About This Site

Hi All, Thanks for your visit.  I believe a little background is in order to offer context for this website, how it’s constructed, and my purpose in taking your time. I am hopeful to be done writing this before you are done reading! First, a little philosophy, or just skip to the end, no one’s keeping you.

From the time I was tall enough to keep both ends of a full-grown shovel off the Montana landscape, my dad had me so busy, I didn’t have time to notice how busy I was.  We shoveled, dug, spaded, cultivated, watered, trimmed, mowed, painted, designed, changed, installed, removed, built, harvested, worked, and served till the clock struck December, and then we started all over again.

It was a while before I figured out we were poor because it just never felt that way. If it needed doing, making, or fixing, it was up to us. Hiring a chore done was something other folks did. I finally learned that the quarter-acre garden and associated endless lists of work to be done there weren’t designed solely to consume my every waking hour but to put food on our table.  We did lots of other stuff like that.

Since there was so much to do, we became very efficient.  Each task served a purpose and facilitated the next.  Poorly done wasn’t an option as re-done always followed, and no one wants to be twice-done, at least not more than once. They say it takes doing something 10,000 times to make a habit, reckon I have a couple of those.  You get the picture.

I got older and found someone who had also done the hard work, mixed with the poor part, and we tried it together and didn’t like it (the poor part), and tried something new, I’ll call it “better than yesterday”. (Stick with me, there is a point)

As a kid listening to the tale of the Turtle and the Hare, I always identified with the hare. I figured if there was a quicker way, I should take it, and frankly, the image of a turtle is not very masculine. Sadly, most of my rabbit runs ended up like the Fox and the Hound, not the way I had imagined it, much like the Donner party after taking the ‘shortcut’, and no one wants to be dinner.

Two other tales have had a great influence over me. The Richest Man in Baylon wraps a story around timeless principles and, once thus enshrouded, can greatly influence our lives as well, but I digress. Long story shorter, you don’t have to be the turtle or the hare, just move forward with intention. Besides, most of the rabbits I see are on the roadside, in an unsightly condition, and most of the turtles are in a backyard, well cared for and celebrating a three-digit birthday.

Finally, the tale that truly grabbed my longstanding interest was I Can Sleep When the Wind Blows. I didn’t run into many overwhelming challenges in my young life, just enough to recognize that a little preparation can mitigate or even negate an emergency altogether, and who wouldn’t want that! The book is a good read, the principles taught, life-changing if put to use. Yours and others. I’ve included a link. Read it aloud to the littles often enough, and it is bound to stick and maybe save you some gray hair and a nickel or two in the long run.

Bottom line, if we live our lives on the top half of the gas tank and we encounter an unplanned, extended detour or driving requirement, we are merely inconvenienced. However, if we are driving on the bottom half, or less, that same detour may become an emergency, especially in 110-degree heat or a freezing snowstorm on a dark road to Cove Fort, with deep snow and 50’ of visibility. Now, that gas gauge means life.

Considering you will travel the same distances, no matter how full the tank, why not drive on the top half? That is the essence of preparation. Now, a little housekeeping.

This site is under construction, so there will be dead ends and a U-turn or two. I have tried to make the material comprehensive, but in the end, it is your good judgment and decision-making that wins the day. You will see Good, Better, and Betterer as standards of preparedness. I am using “Betterer” purposely, as you are the only one who can determine Best.

Each standard builds on and includes the last. They are set up to be expanded and then printed out, allowing for a checklist to work from. I have provided links to the items I refer to; they are pictures, not preferences. I frequently use Walmart as a baseline, as everyone knows where to find one, and often Amazon, as it will allow for a quick review of alternatives. This site is not monetized.

Once you click on the first page icons, i.e., Go Bag, you will be taken to a page with a brief description, and at the bottom of the page, you will see four more icons. Click the icon that best describes you, and you are on your way.

I am hopeful to reach anyone with an interest. Behind the “Topical Resources From the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” tab, you will find a wealth of additional information and valuable resources that are largely church related. To be clear, this is not a church sponsored website, but good is where you find it, and there is much good to be found.

I seek that which builds. If you are of like mind, you can reach me at sleeps1when@pm.me.