Something unbelievable — at least for me — occurred in 2017. I hit the big 6-0. I say this not as a way of soliciting birthday wishes or “old folks” jokes but rather as a foundation for the rest of this article.
In my 60 years, I have never seen the level of underlying and overt turmoil and unrest in our beloved nation as I see today. The vast majority of this turmoil is generated by leftist elements who have sought to take control of this nation since the 1920s. They have finally gotten themselves in enough positions of power that they are openly working on overturning the resounding election victory of now-President Donald J. Trump. If they are successful, this would spell disaster in so many ways. The least of these would be showing us that our votes truly don’t matter.
Then vs. Now
I remember 1968 quite well. It was a year when all the national news and pronouncements — from the likes of the late Walter Cronkite — were bad. Rioting, the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the protests that were being unleashed over the Vietnam War could be felt even by an 11-year-old. And, of course, there was still the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. I lived in Columbus, Ohio, near Lockbourne (now Rickenbacker) Air Force Base, then. At that time, it was the home of a Strategic Air Command B-52 Bomber Wing. I am here to tell those of you who weren’t around in those days that 1968 pales in comparison — as far as daily threats to our nation and our personal lives go — to 2017. Threats to our lives don’t come solely from man-caused events. The dangers can also come via natural disasters such as fire, flood or tornado. In the winter, of course, there is also the threat of blizzards.
Because of these conditions, I travel more prepared than I once did, especially when I am more than a four-hour drive from home. Traveling with food now means more than just snacks kept in my vehicle. It means carrying actual sustenance to get us through a couple of days when access to food and water may be limited. So, instead of just carrying a handgun (or two) and spare ammo, I have been packing along a Food Insurance 2-Week Bug-Out-Bag along with our luggage.
About Food Insurance
Food Insurance is a major supplier of long-term-storage emergency/survival food supplies. From the Food Insurance Company, you can get everything from a single-person 72-hour survival kit for $9.99 to a two-week “bug out” bag for $219.99 to a five-year, three-meals-a-day emergency food storage supply for one person for $5,268.89 — with many variations in between.
The Two-Week Bug-Out-Bag I have, which is designed for one person for that length of time, gives my three-person family — with the way my young son eats — probably five full days of food without rationing. Now that I have him, I should be upgrading to an additional pack!
Food Insurance food is packaged in Mylar pouches to provide 7-10 years of storage (store in a cool, dry place). The food pouches are then sealed together in a single large Mylar bag, which fits into the heavy-duty, water-resistant 2,500-cubic-inch-plus nylon backpack. Don’t open the outer bag until you need the food inside. The meals are freeze-dried and need only water to reconstitute. The backpack design is well done and meant to allow carry by a single person on foot over long distances. It should work great for use in regular backpacking activities too.
The Two-Week Bug-Out-Bag contains:
- 14 breakfast entrees, including chocolate protein shakes, granola and oatmeal
- 28 lunch/dinner entrees, including beef stroganoff, mac and cheese, beef stew, tomato basil soup, vegetarian teriyaki, and creamy chicken rotini
- 42 drink servings (orange powder electrolyte drink)
- 14 rice servings (long-grain white minute rice)
- Waterproof matches
- Cooking tin cup
- Miniature stove
- Reusable heat source
- 1 460-use (100-gallon) water bottle & filter
This is pretty basic stuff. Other items can be added to your kit since there are several unused pockets on the pack exterior. This allows you to supplement the emergency food supply with energy bars (at least for the short term) or other items. You can add, for example, your own emergency lighting equipment, radio, survival knives or multi-tools, most of which are also available from Food Insurance. There is even room in the pack for a hatchet! Certainly, there is a place for a North American Arms Mini-Revolver.
Don’t Forget the Utensils!
Last night, in preparation for our annual lake trip, we added additional plastic eating utensils. Surprisingly enough, a utensil tool was not included. The Two-Week Bug-Out-Bag is regularly priced at $219.99. Add another water filter bottle for $31.95 and another mini-cook stove and fuel for $8.95, and you have a full-fledged one-week bag for two! Want to make it easier to cook for two in the same pan? Purchase an official Boy Scout mess kit for $9.99. You get a 7-inch frying pan with handle, a ¾-quart pot with handle, a 7-inch plate and an 8-ounce plastic mug. And that all folds into one compact unit. It comes with a mesh carry bag and will take up very little room inside the Food Insurance pack. It would be a good addition.
I happened to have an extra first-aid kit on hand, so I also put it in the pack, along with a Smith & Wesson K-Bar-style tactical knife and sharpener. Food Insurance also has its own brand of first-aid kits that you can add with your order, along with other items for emergency use at home or away.
It is a tragic shame that we have to think of things like this, but we do. There is no way around it. Check out the Food Insurance website at FoodInsurance.com and help your family prepare for the worst. A Two-Week Bug-Out-Bag takes up little room in medium- to large-sized vehicles, and it provides a great deal of security for you and your loved ones. It also provides the same security for emergencies at home.
