Review by Ed Quillen
Survival – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine
Preparing for Catastrophe on a Budget
by Bruce LaRue
Published in 1998
by Blue Forest Books, PO Box 177, Salida
No ISBN
PERHAPS ON ACCOUNT of El Niño, this has been a good winter for natural catastrophe: rainstorms lashing the California coast, deep snow in the Carolinas, brutal blizzards in New England.
No matter where you are, there’s always the chance that you can get cut off from the rest of the world for a while, and as author Bruce LaRue points out, most of us rely on the rest of the world for food, water, electricity, natural gas, and gasoline: “These comforts are provided by an intricate network of individuals working together to provide us a standard of living unique in the history of humankind.”
And that network can break for reasons as simple and personal as losing your job, or as complex as warfare.
His advice is to be prepared to manage for at least six months with provisions for food, water, fuel, shelter, and sanitation — in essence, be ready for an extended camping trip with plenty of stored food.
The “on a budget” part means using things you already may have, like camping gear, and bargain shopping, especially for second-hand goods. It also offers the sensible advice that in most cases, if catastrophe strikes, you’re better off staying home.
Far too many people seem to think survival means some rural refuge in the mountains, and never think past that point. These notions even infected the federal emergency planners some years ago, when they proclaimed that Salida would be the refuge for Colorado Springs in the event of nuclear attack. With similar thinking, Mountain Bell (the corporate ancestor of US West) fortified and supplied its building at Fifth and F in Salida so that it could serve as a secure command post for its executives in the event of attack.
Now, think of thousands of people attempting to flee Colorado Springs up U.S. 24, where a flat tire could block the road, let alone the inevitable collisions of panicked people. As for the telephone executives, sure they’re going to roll unimpeded into their protected bunker to survive while the peons around them die — in a county where most pickups have deer rifles.
LaRue’s book is mostly common sense — but, as the above examples indicate, common sense is rather uncommon when coping with catastrophe.
Think of this short book as a sort of Boy Scout manual for grownups — how to “be prepared” for things that nobody likes to think about, but could occur no matter how serene the world political situation appears. It wasn’t war that left parts of New England without electricity for weeks, but a mere storm, as pure and natural as the driven snow.
Sometimes the writing seemed choppy, and I think the author devoted too much space to nuclear war at the expense of more common woes, which can range from power outages to toxic-chemical spills on a nearby highway.
But this book has fine illustrations, a useful index, and worthwhile guidance to more detailed sources, so it’s a good place to start if you want to be prepared for the worst.
— Ed Quillen
