My background in nursing and a brain that errs on the
side of the scientific, logical, analytical conclusion usually preclude me from
giving much consideration to these ‘end of the world’ prophecies. I mean, seriously, how much credit can you
give to a statement that the world is going on end on this specific day, at
this specific time, from a random person who in all likeliness, isn’t quite
right in the head? Well, a lot,
apparently. And this is something I find
fascinating: despite the continual disappointment of the world not ending at the
prescribed time, there is a large section of the human population who will devote varying
amounts of time, energy and often a large amounts of money to preparing for the end
of the world. Ranging from simply
putting a bag over ones head at the appointed time, to having a 3 foot thick
concrete walled bunker stocked with 2 years of supplies in the middle of nowhere,
why do people fortify themselves this way? Have they thought through the
various scenarios? Have they considered the cross-purpose potential of their
preparations if something different occurs? Is it something that they will
actually use when the time comes, or is it really just a salve to soothe their
fear of the unknown in the here and now?
So after watching three seasons straight of The Walking
Dead, and indulging in too many disaster films, I found my disgustingly overactive
imagination wondering ‘well, what would
I actually do?’ Not surprising for someone of my generation, my initial answer
to this question was - Google it.
And what a can of worms that was. Being primarily American sites I was directed
to, most of the advice was – ‘guns, lots of guns, and ammunition, and
explosives, oh, and maybe a bottle of water’.
Might I add here – not helpful. In
Australia we have tight firearm restrictions and the concept of having 15 loaded
semi-automatic rifles in your house for protection is just not going to happen.
On the other hand, there was a deluge of information about ‘Bugging Out’ – the concept
of taking a bag of supplies (a Bug Out Bag or BOB) to last you 72 hours and enable you to get
the hell out of the populated areas to a place you may or may not have prepared
in advance. A fantastic way to spend hundreds
of dollars on stuff you’ll probably never use – think miniature survival kits
in sardine cans, itty bitty first aid kits, energy nuggets (read chewie
lollies), tiny pouches of long life water etc, all stuffed into an expensive
military grade backpack. Problem – I live
in Australia, where everything tries to kill you. I mean it: everything. The sun, the weather, the country side, the
wild life, the plants – if you tried trekking about out here without some
decent prior knowledge, you’re not going to make it three days even if your
tiny water pouches lasted that long.
Needless to say, I had to find some more useful information.
Right. Priorities.
How to establish the what’s, why’s, how’s,
when’s, where’s, what the ...? The
things your teachers tell you in high school are right - learning to research
does come in handy occasionally – especially when it’s for things that aren’t compulsory
or work/study related. Sometimes, it can
even be fun (don’t laugh – you’d be surprised!). Anyway, we'll get into that next time.
Until next time :)
KC
KC
