Preparedness Plan for the Oldies

Surviving a SHTF situation as a healthy 35-year-old is tough enough but if you

happen to be a bit more seasoned, your hill just got a little steeper. Don’t worry about it
though – there are many things that you can do to counterbalance the years; it may just
take a bit more preparation and forethought. Also, don’t forget that knowledge and
experience can’t be replaced by youth, so you still have a tremendous advantage!
Knowledge is power, so on to the meat of the topic – an easy preparedness plan for the
oldies out there!

The advantage that a fit, healthy body gives you in a SHTF scenario can’t be overstated
so do what you need to do to stay in shape. Not only will your body be better able to run,
jump, climb or simply endure, you will also avoid many of the diseases of affluence that
accompany declining health. The obvious downside to being fat and unhealthy is that
you lose your stamina, flexibility, speed, and endurance.
Remember the old saying about running from a predator – you don’t have to be the
fastest, you just have outrun the slowest guy! We joke about it but it’s true!
Possibly the worst disadvantage that comes with losing your health is that you’ll most
likely need medication of some sort. Insulin, high blood pressure medication, heart pills,
cholesterol meds: all life-sustaining medications that probably won’t be in ready supply
if the SHTF. Since these meds are almost 100% avoidable by eating right and
exercising, it’s just good prepping to stay healthy. Why handicap yourself unnecessarily
when survival is going to be hard enough?
The fact of the matter is that if your health is going to determine your prepping plan. If
you know that you can’t run fast enough to escape or stay out in the elements for a
week while you’re bugging out, you need to plan for that. Grand plans that look good on
paper won’t keep you alive – realistic preparation will. Here are a few things to consider
when prepping:

 Create escape routes that you can actually navigate

 If you know you can’t bug out prepare your house so that you have everything you need to
 batten down the hatches and bug in.
 If you use a wheelchair that operates on a battery, make sure that you have a manual
back-up.
 If you wear contacts or glasses, have back-ups
  Stockpile any medications that you use but make sure to rotate your supply to avoid
expiration.
 Make sure that you can manage your bug-out bag by yourself – if it’s too heavy, repack it.
 If you have medical conditions such as diabetes, heart problems, etc., wear a medical ID
bracelet or necklace. First responders need every second that they can get to save your life
in an emergency situation.

An old saying something along the lines of “many hands make light work” is certainly
applicable here. Though you may not be able to lift logs or fight bears off one-handed,
you have plenty to contribute and it’s likely that others in your community will want to
work together too, so put the word out and start building a network.
Make a plan to check on each other immediately after the SHTF, or even establish a
common location where everybody will weather the event together if there’s notice.
Have a strategy that defines each neighbor’s role in the plan. By working and prepping
together, everybody’s chance for survival increases.
If you’re planning on bugging out but need a vehicle to do so, use it to your advantage.
Stock it well so that you don’t need as much weight in your standard bug-out bag and
keep your weapons either in your bug-out vehicle if you’re licensed or at the ready so
that you can easily toss them in when SHTF. Have everything else already packed in
there so that you can just get in and go.
If you’re going to need the assistance of others to survive, pack or stockpile plenty of
items that you can use for trade such as food, toilet paper, or cosmetic items.
If you read accounts from people who have lived in warzones or survived natural
disasters, one of the common threads that they discuss is how much getting clean again
meant to them. You’re going to be surprised at just how much a bar or soap or tube of
toothpaste is worth after somebody hasn’t had it for a while, so have trade items to
make up for what you can’t do physically!
We’ve already discussed the fact that even though you may be limited physically, your
knowledge is incredibly valuable. Use that to your advantage. Once disasters happen,
people panic. Even if you’re physically hindered, people will still look to you for direction
if you stay calm and know what to do. That’s an invaluable tool to people who are
terrified.
Use your knowledge to everybody’s advantage by jumping in right from the start and
establishing yourself as a leader. It’s a tool that you’ve worked hard to earn over the
years – use it. Age may require you to modify your preparation plans a bit but as long as
you keep your head in the game, you’ll be at least as ready as the next person. The
trick is getting the elderly together with other preppers, so that they can work together.
The thing is, society has changed since you and I were children. The average person
isn't as concerned with others as they used to be. Children aren't raised to look out for
others, but rather to see what they can get from others. Those who do heroic acts or
even acts of kindness aren't lifted up as heroes to emulate anymore, but rather ridiculed
by society. The times we live in are sad ones.
Of course, if you are of the camp that is just looking for a handout, then I can't help you
much. There are way too many people in our society today who are just looking for a
handout. They think that if others have and they don't it's unfair. Well, nobody ever said
that life was fair and all that the government can do in trying to make it fair is to make
everyone equally poor.
So, if you are expecting someone to reach out a hand to help you, I hope you already
know that person. Otherwise, I'm not sure that help is coming. You can't even expect it
from the prepping community. While the average prepper is a great person, they are
concerned about their family, and can't take on any extra responsibility. As long as they
see you as an extra responsibility, they won't reach out their hand.
But... and again I say but... you can change that. All you need to do is to change their
perception of you.
You see, you have grown up in another age; an age where society wasn't dependent on
electronics. When the huge infrastructure that supports us didn't exist and where
people were more independent. Having grown up in that time, you probably know a host
of skills that would be highly useful to any community of preppers, if they only knew
about you.
If you go to them as the elderly in need of help, they'll probably say "I'm sorry, but I
can't." But if you present yourself to them as someone who has skills and knowledge
that they need, they will probably be very interested.
Much of modern prepping is about returning to the ways of our ancestors, especially for
those who are returning to the idea of homesteading. The skills you know and the way
you grew up, is what they are trying to re-create. So by presenting yourself to them as
an expert in the skills that they need, you put yourself in the position of being able to
work together, helping each other out.
In order to present yourself to the group as an asset, you may have to brush up on your
homesteading skills a bit. If it's been decades since you've cooked in a dutch oven or
smoked your own sausage, take some time to do it now, rekindling those memories, so
that you can talk like the expert you are. You'll only have one chance to impress a
group, so you need to be sure that you know what you're talking about.
The same would go for any ancient skills that you have. My dad was a blacksmith, a skill
that would be valuable to any survival community. I wish I had learned more of it from
him. If you have a skill like that, you want to make sure they know it, as that will be like
gold.
They say that first impressions are lasting and I think they're right (whoever "they" are).
So it's important to make a good impression on any group you encounter. That means
your physical condition as well. If you look and act like an invalid, then people are
naturally going to be leery of you.
They will tend to look at you as a liability, rather than an asset, regardless of what you
know. You don't want to make them think that they are going to have to nurse you
constantly, but rather that you can be an asset to the group.
With that in mind, do everything you can to take care of your health. A few years ago, I
went to the doctor and was diagnosed with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high
cholesterol, high triglycerides and who knows what else. I honestly don't remember.
Yes, I'm old enough that I have to start thinking about those things. So, I had to make a
decision and I decided that rather than let my body go to pot, like many people do, I
would make the necessary lifestyle changes so that I could keep healthy. Now, four
years later, all my readings are normal, through diet and exercise.
If I can do that, you can too. Don't allow your body to go to pot. It may try to anyway, but
don't help it do so. Put forth the necessary effort to make sure that you are in the best
health you can be. You'll need that to survive, even if you do have the help of a survival
group.
The hard part is finding survival groups that you can try to connect yourself to. Most
preppers try to keep their identities and plans secret, in order to protect themselves.
That doesn't mean that they'll never tell anyone, but few actually let their names out,
like the people who you see on Doomsday Preppers.
To start with, look online to see if there is a statewide organization of preppers in your
state. Many states have them and they can be located by a simple search. There's also
the American Preppers Network (APN), which has contacts with many of these
organizations. They may be able to help you find prepping organizations in your area.
Another way to find preppers is to go to places that they frequent. Try your local
shooting range for starters. Many preppers take their shooting seriously; so you might
run into them at the range. These probably aren't the people who just show up, shoot
and leave, but the ones who hang out at the range talking. Spend some time there, talk
to the people and get to know the owners. You'd be surprised who you might meet.
Another place to find preppers is through retail outlets which sell prepping supplies. If
you have a local sporting goods store which sells survival food and equipment, there's a
good chance that the local preppers know about it. Find out which of the salespeople is
the expert on that merchandise and talk to them. They might make a very good contact.
You can even find survival food at the big wholesale stores, like Costco and Sam's Club.
If you have a membership to one of those, then go keep an eye on the survival food
display sometime. You can be pretty sure that anyone who grabs several buckets worth
is someone that you want to talk to.
If you can't find a survival community to join, then start your own. There's nothing that
says you can't do that. If you're the type of person who has helped others all your life,
then you probably have a bunch of "adopted" sons and daughters anyway. Well, gather
them together and start them on the road to prepping, creating your own survival
community out of the people that you know.
Once again, what you're offering the community is your wisdom and knowledge. If you
can learn additional skills which will help the group, then by all means do so. The only
old dog you can't teach new tricks to is the one who doesn't want to learn.
By starting a group with people you already know, you eliminate the problems of having
to sell yourself to the group. You also know that they are people who you can get along
with and work with. That's important in any survival situation, as personalities can
cause huge conflicts within any community. Your group doesn't need that, so as you
pick the team members that you are going to allow to join your group, make sure you
keep that in mind.