It was a good thing MRE’s clogged me up.
The old saying goes......MRE stands either for "Meal Ready to Exit" or "Meal Refusing to Exit"
Well, I think there’s a middle ground in there somewhere.
This seems logical, but where is that middle ground? I know plenty of people who couldn't get a good fire started even with a bic lighter. I think 70 years ago everyone could do some basic things to keep themselves alive, but today technology has allowed us to not have those skills or I guess not need those skills. There's skills I'm ashamed that I don't know more about like edible plants. I know a handful, but there's thousands of plants, seeds, etc. that can provide all our nutritional needs (as they did for our aboriginal ancestors in archaic and paleo times). So how does a city dweller with none of this background survive? I think there are a few things he or she could do:
Learn how to move around urban areas as a "gray" man. You need to be average and forgettable. Too flashy and people will want what you have or what they think you might have.
Have a plan on how to get out of urban areas to a safer location. This might be a relative somewhere in the country, or the family cabin in the woods. Avoid areas that others will be heading out to or you'll just have the same urban problems in a new location.
Have a food plan ahead of a massive disaster. How would you ration food? Figure out what foods store well and keep enough on hand for a few weeks.
Have a plan to get home form work should it not be possible to drive home. I've had my route all worked out for a long while. It will take me 2 days to get there on foot and my vehicle has all that I need stowed in it every day to get me there. I carry a go bag into work everyday that has what I need to survive incidents in the building and equips me to be able to leave on foot if necessary.
Think about what you'd pull together in 15 or 20 minutes if that's all you had to gather stuff. I read an article once about a guy who was given 10 minutes for his family to collect essentials and get out. It was amazing what he / they forgot - simple but important stuff.
Make sure you have a good but compact medical kit in your vehicle or at your home. This should have stuff like a tourniquet and strips to seal up large cuts. Mine has the ability to treat gunshot wounds as well (blow-out kit).
Have some cheap BIC lighters that you save for just such emergencies. Even once the fluid is gone, the flint sparker can ignite things to get a fire going. Fire allows you to boil water-boiled water keeps you hydrated. Fire keeps you warm.
Notice none of these things involve hunting, or having a cement bunker with an air tube and ham radio. There's a lot city people can do to help themselves out and have a better chance of weathering something 80 times worse than COVID-19. I'd love to see some good come out of this thing happening and see Americans get more prepared once this thing blows over. I for one will be making adjustments to my plans having had a taste of how quickly the panic gripped the masses.
