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I read the story in the Daily Mail [2] of Martin Winters, a so called doomsday prepper who was thought not only to be preparing for the end of days,but for a standoff with the United States government. That he was only holding five legally owned firearms, and enough stored food to look after his family in a crisis wasn’t enough to prevent the authorities from firing up the whole neighbourhood with stories of the crazy person in their midst, but to actually take him to court on various charges. Reading about Martin Winters got me thinking about my own situation.
If for some reason, valid or otherwise the police were to enter my home, what would they think? How would they react?
- Would living on an island with one road in and out make them think it’s acceptable to have enough food to feed a couple of battalions of the British Army for six months?
- Would some of my less than mainstream defensive preparations make the wonder about me?
- What about the fact that I am missing a sizeable chunk of the middle finger on my right hand…would that indicate to them that my kitchen chemistry sessions went wrong one time, or would my explanation of a run in with a heavy door suffice?
- Would they consider the amount of veggies growing in the garden, and the wire racks ready for drying the excess a bit odd?
- What about the bag of gold nuggets, each with a little hole in? ( I told a jewellery manufacturing acquaintance I wanted to melt all the odd earrings and broken chains into little nuggets to give as gifts two Christmases back) would they be given a second thought?
- Ditto the silver nuggets, a large zip log bags worth, made by the same guy and whose raw material came from donated broken bits and stuff picked up in various sales when everything was just piled on the table and people hadn’t checked what they were selling.
- Would they think having twenty half pound bars of pure copper stowed away was odd? (The only useful metal I could afford during a lean patch)
- Do you think such police would search the freezer? Would they accept my genuine explanation that seeds keep for years when forced into dormancy by freezing them?
I could go on but I think you get the idea.
There are those that would argue, that I am a touch insane, that nothing is going to happen, everything will continue just as it always has. I would explain to those people that they are wrong, that we are not the blessed generation. I’m sure the Romans never once considered the possibility that their vast empire would collapse. I’m equally sure that the Aztec thought that nothing would change, that they would be around forever.
Things can and do change, and will continue to do so regardless of our acceptance of that fact or otherwise. Some changes are wrought by man, others by nature, but whatever the cause they will have an effect on us. My job, as a wife, mother and grandmother is to try and limit the effect the negative aspects of those changes have on my family. It’s in my job description, it’s a part of who I am and that’s something that isn’t going to change.
Take care
Liz