Working in the Industrial Security field and running three separate staffs who had to work together at a single location with 17 buildings and over 2500 employees, temps and contractors on site, I quickly learned to always have my gear with me. There's nothing like being caught in a full blackout while inspecting a huge underground hazardous waste tank from the inside to make you glad you always carry your flashlight! There's nothing like running into professional gamblers who have come up to your site to break the legs of one of your employees to make you glad you always carry your radio! There's nothing like calling 911, then standing in an intersection waving your arms and still seeing the ambulance turn away from you rather than toward you to make you glad you always carry your whistle! Etc.<br><br>At this same site, we had three Emergency Response Teams: a Medical Team, a Hazardous Materials Team and a Fire Brigade. Although it was not required by my position, I chose to join all three. I wanted the experience, I wanted the training and I wanted to be able to best understand how my staffs could/should operate in conjunction with the ERTs. There's nothing like being in a burning building trying to keep a fire from reaching a storeroom of explosive gas canisters to make you appreciate your gear, your training and your fellow responders!<br><br>(As an aside, later in life, I became a computer geek. After changing careers, employers and locations for about three months, I realized how really really comfortable it is to work in a building that is not designed to "blow up the corrrect way". ^_^;)<br><br>Since I first started driving, I have always kept a few items of basic "car gear" in my vehicle along with some basic cold weather gear during the Winter. Since my medical training, I have always kept a bag ready at home and carried one in my car. One night when I was 20 or so, I was driving my little econo-sedan in a freezing rain. I crested a hill and saw cars waiting at the "valley" at the foot of said hill to slowly take turns trying to cross some rushing water pouring over the lowest portion. One car had washed out and was pushed to the side of the road. Others had crossed successfully, but had failed to make it up the hill on the far side, because of ice on the road. They were staggered at various points, all stalled out up the road. A Jeep CJ took his turn and just beebopped along through the water and up the other side, slowly but easily handling ice and water alike. I thought, "Oooh, I want one."<br><br>Over fifteen years later, I finally got a Jeep Wrangler. The first time I took it offroad, I immediately realized I had the ability to drive out significantly farther than either the ambulance or the tow truck could reach. I understood that if I ever had a problem while I was out, it would be up to me to handle it, and that it would be too late, at that point, to go shopping for whatever I needed. So, I expanded on what gear I regularly carried, adding repair and extraction gear to my always carried items, and also began swapping my cold weather gear out for hot weather gear during the Summer. Indeed, I find it so comforting that I created a very small bag I carry in my checked baggage when I fly and immediatly drop into the trunk of any rental cars I get when I arrive. (They don't come with jumper cables and fix-a-flat, so you'd better carry your own if you want them.) I realize that's a lot of trouble, but so is everything else that I do, and the peace of mind I live with is very much worth the effort and expense, I find.<br><br>A couple of years ago, I went hiking up through Washington state and into Canada for nine days with my girlfriend. Nothing bad happened, but there were a number of areas where I realized we would be in trouble if anything did. That was what prompted me to begin trying to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and experience, especially in the area of "outdoor survival".<br><br>The L.A. riots, Seattle, Y2K and some untimely blackouts during ice storms taught me to think differently about my home, and I now keep a nice rotating supply of water, firewood, non-perishable foods which do not require cooking and other items. I'm not storing grain in 55gal drums, but I'm not going to starve, dehydrate nor freeze this month, either.<br><br>One night on the news, I saw how a derailed train carrying chlorine for swimming pools had forced the evacuation of several square miles of residential area near where I lived. I realized I live very close to some well-used railroad tracks. Oops! So, I made up a bug out bag and then realized it would be just as useful should my home ever catch fire and I need to relocate temporarily some day or night. I considered respirators for chemical spills and figure I should get some industrial ones like we used at my old job. Also, I am now considering respirators for bio issues as well, but have not added those to my bug out bag, at least not as of yet. We'll see...<br><br>My girlfriend finds comfort in my preparations, especially recently during our hightened emotions in this period of crisis. My girlfriend's sister thinks I'm silly and somewhat paranoid. She trekked Nepal and didn't take a thing except the small kit I convinced her to carry just for her father's peace of mind. My girlfriend's father is glad I take all of this seriously. He likes the gear I've given his daughter for her car and home, and even gave me a winch, welding lessons and a small arc welder for my Jeep. My girlfriend's mother used to think like the sister, but since WTC has come to think more like the father. My own family was much like the mother, considering me to have a somewhat peculiar hobby, but since 9/11 have come to appreciate living in a more prepared stance.<br><br>So, no one big wake up call for me; just years of various experiences teaching me that someone has to take the initiative, or the equipment and the knowlege of how to use it won't be there when the crisis hits, and that I'd better be the one to take that responsibility, since it's not likely that anyone else is going to do it for me.