Open Letter
An Open Letter to Family & Friends
I’m writing this letter because I care about you. Please take a few minutes to read it and think about what I’m saying.
Why the Letter?
Our lives are crazy. We take care of our family, work, eat, play chauffer, pay the bills, etc. When we have a little bit of free time, we like to just veg in front of the TV and watch some brain numbing pictures flicker across the screen. We can go at it like this for days, weeks and even months, not knowing what is going on in the world outside our local community and just get by with the talk around the water cooler.
And when we take life in these little chunks, separate blocks of our time and attention, it seems a little bit more manageable. We move from one task, event, errand, chore to the other.
The problem is when we look at our lives from a big picture perspective. What if our lives, all of the sudden changed? What if the stress of the day came bearing down at you all at once? How could this happen? This can easily happen during an emergency. I’m not talking about your son just stuffed his GI Joe down the toilet, or the dog is out of food emergency. I’m talking about the BIG stuff.
The Big Emergency
The BIG emergency is the one that stops you in your tracks. It can be personal, based in your local community or worldwide. But it is the one that everything else stops and all resources and energy are put towards it.
The problem is that most people are not prepared for the BIG one.
Prepared?
Are you and your family most people? Do you have an emergency fund for financial emergencies? Do you have insurance for medical emergencies? Do you have food and water if there is a food supply/transportation emergency? Do you have other means of cooking and preparing your food if utilities weren’t available? Do you have first aid supplies and extra medicine on hand? Do you have basic skills that could help you: fire starting, water purification, gardening, first aid, etc.?
This is the whole reason for my letter. I want to help you see the importance of being prepared and to start being more self-reliant. It’s not too hard, but it does take time, planning and effort. But then again, what would the time, planning and effort that you put in ahead of time be worth in the middle of an emergency? You’ll be glad you did!
Action Steps
- Make a plan – What are you preparing for? What needs to be done? Don’t look at the magnitude of the plan, that can be overwhelming. Take it in chunks. In reality, you will never be “prepared.” You can be “not prepared” or “overly prepared,” but never “perfectly prepared.” Consider the basics: financial, medical, etc…but also keep in mind your region of the country; hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, fires, etc…
- Set goals– When do you want _____ accomplished?
- Get a 3 day supply of food. Then move to a 3 week supply.
- Revisit insurance: house, vehicle, medical, life, etc…
- Start an emergency fund – 3-6 months of expenses
- Start a garden
- Take a class: first-aid, sewing, gardening, firearm, wilderness survival
- Watch some videos on Youtube (search preparedness)
- Read blogs and articles on “preparedness” and “prepping”
- Get active – go meet your goals!
Warning
The world of preparedness/prepping can be an addictive one. It can suck you in, mess with your emotions and get you seeing the world in the fragile states that it is in. It is always best to approach preparedness within community. You should go it alone only if no one else is willing. Eventually, they will realize that you were right, even if that is in the midst of a storm.
Fragile
It is not in the scope of this letter to discuss all the possible emergency scenarios that you should prepare for. But outside of regional, natural disasters, it is important to me to briefly mention our global situation. Things outside our local community have gone from bad to worse! At first, we might not care about what is going on in some Asian or European country, but the fact is that we are ALL tied into each other now. What happens over there, affects us over here.
There are many “End of the World as We Know It” type scenarios out there. One such scenario is an economic collapse. Someone recently replied to me and said, “Yes, times can get hard, but we have been through it before during the Great Depression.” The fact is that it is way different this time. Our country didn’t have the debt that we have now. And, if for some reason the world loses faith in our government’s ability to pay its debts, we are up the creek. It really isn’t too far-fetched to imagine this happening if you’ll look into it. The concern has gone beyond the foil hat people. Just research it!
Do Something
Please take this letter seriously. If you prepare and don’t need it, the worst is that you have some food (food costs are going up/buy now at cheaper prices) and other supplies. But if you ever find you are in a position that you do need it, you and your loved ones will be glad you were prepared!
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Urbivalist Dan March 20th, 2012 at 8:36 am
Great thoughts Todd.
I’m glad that you mention the Great Depression. I was not around during The Great Depression, but there are a few key differences between where our country was then, and where it is now.
Back then, our country was still largely an agrarian and industrial nation–we were people that produced things. Like you mention, we didn’t have near the amount of debt that we do now. Our currency was still backed by precious metals. Our GDP ratio was much higher per capita. Our extension of government was much smaller than it has become today. And in my opinion, I feel like more people of those days were equipped to be self sufficient, because they weren’t so removed from hands on skills–growing food, building houses, fixing things, etc. Individuals today have higher levels of personal debt and obligation as well. And a much higher sense of personal entitlement (that they DESERVE things or that they are OWED things). Another key difference is how connected to the rest of the world we are now. Back during the great depression, we weren’t anywhere near as intertwined with other countries on a military or financial level. If our economy does collapse, it will be felt throughout the world. Look at the impact a country as small as Greece is having on the rest of the world.
In the last 80 years, our country has evolved to being more over-extended and less self sufficient (essentially the over-promise and under-deliver complex on a giant level).
When we have our next collapse, it will be much uglier, longer lasting, and more destructive to the rest of the globe.
Tom Haluszczak Jr June 12th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Excellent advice. Things are not improving. Politically, economically and morally our society is severely challenged. We cannot hide. We must set realistic goals and prepare. A big event can be triggered by numerous small ones that feed into each other. The system is interdependent and more fragile than we realize. One break in the chain of life can snap the whole. Be vigilant – but kind. The problems we face are bigger than any one of us. The only way we’ll survive is to help one another. Maintaining our humanity – not just surviving – is what we should strive for. In hard times we need to practice our faith most of all.
Gary June 12th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
I just started a blog with my brother, he does Electronics and Technology, I do Engineering, Application and Construction. Can I add this open letter to my site?
Todd - Prepper Website June 13th, 2012 at 6:31 am
@Gary,
Feel free to use the letter on your blog.
Peace,
Todd
sonia November 4th, 2012 at 10:08 am
Very well written, to the point and not too scary. But people need to be aware. As hurricane Sandy was coming near I was thinking….hmmmm…here I am with a flashlight. A country girl in a city. I know what to do in the country!! I think I need to get back into the country again. With my family as close as possible which means someone has to move…again. But “times’ being what they are becoming…it is what it is and we WILL be prepared and we are up for it. This generation needs to know what to do when you can’t just pick up a phone and say “come fix it”!! There aren’t many of those from the depression to pass along the knowledge of survival, and then my generation that knows some and then the next…..time for the back to basics and beyond. Thanks for this letter…permission to pass along, please. Thank you!!
Todd - Prepper Website November 4th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Sonia,
Please feel free to pass this letter along or link back to it. The more we spread the word, the better for everyone.
Peace,
Todd
http://www.prepperwebsite.com
Dennis Vieau November 10th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
I like many others are in dire circumstance due to personal issues. For most it’s lack of employment due to the poor economy. For me, it is due to a respiratory illness that prevents e from working. My wonderful wife carries he load. The upshot is,,I am not prepared and things are so tight I find myself in the position of watching the coming collapse rushing towards me like a deer in the headlights. If you are at able, plead heed Todd’s advice. I will take solace in knowing decnet people other than myself will at least be there to put it all back together. And hopefully, mos of the mistakes of the past will be avoided!
Warmest regards,
SurvivalistRN@gmail.com
Rebecca Schroeder March 19th, 2013 at 9:50 am
well written letter with genuine purpose –
for those you love and care about, who might not embrace these ideas whole-heartedly, there is an enjoyable book called Alyssa’s Story, by Mort Stump, that shows how a family and their community deals with the collapse, written in a pastoral, homespun type way
tee ryan May 30th, 2013 at 6:09 am
i am having a hard time signing up to your web site. is there any way you can add me to your list by me sending you my email addy? i,m not real big on computer stuff so if you can help that would be really nice. i really like your site. thanks.
An Open Letter to Family & Friends | January 9th, 2014 at 7:33 pm
[…] Originally published on Prepper Website […]
Deb W July 13th, 2014 at 11:08 am
Thanks, Todd for this letter. I’d like to share it with my family and friends. Even if it’s only something like preparing against losing a job or for a bad storm, it’s better to be self-sufficient and prepared than sit around and wait for the government to show up and complaining because it’s taking so long.
Todd - Prepper Website July 13th, 2014 at 11:54 am
Your welcome Deb. Hopefully it is a start to move forward to even more preparedness.
Peace,
Todd
sandra roberts July 13th, 2014 at 5:57 pm
real good advice even for us in the uk thanks for your letter.
Todd - Prepper Website July 13th, 2014 at 6:29 pm
Thanks Sandra!
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