What Happens If Your Friends Change ?

               

 

  Those of you who have read an abundance of my posts here know that I am not a proponent of bunkers.  I believe that most families can formulate a good disaster plan using some notebooks, backpacks, documents or copies of documents, using my book or other sources as a guide. I believe that most families can formulate a disaster plan centered on either sheltering-in-place or family evacuation. For most disasters a good plan to shelter in place or evacuate one's family is sufficient.  Although, I will concede that some families, in tornado areas might benefit from a cellar or underground shelter, I don't think it's practical or intelligent for most people to sink eighty-five thousand or higher on a home underground, either accessed from their home, or somewhere around it.
                 This said,  I do have friends who had sufficient money to do this, and had business interests which made it possible for them to built a bunker underground suitable for their families to spend, perhaps a week at a time in.  One of these people, I will call Bob was very proud of the bunker he and his wife designed for their family and then had installed by a company which not only agrees to keep their clients confidential, but destroys their files several months following job completion.   Bob was so proud of his bunker that he showed it to a lot of his friends when it was completed.  He even showed those in his hunt club. He was proud of the steps he had taken to keep his family safe and his intention had been to encourage others.  He did not consider all of the ramifications should the situation go sideways.
                   I have mentioned before that even in the lead up to a war or a potential disaster or financial collapse, there will be people who lose perspective or even lose their minds. One of Bob's most trusted buddies has very recently lost his home, and he and his wife are separating.  Bob's friend is now in a rage the likes of which Bob has never seen.  His friend has made threats which frighten Bob.   Now Bob and his family have a bunker and food supplies, and a former friend of his is angry, jealous and potentially out of control.  All of this has happened BEFORE civil unrest, a major disaster in their area, or a financial collapse of some type.  Now someone who could be an enemy of Bob's knows exactly what he has, what and where his weapons are in his house, and where his bunker and emergency food is located.  Even if Bob's friend does not come back in an emergency, then people his friend has told or his hunt club might.
                     It is not my intention to make you paranoid. I do think that some people should be trusted with where you are, where you would go in an emergency, etc.  I do think that there is value in incorporating people we trust in our emergency plans.  However, we need to be really careful when we do this.  Chances are, people you know from the internet are internet acquaintances and not your friends.  Sometimes a close friendship from the internet can develop, but this can take years.  Think very carefully when deciding what to disclose to both friends and family.
                  I made errors when I was younger in letting acquaintances know what I had stored, and I lost all of it when Hurricane Isabelle isolated where we were living then for two weeks.  I never got any of those supplies back and no one offered to help pay to restock when the emergency was over. It was a well learned lesson.
                I do have trustworthy people who know something about our emergency plans now. However, these are people who have the same level of supplies as I do, if not much more. I have known them for twenty and twenty-five years.  When things go sideways for any reason, most people can be counted upon to act in their own and their family's best interests, not yours.  For this reason, I never ever trade ammo.