Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gpowell who wrote (40148)	9/2/2005 2:44:00 PM
From: GraceZ	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

Back when I was working as a photographic assistant I worked for this guy who grew up in a very rural area of Maryland. This guy loved to hunt and fish. I used to call him the "Great White Hunter". I thought he was a little nuts because on all the various trips we'd take all over the country he'd always carry a certain amount of survival gear. It struck me as a little strange because we were packing a few hundred pounds of photo gear and except for a few wilderness shoots we were working in fairly civilized areas. We'd sit down in the airplane and he'd tell me to count the number of seats between ours and the exit. When we'd check into the hotel he'd have me look at escape routes and he'd remind me that most people get killed in hotel fires because they get locked out of their hotel rooms by forgetting to bring their key with them. After years of working with this guy I developed some of the same habits he had, I'm prepared for just about anything. I never get on a ferry without an escape plan, I carry basic survival gear in my car, I never visit a city without memorizing the map and odd geological factors which might trap you in a disaster or help keep you alive. I know how to find water in a desert and how to purify water in a flood. The route out of New Orleans was on the river levees which remained completely intact. So far I've only heard of one person, a teacher from Tulane (PhD in history), who used them to escape. One could have easily walked or ridden a bike all the way up to Lafayette, LA on them. With the abundance of firewood and a decent container you could have boiled river water. A lot of marsh grasses have tuber roots that will keep you alive for many days. One could drive out to civilization in a few hours on the levee, ride a mountain bike out in less than a day and walk out in two days. The mistake these people made is that they never had a personal disaster plan, even able bodied people are dying waiting to get rescued. It's as tragic as the people who freeze to death in their cars because they wait to get rescued instead of use the resources that the car itself has.