Like a lot of previous posters, I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call myself a "prepper" but I do try to be ready for instances of Murphy's law and I started thinking this way as a kid. I am fortunate to live in an area where we aren't prone to as many natural disasters as some other places, but we do get snowstorms regularly in the winter, some areas have occasional flooding, and tornadoes are pretty unusual but possible. To me it's just common sense to be prepared for things like a winter storm that knocks out power or prevents travel for a couple of days, or a car breakdown while driving somewhere (my sister's comment upon learning what I keep in the trunk: "if I ever get stuck on the side of the road, I hope I'm in your car!"). Besides, I like to hike, camp and canoe so I'm used to thinking about what I need to have with me on those trips in case I run into a problem.