And while growing up, we had freezers full of beef, venison, duck, chicken, quail, fish, etc., every cabinet was full of fruits and vegetables that were canned after being harvested from the acres we had planted and worked. We had water stored, as well as the necessary tools to address a frozen well were oiled and kept readily available. We had food stored for livestock, as well as means to ensure they would have water. We also had cords of wood that were cut/ chopped/ and stacked - in various stages of seasoning.

And I NEVER heard the word "Prep", "Preps", or "Prepper"

We did, however, PREPARE.

It was simply a way of life. As Dr. Acula eluded to earlier, we knew that in Appalachia we would have ice, and that we would undoubtedly loose power for anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

I grew up in a household of Great Depression-era grandparents in the South. They KNEW they were personally responsible for their/ our own needs. They also knew full-well how quickly the government will turn it's back on you in a time of true need - they had already lived that story.

Today, nearly half of our country's population lives in incorporated metropolitan areas. From this, the balance of these folks have either never obtained or have lost the life-skills often referred to in threads such as these.

These threads, at least the majority I am familiar with, are not posted in a manner of stretching one's Internet legs of "look at what I know or have, and you don't". These threads and the vast majority of posts contained within are all in the spirit of sharing with your Internet neighbor so that should some event arise, these skills, ideas, and protocol may at some time come in handy.

For example: I truly prefer to have our own food prepared and preserved via canning/ dehydrating. DontBeAfraid has a great thread with many suggestions and ideas regarding these as well. With that said, if I both believe in and prefer our own prepared/ canned food, then why do we have a large portion of our business focused to the sale of Long-Term Foods and Food Storage Solutions?

It's rather simple; we know that in today's day and time, and with such a large percentage of the country living in the more heavily populated areas, people no longer have the 40 acres out back on which to grow their own food. We, essentially provide for them a reasonable means to address this, to "catch up" if you will, and to have food and other items on-hand while they begin learning the skills of preserving/ smoking/ salting/ canning/ etc.

It has not been those of us engaged in the Preparedness Industry that has pushed "Prepping" into the spotlight as of late. It those who are realizing the lacking in both life skills and the storage that are now looking to "catch up". These people, for the most part, are wanting to learn, and I hold that desire as an honorable one as they are learning to protect their life and the lives of their family on the absolutely most basic level.

The years of the 80's and 90's allowed for a great amount of laziness and complacency to take hold. It is this group of people - those who were having their hay-day during these years - that are, by and far, realizing how lacking their skills and storage means are, and comprise the vast majority of those now pushing the growing opportunities for learning these life skills - they are also now beginning to involve/ teach their children. For those who fall into this category - I will help them in any way I possibly can, as I am also sure will most of the posters within these threads.