It all started for me when we came back to America after living in Africa since 2002.
The small, undisclosed, African nation that we lived in has seen it's share of problems. There was the long-term malaise caused by a slow 40 year long economic slide. There was the sudden death of the "Big Man" president and the illegal installation of his son by military troops. There was the rioting, burning, torture and death that occurred after a sham of an election. There were the helicopter gunships dropping tear gas canisters on families who had gone out to protest soaring gas prices. We lived through it all. We saw the whole thing from the front door of our home.
Because of those experiences, and other annoyances like power-outages, water shortages, fuel supply shortages, and the occasional case of malaria or typhoid, we learned to be ready. We learned that it was a good idea to have a well-stocked pantry. We stored barrels of water. We kept fuel in the truck and a spare jerry can for the generator. Just in case. But, hey, it was Africa.
When we finally returned to America in 2010 we really thought we'd get to relax and enjoy freedom and prosperity as we remembered it from our old lives here. Those memories, however, predated 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Underwear Bomber, the TSA, Obamacare, and a number of other national emergencies and outrages.
Now our friends (not the tin-foil hat wearing variety, but the friendly, sane, church-going ones with kids, pets and respectable jobs) are stockpiling food. They are buying ammo for guns that look like they came right out of the new Terminator movie. They're reading "Prepper" literature and buying books on gardening. They're starting to buy gold and silver. Basically, they are getting ready for things that would make our experience in Africa look pretty darn tame.
Now, no one (except for some of those tin-foil hat types up in Idaho) really wants an Apocalypse. We'd all love to keep on getting lunch at the drive-through, tailgating at the football stadium, streaming funny YouTube videos, and complaining about how terrible the economy is while looking at the Best Buy ads because we're planning on getting that bigger LCD TV.
Nope, we don't want an Apocalypse... but we're going to be ready, just in case. This blog will share our journey, the story of a newly-returned American family, as we re-orient ourselves to the realities of an America we never thought we'd see.
