Why? Because when it comes right down to it, we have the choice either to be prepared or become a victim of our own ignorance. In an emergency, ignorance can be deadly.

Hello. I'm Sarah. I've been "into survival" since I was a little girl growing up mostly alone in rural southern California. Always a tomboy, my idea of a great adventure was getting into my brother's scouting gear, filling a backpack with snacks and water then taking off into the hills with the dog to hike around and see what there was to see.

From these humble beginnings came a love of archery and edged weapons, and a healthy respect for both the beauty and destructive forces of nature; wildfires, landslides and of course, earthquakes.

I was six miles from the epicenter of the '94 quake. Of all the people I knew, I was the only one having a good time. Why? Because I was prepared!

Others (including my now EX-husband) used to make fun of my hoarding; water, non-perishable food, candles, matches, "holders for dead batteries" and medical supplies. They would laugh at my "bug-out bag" and joke that I was going to raise my son as "John Connor Jr." because of my interest in preparedness.

Yet those were the same people that came to me later and said "I wish I had listened to you before."

Yep. I'll bet you do.

Unless they're 'in the mindset' of preparedness, people have a VERY limited memory for disasters... Heads in the sand. Crisis forgotten.

Not me.

Now that I'm in Florida, I have a whole new set of disasters to prepare for: tropical storms and hurricanes. Yet even here where they happen every single year predictably, people still aren't prepared. Well, more are here than there ever were in the People's Republik of Kaliforniastan. But I still see a lot of last-minute water-gathering and battery-buying.

If anyone knows the old story, they'll appreciate the reference. "I can sleep through a storm."

Let the PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. bleat and throw themselves against the fences of their ignorance. I can sleep at night.

I'm prepared.

~Sarah