Rourke: I published the following letter a few years ago and upon revisiting it felt it was very valid today. Enjoy!
We have lived in Alaska for coming on 8 years now and since coming here we have learned a lot about being prepared. We are survivors from hurricane Katrina and evacuated all the way up here to be with family that we hadn’t seen in years. After arriving we quickly learned that an Alaskan lifestyle is a different one. Let me explain. Things here in our fine state move slowly, the mail, stocks of ammo, and fruit comes in green to ripen at the grocery store. We were used to hot weather most of the year and having a garden almost year-round to experimenting with different tactics to grow anything here. So, prepping here is a tad different for us than our brothers and sisters in the lower 48. We have done a great job on building up a food pantry to not only stay off inflation but in case things get interrupted with the shipping, we have ample to survive awhile. Now, with that said, we face a dilemma most don’t and that is if and when the transportation to our state is interrupted at any point, things here will get dicey.
We have taken a page out of a lot of old-timers books that have lived here for years and paid attention to prices, sales and things like that to capitalize on building our inventory. Also, coming from a state that had hurricane prep as part of our schooling, we had those kinds of things taken care of, but here with the climate as it is, we were not prepared for the long winters. Sometimes it seems as winter flows right into summer and before you know it, its winter again? A different lifestyle for sure. Anyhow, we have learned that we must keep supplies in our vehicles and ensure we have things to stay warm should we break down somewhere. We also have taken an increased interest in firearms and other weapons that don’t require ammo. This is key, as the prices here are well… crazy. So, we have a backup of a backup just in case.
So, what change in attitude am I writing about? Not ours, but that of our friends and work associates. It’s amazing to talk with the same people now that a year or two ago thought we were out of our minds prepping. We now get phone calls on how to set up a pantry, or firearms to have. We are helping families here understand that prepping just makes good sense and will help you thru even in the toughest of times. Even my commie liberal friends are getting on the wagon. I find this very interesting.
I agree with the masses that I hope that nothing happens to our great country, but just paying attention and reading the news outlets of various places, you get the feeling that something is coming.
In closing, I want to plead with our fellow peppers to reach out to your neighbors and friends and do your best to get them to understand that our way of life is not fanatical but just makes good sense. You will find that now with things as they are, people are more apt to at least listen to you rather than just dismiss you altogether.
May God bless our country and your family.
Steve Dearinger
Love Alaska! My wife and I are actually looking at moving up there once I retire. Most likely will settle near Anchorage, but not in it.