Free Curtain Fall: Second Edition, Disaster, Preparedness, Survival, Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 1) by Kenneth Cary Page A

necessarily need as long as you stay healthy and uninjured, and that’s insured. But what do you do to insure yourself from thirst and hunger?”
    Terry nodded again and John added, “If you’re like most people, you do absolutely nothing. Everyone assumes food will always be in our grocery stores, and clean drinking water will always flow from our taps.”
    Terry was about to comment and John held up his hand to continue, “The point is, Terry, if we go to all that trouble to insure the things we really don’t need in the event of a disaster, why don’t we insure our lives with what we do need . . . food and water?”
    Terry sighed and replied, “I hear you, but I don’t understand your intensity. Do you know something I don’t?”
    “I know that more than ninety-percent of American’s aren’t prepared for disaster,” said John. As I sit here eating my lunch, I can’t help but think about the luxury of it all. This lunch made me think about what I would do without it.”
    “You consider your lunch a luxury?”
    “I do. The ability to eat anywhere, at any time, is a modern luxury that we take for granted.” John lifted his sun glasses and rested them on his head. He looked at Terry and aked, “What do you think people will do when there’s no food and water?”
    “It would be like Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein,” said Terry.
    “Worse, I think,” said John. “The Iraqi people were resourceful. They didn’t expect any handouts. They’re a very resilient people.”
    “You’re right,” said Terry. “I remember seeing goats eating the trash around town. I even saw a goat herder butcher up one, and sell the pieces along the side of the road.”
    “Yeah, they made due. But I don’t see us being as resourceful as they were,” replied John. “American’s are much more entitlement minded . . . we’re much more dependent on government, essential services, technology, and the rule of law.” John wadded his own paper bag up into a ball and asked, “Have you ever heard about Maslow’s hierarchy?”
    “Wasn’t it something about progression to self-actualization, that without our basic needs we couldn’t advance beyond the lowest level.”
    “I’m impressed,” replied John, with complete sincerity.
    “You should be,” said Terry. “I . . not . . as . . dumb . . as . . you . . think . . I . . are,” he added, while using a very dopey sounding voice.
    John smiled. “What do you think will happen to society, American society, when there’s no food and water to be had?”
    “It will be every man for himself,” nodded Terry.
    “Right! And then some,” added John.
    “Do you really think it will come to that?” asked Terry.
    “I hope not. But I’m not willing to bet my life on it.”
    “So you have food and water stored?”
    John wasn’t sure how to answer that question. He wasn’t willing to openly volunteer the status of his preparedness to anyone, not even to a member of his extended family. An important element of preparedness was in keeping a low profile. You would never catch John on theNational Geographic Channel, and the “Doomsday Prepper” show. He wasn’t one to willingly expose his preparedness status to anyone, especially if it meant putting his family’s survival at risk.
    Not that Terry was a risk, he lived on the other side of the city, but security, operational security, or OPSEC, as it was called in the Army, was a fundamental element of mission success. It was stressed down to the lowest private, and for a reason, because loose lips really did sink ships.
    However, John also realized that if he didn’t reveal something about his preparedness status to Terry, his entire argument would appear hollow. He was the one who brought up the subject of preparedness in the first place, so he answered, “I do. I’ve got enough to last us a couple of months, if I’m careful.”
    John had much more than that, but he felt it was enough to justify his convictions