Brendan & Lori O'Gara

In this crazy world that we find ourselves in today I am thanking my grandparents. My mother’s parents in particular today. They taught me how to live well on very little.

My grandparents grew up in rural Alabama in an age where if something was broken you fixed it. They grew vegetables, baked bread and had chickens. They lived off the land. Even when they moved into a larger Florida city, with a smaller piece of land they survived on the bare minimum. They raised five children on limited resources. Now, I am not to the point I want to raise chickens; however, I will use the skills they gave me to provide for my family. It will not be as easy as walking into the store and grabbing what we need off a shelf.

As a society, we have become spoiled to convenience. It is apparent in the panic that a relatively small crisis has created that humans have lost the skill of survival.

We have allowed the media who was once our honest town crier to evolve into a propaganda monster who should not under any circumstances be trusted to tell the truth.

I am in no way downplaying the seriousness of the situation. We are in a bad place as a planet right now. We should take this as a huge wake-up call. If you survive this one, take a breath and devise a plan for the next one that does not include raping the stores and endangering the most vulnerable among us.

Be a responsible human.

Use what you have. Take what you need. Learn new skills.

and wash your hands.