February 24 - A Plot of Earth
I’m the underpants gnome of prepping.
You have a plot of land and have the financial resources to do what you please. What’s the plan?
End-of-the-world compound. Duh. I’m not going to make an amusement park for crying out loud.
Although this prompt alerts me to my complete and utter lack of knowledge when it comes to properly outfitting a doomsday compound. I’m coming to terms with how little I know about prepping despite my prepper instincts; I’m the underpants gnome of prepping.
Phase 1: Plot of land and unlimited resources
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: End of the world compound.
I’m not exactly sure what creating the perfect, ideal compound would fully entail—there are preppers out there much more well-versed in how to organize this place and know exactly what you need to stock, how, and where. How to rotate the crops and store the food. How to make the place defensible. How to store ammo and exactly what kind of artillery you would need. I need these people who know this information. Is there a prepper concierge? That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
My first thoughts are water source, food sources, shelter, sanitation, firepower, manpower, medical clinic. There need to be a few doctors and builders and fixers of things. I’d need seeds—but what kinds? How do I arrange the garden?
Power seems like a luxury but not impossible. Honestly all I can think of is the show The Last of Us and the preppers in episode 3 and how hard I was laughing when the dude rolled out in a wheelchair 23 years into the dystopia and Jeren said, “Damn. Now that’s prepping.”
I think most people would say that they’d build a house, and realistically, that’s probably the same for myself.
However, I have found that if I had all the money, I might build a house/bookstore combo. Some of the land would be for me to live and and a part of it would be a small, retail bookstore. It would be the definition of cozy.
This would also allow me to not worry about a commute. I would just wake up and walk downstairs; opening the shop. If the plot of land is big enough and there’s space? I’d add a small café. I’ve always wanted to sell cupcakes in a bookstore and I don’t know why.
You give me money and a plot of land, that’s what I’m doing. It’d be the ideal lifestyle and, hopefully, there’d be enough land left for the dogs to run around.
I’ve watched YouTube videos of how cheap plots of land are in West Texas and could imagine myself getting land out there for camping and relaxation. Somewhere close to Big Bend National Park. It’s a cathartic place for me out there. Since moving to Texas, I’ve taken 6 or 7 trips out to the Chihuahuan Desert when I just wanted to get away from it all and have some breathing room from the millions of people in the Texas triangle. It’s also one of the only places in the U.S. that’s somehow much less at risk of nuclear fallout if you’ve ever seen one of those nuclear fallout maps.