Family Preparedness Guide

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 Keep It Super Simple!

 What will it take to persuade you to actually accomplish a well thought-out family preparedness plan? The most important part of a family preparedness plan, for most of us, is a well-planned, nutritionally adequate, and well-balanced food storage program––one that is appropriate to your family’s particular situation. For some families, it’s a matter of raising the level of organization, or perhaps adding some new items the family has grown to like since the last reorganization.

 Please understand there are many other facets to family preparedness, but food is the great leveler when push comes to shove.

 One of the medical doctors treating me in post-cancer care was a specialist in pain treatment. I had spent weeks searching for a pain specialist, and I was tickled to find this consummate professional. AS usual, I had given him a copy of my book upon meeting him. I found it’s a great calling card! Also, those getting a book remember me better. He said he had been raised on a ranch in South Texas, and grew up tending the garden until he was old enough to join his older brothers on the herd. He said he understood the need for a large pantry, and had plenty of space in the large farmhouse on his horse property North of San Antonio.

 I had been in treatment for almost a year. I had just begun the retreat from narcotics when I went into the office for the required health check a week after commencing the program for morphine detox.

 To  my surprise, he was not there, and his Physician Assistant told me he had fallen off his horse the previous Saturday morning and had pierced his eardrum on a tree branch lying in the path. The irony of it all was that he had not doctor “friend” for his treatment––either for pain or for the delicate surgery required to restore his hearing and balance.

 Later, after six long months, my doctor was back to release me from the 13 months of planned addiction, he related how he had to done the same thing I had done––spent a lot of time looking or well-qualified specialists for his own treatment. He had the further handicap of not being able to drive himself around to appointments! His wife spent hours each week, driving him and helping him navigate the curbs, steps, doorways, elevators, hallways, and into little exam rooms.

 But the part that meant so much to me was that he had followed his own past and had invested some serious time and money in his family’s welfare “just in case.” He had some continuing income from previous work during his forced semi-retirement, but the point was for him no one in the family was worried because the pantry had been full, the freezer full of beef from his dad’s ranch, and 4 children never missed a meal! His wife was grateful she didn’t need to shop except for a few fresh things—as he said—some week-end pleasure foods, a few seasonal veggies and fruits, and occasional fresh milk.

 Normally, he would have been in serious financial, emotional, and mental angst within the family. Fortunately, the money coming in from the dwindling practice in his absence covered the new building, employees, and other overhead, but he never had to borrow money for living expenses. He was tearfully grateful for the reminder I gave him for doing his fatherly duties.

 During the weeks of nauseating pain, seemingly endless medical treatments, and mountains of paperwork, his family had the security of knowing they would not go hungry. He said he often wandered over to the pantry and smiled at the large supply of foodstuffs there—he had no worries as to where the next meal was coming from. He had learned the value of being prepared!

 More than likely you won’t have such a weird accident happen to you—you may be one of those who think you’ll never need a store of food in your pantry! You’re earning good money,  you’re responsible, you’ve got a few bucks in the bank, your IRA or 401(k) is funded to the max, and your job is secure, your wife’s job is giving you a nice financial cushion, you’ve got a new car and truck, a new home, great furnishings, and your family is a collection of over-achievers!

 Then there were Hurricanes Rita, Katrina, Andrew, and Camille, the Asian tsunami, the California wildfires, the Southwestern drought, 9-11 the Iraqi war! These types of catastrophes can be devastating even if you survive them. How about the effects of the recent gas shortages on your family?

 Make being prepared for the uncertain future a high priority. It can happen to you, just as it did to my doctor. Food storage as an integral part of your family’s preparedness program should rank high on your priority list––especially when you have children or potentially serious medical problems. The less income you have, the more you’ll appreciate your preparedness efforts.

 I’m often asked this question: what if I have too much invested in my food storage? The answer is this:

“Too much food storage is a problem you can eat your way out of!”

 It’s as simple as that!

 Till next time…

James Talmage Stevens

 Author:  Making the Best of Basics–Family Preparedness Handbook 

Blogger @www.FamilyPreparednessGuide.com

Internet Radio: www.BlogTalkRadio.com/family (Saturdays, 1:00 PM CDST. Subject for July 4 will be “Back on the Road to Self-Reliance”)  

E-mail: editor@www.familypreparednessguide.com

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