I went to the Emergency Preparedness Fair today. Even without considering classes which were offered, it was a good experience. There were "booths" there - everything from Child Find to home food storage, water purification, emergency kits, disaster planning - you name it, and it was there if it had to do with being prepared. Of course, everyone knows you can't be completely prepared, but there is an amazing amount of preparation you can do.
Outside, there were fire department, ambulances, police bomb squad, the command center purchased for the 16 surrounding counties (by Homeland Security - one thing I can applaud that they've done), a Sheriff's Dept. helicopter, and any number of Disaster Relief vehicles from the Baptist Church.
There was also an area set aside for an emergency shelter display. They had brought a 10-person shelter on a trailer and it had a cutaway so I could see inside it. Now, we aren't talking about a place to stay for months after a nuclear bomb. It's a temporary shelter from things like tornadoes and other kinds of disasters that might involve a few hours' stay. This particular one is fiberglass and was quite impressive.
I don't know that I'd want to spend more than a few hours, and I'd definitely want to toss down some pillows for comfort, and have a stash of books on my kindle, and maybe a porta potty and some snacks. However, the price is much less than any other kind of shelter, it meets and exceeds all FEMA standards, and it's very sturdy.
My son pointed out that buying the 20-person one would enable one to be a bit more comfortable, and he is right about that. More expensive, of course. The 4-man version is $3900. So it's down the list a way, but I remember typhoons (a hurricane, only in a different part of the world) in Okinawa and having to spend 2-3 days locked inside our house with wooden shutters over the windows, and hoping that the winds didn't cause too much destruction. Not a hope always fulfilled.
One good thing about attending the fair, other than all the information available in one spot, was the table with recipes on using wheat. Not flour, not cracked wheat, but the actual wheat that I buy in cans for storage. I don't have a flour mill, though it's on the list. (You'll see that a lot on here!) This gentleman, Dennis Taylor, had all kinds of recipes for using the wheat just as it is, right from the can. He's given me permission to share the recipes, so there's going to be a new tab shortly with some of them. He had samples of each one, and were they ever good! So, a new option opens up!
Until next time,
Susan
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