Doomsday Preppers Episode Afterthoughts: No Stranger to Strangers

Last night we had the opportunity to enjoy the new episode of Doomsday Preppers: No Stranger to Strangers. I am serious when I say that I enjoyed the episode. You know we are usually critical of the show’s episodes, but this one was different in the sense of it had a lot of positive to take away from it.

We met Mr. Richard Huggins and Dr. Dave. Let me first say thank you to Mr. Huggins for his service to our great nation during the Vietnam War. This hits home for us here at Prepper Central so we thank you for your service Sir. Now what are they preparing for? Mr. Huggins is preparing for a nuclear attack on the U.S. and Dr. Dave is gearing up for a solar flare which could take down the power grid. Neither one of these scenarios is off from reality, so this sparked my attention. This talk has been generated around the Internet a lot lately, so people should listen. But what did these two families do that stood out? Let’s take a look.

Mr. Huggins’ home is located a stones throw from a major highway. He lives with his wife on the top floor of his metal fabrication/machine shop. It appears Mr. Huggins has invested a large sum of money into his preparedness program by the Browning 1919 machine gun (a Class III weapon), and other items we saw on the show. We had the opportunity to watch Mr. Huggins build a hardened pill box to defend his property. This would be defended by Mr. and Mrs. Huggins, and a friend. They would have use of the Browning machine gun and explosives which include claymore mines. So this was some serious hardware (and not what the average person has access to).

The biggest concern Mr. Huggins has was people wandering onto his property from the highway. I agree with him on this, but I don’t think this is the correct course of action. In the event that a major catastrophe were to force people from the city, they are going to use the interstate system no matter if it is by car, foot, bicycle, or horseback. This reminds me of the book One Second After, where this scenario is played out. The number of people who are looking for help, food, etc., will be staggering and mind blowing. While I know Mr. Huggins has his business in this location (which is a very desirable skill post collapse), I ask Mr. Huggins to consider having a bug out location away from the highway. While he possesses some highly desirable skills, security should be his first and only priority. Mr. Huggins seemed to be a resourceful gentleman, so I am sure he will do the right thing.

Next is Dr. Dave who strongly believes there will be a solar storm that will cripple our power grid within the next couple of years. With all the recent activity on the Sun, this is possible. Now Dr. Dave definitely has it together when it comes to growing food and storing food for his family. His day job in holistic medicine is great and can be an extremely valued skill after a catastrophe, but the one prep he is centered on doesn’t make me all too happy. If you saw the episode, he has a license to grow medicinal marijuana in his home state of Colorado. I know the “herb” is crucial for treating people will illnesses that create chronic pain, etc., but I have a hard time with saying this should be used in post collapse barter. While we are all adults here, and everyone has the freedom of choice, it may not be wise to be high, stoned, or drunk a majority of the time post a catastrophe.

While we do see these items as comfort items, there are folks who become dependent. This creates problems and as we see with bringing drugs and alcohol into the mix, it just magnifies it. I do appreciate that Dr. Dave is looking out for other people and will have a supply of other ingredients to help with ailments, I just hope he is not concentrating on the one “herb”.  I liked the fact that has obtained vehicles that do not rely on computers in case of an EMP, in which this will be a HUGE asset to have. So don’t turn your nose up to a pre 1970′s machine yet.

If you watched the episode, I hope you were able to enjoy it as we have. Stay safe out there!

Prepper Central

-SP