People often ask about how I got interested in emergency preparedness and survival. Here’s part of the story.
Like a lot of other people,
I grew up confused.
On the one hand I knew I planned to go to college, because “that’s when life would really start!” So I worked hard in high school and made the academic choices to get me to UC Berkeley.
On the other hand, my most satisfying moments during those high school years were the hands-on projects I worked on with my Dad. He had grown up in a rough-and-tumble lumber town, spent years as a prospector in Alaska, and (at least I thought so then) could do just about anything.
Teen-aged hunter
Together we spent hours head to head under the hood of a series of ‘Chevys. I hauled brooms and tar onto roofs where we sealed tar paper seams. We got up in the cold at 5 a.m. and packed our shotguns for a long day hunting quail in the foothills of the Sierras. (The photo shows pheasants. We hunted them, too, alongside rice fields.)
The point of all this: I grew up knowing I, too, could do just about anything – as long as I had “the right tool for the job!”
Transition to today.
College is long behind me. I built on that experience to become a polished and acknowledged writer (with a couple of shelves of direct marketing and copywriting awards). More than that, I developed a real passion for words, languages, and teaching.
(My college interns seeking approval for their reports called me “Ol’ Eagle Eye.”)
Today I live in suburbia. No fixing of cars in the street, no climbing on roofs.
So what happened to that part of me that treasured physical activity and enjoyed the satisfaction of “getting the job done?”
I find that in Emergency Preparedness!
Yes, I get the satisfaction of handling tools, learning new skills, and teaming up with partners in the service of a greater good.
That’s why I started Emergency Plan Guide. It’s an outlet for my “pioneering” self, a place to write, and above all a place where I have the chance to move others to action.
So I am constantly adding new information, commenting on new ideas and trends, and doing my best to get others involved.
Join in, and stay tuned. Something else is bound to happen!
Virginia Nicols
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team