Can You Make a Hard Hat Decision?

It is early morning at the home of my two youngest grand children. My daughter and her husband had to be in Dallas for an early morning appointment. Typical of this time of year in East Texas, the weather flipped from Summer to chilly Fall during the night. Teeth and hair brushed, school and daycare nearby, we are good, we have plenty of time. The spouse comes in the house from outside, "You better get your jackets on, it's cold out there." The seven year old stands before me in cotton shorts and a T-shirt. The five year old, the family fashionista, has on one of everything from several categories and nothing close to a match.

 To the "cotton shorts", I say "Don't you think you better put on some long pants?"

"Nope, it will get warm later," is the answer.

Oh crap, I felt an unmistakable twinge of disaster. While the mini model has yet another layer, a jacket, added to her attire and the backpack strapped on, I hear the soft wailing from the bedroom. I rush to her aid, "Sweetie, what-is-wrong? are you hurt?"

"My hat! my very favorite hat...I can't find it...it is hat day.  I have been looking forward to wearing that hat all day, all week long!" a river of tears flow down her cheeks.

"Well, most certainly, it is here somewhere," I offer.

"No, no-o-o," with a stabbing glare at her colorful little sister, "SHE lost it, she was doing her stupid fashion show and she lost it!"  Little bit promptly runs to the pegs, takes down her own cap and plops it on her head, just to let her sister know that SHE has a hat.

Well, the dutiful grand parents deliver the near naked child to school, tears dried up with a promise of a hat to be shortly bought and brought to the school. And yes, a jacket, because according to her sad story, she does not own one single jacket in her size. The jolly little sister arrives at her place for the day, and with her sister already gone, jerks the cap off her head, "I don't wanna wear it," she says with a big grin.

This little story brings me to my point.  The good parenting thing, the strong and hard thing to do was to teach the lesson, If you are not responsible for your possessions, then this is what happens. You will have to pay the price and be hatless all day among  your hatted friends. It would be a Hard Hat decision. Fortunately, I am the grandma and have the luxury of not doing the hard thing, not making the difficult choice, at such a moment in time.

As the American Blackout special pointed out, the choices will be very hard.  In one of the many scenarios that could befall America, it won't just be a matter of, can you eat cold beans for eternity? Or will you have any beans?  It will be whether you will share your beans or can you prevent them being taken from you. 

In the depiction, the neighbor comes to the gate, begs for food that he knows the prepper must have, and invokes the heart wrenching, I have children. That is when the Hard Hat decision has to be made. The real truth of the situation, a person with a family lives in the wilds of Colorado and has made no preparations for a disaster. It could be an apartment in the city or a house in your neighborhood, unprepared is unprepared.  That person will be at his neighbor's gate or door instead of out hunting, scrounging or figuring out how he is going to feed his family. The can of beans that a well prepared man might take from the mouth of his own family and share will only be the beginning. Each can will diminish the survival time of his own children. And such an unprepared person as the beggar, will be back, more desperate each time. 

Being prepared is far more than storing up food and water. While the physical preparing for a catastrophe is imperative, the hard part will be the mental preparation.  There will be Hard Hat decisions to make, the kind that most of us Americans have never been faced with. No matter how much you prepare, the majority will not. We, Americans have lost the belief in and the ability to be self sufficient. All things will not be black and white, clear choices.  If the military comes to your door, if they state that you must leave, you must hand over your weapons, your stores. If they state they will take you to shelter and safety and food. If you feel you are good, you have worked hard so that you and your family have a chance to survive, will you go quietly? Will you trust or will you defend your ground?

See? there will not be always easy choices. I can't even begin to claim that I have these answers. I do know that the more I prepare, even on my average and limited level, the more confident I feel. The clearer it becomes to me that survival may depend on Hard Hat decisions. When and if catastrophe occurs, will you be strong, will you or I, be able to salvage some of our humanity? Each of us will have to make those decisions. I do believe that those that are not prepared, will have very few choices to make.   JO

***I am always interested in hearing your opinion and input. Click on the word, COMMENT below, if you would like to leave a note. J.