Pamala Davis

Author: CampBunking

"Failing to plan is planning to fail" - Benjamin Franklin

Born in The Bahamas, I definitely had my share of hurricanes. Though I knew there were many, the one that stuck with me was "Betsy." I remembered everyone in the neighborhood battening down the windows and finally the doors, making sure there was enough oil for the lanterns, water for drinking and other necessities and food.

Returning to America is 1991, I would always ensure food and water with batteries for the lights were on hand. It wasn't until about 4 years ago, that I really started paying attention to the importance of ensuring my house was well taken care of. That included: ensuring all vehicles had a minimum of half tank of gas a flashlight and a gallon of water. There was an entire section in the pantry dedicated to stormy days; canned tunas, chicken, ritz and other crackers and cookies. I had bags of charcoal, at least 2 with wood chips, lighters, grills, coolers with plenty ice and also boiled eggs. A bathtub was dedicated to water for the toilets and washing up but I did invest in wet-wipes. Since I drink alkaline water, I ensured there were several gallons filled and several cases of bottled water in the event I was control center for the family and their families. I also bought inflatable beds.

Even though that is good, it could have been better. I saw that in sending items to the Bahamas for my siblings during the hurricanes. I was getting them lanterns with lithium batteries, with charging capabilities for cell phones and lithium battery-operated fans. Then I really started reading up on "bunking out and survival items." I realized I wasn't far of course in my thinking about emergency survival. What good is having freeze-dried food, which I have tons of, and not being able to cook it. Sure I had the grills but if the weather did not permit, I would not be able to cook. By accident, I started watching the "Jim Bakker Show" and man was it good! I was hooked from then. He showed "fuelless generators with solar panels. I could cook even watch a lil television. I realized small is king. Counter-top cooking items, like crock pots, hotplates, small fridges, having lights, can all be used with fuelless generators. AND, they ranged from big to small. With these generators, we don't need to have the concern of gas leaks and fumes from smoking grills. To be able to afford "small" is a huge blessing in times of emergencies

I watched scenes from Houston, Louisiana and other areas in the Panhandle and wondered what could be done. It was a disaster. Though I have many big items, small is able to do the job. Being comfortable and having fun on a camping outing is the "light" side of surviving in the face of disasters which are, in every situation, life and death matters.