John Lloyd is perfecting the art of the bug out bag

I make decent money, but piecing together a bug out bag can be expensive, so you try to piece it together a little bit at a time. Build it up. The world ain’t ended yet, so I still have to pay my bills and things like that. I have one completed bug out bag, which I started for myself. Then I saw that no one else in my family had one, so I started putting more of them together. This is my third one. Each one has [http://www.rei.com/gear/feature/search/google/bivy?gclid=COKkk5HVhrQCFQHonAodjHcAkg&s_kwcid=TC|13029|bivvy||S|e|20206228205&ef_id=UKZgOAAABi3sgyd7:20121206205536:s|emergency bivvies] a small, lightweight, waterproof shelter, medical supply kits, knives, and a hand axe. Pretty much tools and three MREs Meals Ready to Eat for three days. I have a bow and arrow. I’ll get food when I get somewhere safe and secure.

I know that if I have to leave my house, I have everything that I need in order to survive, to defend myself, build a shelter, and build a fire. I have everything that I need in that one bag.

When Katrina happened I was much younger, but it opened my eyes. Also, I know that crops are genetically modified now and all it would take is one disease, one bug — a plight on a crop in the Midwest and we’re in big trouble. If one tsunami hits North America on the East Coast, we’ll be messed up — real bad. It probably wouldn’t hit inland, but we’ll have refugees, people trying to loot, and who knows what it would do to the grid. I do fire protection for a living. I know that you don’t plan for bad things to happen, but you want to be prepared. Nobody thinks there’s going to be a fire tomorrow, but you’ve got those sprinkler heads installed on the ceiling for a reason.

I was a Boy Scout when I was a kid, so I’ve always wanted to be prepared for anything that could happen. I’m open with it, and I don’t mind if people know about it. People ask me if I have a hobby, and I say that one of them is prepping. I also like to go kayaking, fishing, camping, things like that. If I were to be thrown into the woods in a survival situation, I would be fine. ... And I know that if something goes down, you’re going to want to get away from people. I’m really into reading history, and I know that you’re doomed to repeat if you don’t pay attention. Every civilization that has ever existed has come to a climax and fell. Every last one of them. We haven’t been around for too long, but we got a boost from technology. A lot of other civilizations took a lot longer — thousands of years — to fall, but we can’t handle what we’ve got already, so I’m ready. It’s bound to happen sooner or later, and I’m prepping for anything that could happen.

Meet the other preppers:

• Kids changed everything for rural Georgia veterinarian and prepper

• Ellie defends her ground as a female prepper

• John Lloyd is perfecting the art of the bug out bag
• 34-year-old prepper Justin S. believes in the six Ps