Wait, what???

People camp and sleep in tents and sleeping bags?? What about air conditioning and heat? What about snakes and forest critters?? Skunks, armadillos and beavers and badgers and mountain lions and other creatures that can eat your face!!?? What about showers and toilets and shampoo and toilet paper??


Can you tell I'm spoiled? I won't "camp" without a travel trailer and the comforts of home.

I remember growing up camping in a tent, and I refused to sleep one night because the state park we went to had a warning sign when we entered, warning us about alligators or crocodiles (whichever we have in southwest texas) and I was like OH HELL NO!!! I wanted to stay somewhere else, and then it rained and rained and rained and I blubbered all night about the rain making the lake flood and the alligators/crocodiles coming up to the tent camping areas and I didn't want to get eaten by an alligator/crocodile, etc etc. I really think my mom wanted to feed me to them just to get me to shut up lol.

I also remember when my ex husband was in the navy and was out on a 6 month tour, I was home alone with my 8 month old daughter, living in Virginia and hurricane Bob came close. A lot of the locals weren't doing anything, but me, having never been in a hurricane before, stocked up on water and flashlights and batteries and canned food, etc. I was appalled that people were throwing hurricane parties!! They weren't calling for evacuations, or even saying it was going to hit near us, I think it hit Rhode Island, but I was hunkered down in the hallway with all my stuff and my little girl, ready to ride it out lol. And for the record, if the weatherman even says the word "tornado", I run for the bathroom and hunker down with the dogs. Last year, a tornado swept through the outskirts of mesquite and my son's school kept them past the let out time. They moved them all to the hallway and he asked a teacher why- she explained about the tornado and he told her "I know its against school rules, but is really need to call my mom-she's terrified of tornadoes". She let him and my phone rings and the conversations goes something like this:
"Hello"
"Hey mom, it's Ryan. Are you okay?"
"Yes"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. No. Maybe"
"Are you at home?"
"Yeah"
"Are you in the bathroom?"
"Yeah"
"How long have you been in there?"
"Since 12:30 when the winds started blowing really hard and the weatherman said there was a tornado watch in Cleburne"
"Mom, cleburne is 85 miles west of us and its 4:30"
"I know, but the wind was blowing north east and it doesn't take long for tornadoes to travel. I was being cautious"
"Okay, are the dogs oaky?"
"Yeah, but they're tired of being in the bathroom"
"Yeah you should probably let them out for a little bit"
"What if the tornado comes and they're in the dining room pottying and it rips the roof off the house and takes them up into the funnel cloud and I'll never see them again, and it will be all my fault because I came out of the bathroom?"
"Mom, one day you're going to have to get over this irrational weather fear, you do realize this, right?"
"Yeah, one day"
Needless to say I was still in the bathroom when he got home at 5:30. And at 3:40, a tornado did touch down in mesquite and obliterated a kiwi car oil change. But yeah, tornados and alligators/crocodiles are my undoing lol.

I think DH & I could eek out 3 months with what we have in the house. We probably need more gas since we have a generator, and I think the food we have, we could go 3 months... but after that I dunno. I am in no way a prepper. No weapons, but I do have canned chicken & tuna. LOL

I am definitely not a Prepper and could not live that way, but do have enough water stored for an emergency of mother nature. I should get a bit more food but I have enough for a week and that is fine for me.

I hate guns and all the NRA stands for in this country. If one is frightened get a home security system.

or a couple cans of tuna.:D

I'm not a prepper, but I do have a small food storage area in my basement. It makes it nice to not have to run to the store at the last minute for things, plus it lets me shop with the sales rather than buying just because I need it.

There is a great site for those interested in getting started with food storage. They break it down so it isn't so overwhelming. Sign up for the newsletters and you will end up getting all of the information in little bits rather than having to purchase the ebook.

Food Storage Made Easy

They do end up getting more advanced than I am willing to do ( I have no need or desire to store a year's worth of stuff or have dehydrated anything in my pantry). But the basic concepts are easily modifiable.

I agree! We have a security system and we refuse to ever own a gun.

My dad owns a security company and still has tons of guns :) He is a very responsible gun owner (like most people are who are very into their weapons). A security system is great, but if someone is determined enough to come in and kill you, having a gun can't do anything but help yourself more. A security system is a wonderful thing to have in a house, in that it will wake you up, should you be sleeping during an intrusion, it will deter thieves, it will alert police, and protect your house when you're not there.

Why not have a second layer of protection? Much like I take the steps to ensure my dog will get back to me if ever loose... he wears tags, he's microchipped, etc, etc... just all added layers of protection. Using a gun should be a last resort. A home security system would hopefully stop you from even having to use one and hopefully stop or deter criminals from actually entering your house. But there is nothing wrong with responsibly keeping guns in your house, unloaded, locked up, and a person who is professionally trained how to use one.

U.S. Has More Guns – And Gun Deaths – Than Any Other Country, Study Finds - ABC News

It is our right to have one but when our forefathers wrote this, they never would have dreamed of the type of guns there are today. I don't mean to be argumentative and I will leave it at this last post on the thread but our love affair with guns has to be given more thought and I agree with the link that said the more guns, means more deaths. In some countries the police don't even carry a gun.

I will respectfully disagree that more guns mean more death.
People kill other people, not guns. If they don't have a gun, they'll use a vehicle, a tire iron, a hammer, or whatever else they can get their hands on, even their bare hands.

I am not a prepper but I like to think I am prepared enough for a couple of days if needed.

I always have spare food for Sophie Kate and us. I have a couple of gallons of water on reserve. Within the next month I will set up the storm center in the basement just in case (includes a small crate for Sophie Kate and an extra harness and leash just in case I forget it when we head down there)

I have a great weather app for the IPad that warns me of upcoming storms and I can view local live reports. I also have a battery charger for my phone and IPad.

I do not have a gun, honestly my eyesight is not good enough for me to consider myself safe to shoot one.

I'm always interested in this stuff. At work we talk and joke about who's home we will all go to and who will be in charge etc. But seriously, I do think it's good to be prepared.

I think the statistics, though, are quite staggering when you actually compare gun stats in the US vs England - and I mean staggering. It truly makes you think, HARD, about what guns bring to our country.

I really struggle with whether to own a gun. We currently don't. I've always felt so terrified that if I buy a gun, karma will then bring me a bad reason to have to use it...so then I almost feel safer not owning one, lol, which I know makes little sense...just the way my brain thinks about it though.

We own rifles and hunting guns, not hand guns. We only use them for hunting meat....
I would just hit a burgler over the head with something or kick him in the nuts...

LOL :D. I do keep a bat in a corner of our bedroom! :p