"Bug-out..!" 'Michael Herr' (Aloha Friday)

Renowned author Michael Herr is back guest-blogging on this awesome Aloha Friday about  being prepared for a natural disaster or emergency... Make sure and check out Michael's website at; http://www.michaelherr.com/

ALOHA FRIDAY

November 18

It's Aloha Friday.

"Bug-out !"

Where do you live? Never mind, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that no matter where you live you should have a bug-out bag.

I first heard the term while watching "M.A.S.H." on t.v. Bug-out was when the whole unit had to take everything down, throw it all into some trucks and move really quickly to in order to get set up at a new location.

What's the danger in your area? Tsunami, tornado, hurricane, massive snow storm, flooding, wildfires? Here where I live it's earthquakes or building fires primarily. After a recent fire displaced all twelve residents of one building, I got to thinking about how my wife and I would deal with having to move out of our building quickly. For us it's a problem. My wife is somewhat disabled and uses a wheelchair to get around outside our residence. I wouldn't have time to pack much if a fire forced me to get her outside quickly.

And so I bought a bug-out bag. Just a backpack really. A small one that I can stuff into the seat storage of a hall-tree we have had for years by our front door.

Now that I have the bag I have to decide what to put in it. For that I have to consider that we could be forced out of our unit at any time of day, or night, or any season of the year. Warm weather we can handle, so I need to plan mostly for cold weather. I figure we might be out only for a few hours, just until we can relocate to a hotel somewhere nearby. Then again we might be outside for many hours if the event that forces us out affects a great many people in our area.

So, what to pack? Socks, a light blanket or two, plastic raincoats, flashlight with batteries, sweatshirts, pants, medications list . . . this list goes on and on. So I'll have to do some prioritizing for what goes in the bug-out bag.

Do you have a bug-out bag? Have you even thought about what you'll do if suddenly you have to leave your home? No, you can't plan for all contingencies. But it doesn't hurt to do some pre-planning, make some effort to cover yourself in an emergency.

By the way, please be sure not to confuse bug-out with that wonderful British expression, bugger-off. Should you use the latter expression by mistake, you may indeed need to bug-out.

Much aloha.

There's still time to order a complete set of Michael's Books for the Holiday's. Buy all 6 books for only 18.00 including P&H. The books make great stocking stuffers, you may even want to add one to your Bug-out bag...
http://www.michaelherr.com
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