I'm glad this thread was revived. I had not seen it before.
I am so thankful that I got the "message" a couple of months ago and have since put us in a "prepared" position. After Hurricane Ike moved through Ohio, we came home to no power (trees down everywhere). We had no flashlights, food yes - but no way to cook it except on an outdoor grill and had no charcoal or lighter fluid.
I got really mad at myself that night and vowed never to be in that position again.
A few days later, I found Mrs. Survival and have learned so much.
I now look at prepping as an investment and being a good steward of God's money. It gives me an enormous piece of mind.
In the meantime, I have mentioned preparring to a close work friend. He, like I was, is so wrapped up in his job and had never given thought to long term survival. The groceries and gas stations will always be there when ever we need them. My friend, who is a single guy living in Phoenix, took my advice on food storage and told me today he has done some stocking up. As with all Sheeple (I am still 1/2 Sheeple), he confided in me that he's been hitting Sams and the grocery stores. I mentioned that he might be interested in some flashlights, batteries, oil lamps and fuel. He said he never thought about that but will take care of it. I mentioned a crank radio and he said he will get that also. Living in Phoenix, I mentioned he should look into water storage, he trumped me on that one and said he has 70,000 gallons in his pool. I said great, now look into water purification in case he has to drink it, he said he will.
The next time we talk and he lets me know what he has done to improve his preps (prepping without knowing he is prepping) I will mention having a gun and knowing how to use it.