my head, but that I would be at Dave's side, rubbing sticks together and making a fire - caveman style!
