Preparing for Zombies

Usually I come up with the title after I've written out what I wanted to say. This time I'm spurred on by my passion for emergency preparedness. My grandmother was big into scouting when my mother and her siblings were growing up. When we go camping for our family reunion in the Tetons every summer she cooks using dutch ovens. She's gotten so good throughout the years that her recipes have listed the specific amount of coals on the lid and around the base of the dutch ovens.

All of my mother's brothers were a part of the scouting program (my father's side of the family doesn't have the Boy Scouts of America because they're English). I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout around my 18th birthday in the spring of 2013. Camping has been a big part of my life due to my family's involvement in scouting.

Turns out my wife loves to camp as well. We haven't been camping as of yet but I'm already getting plenty of ideas to get ready for this year's family reunion. I also want to be prepared in case of an emergency. Natural disasters or... zombies, etc. Who knows? I've been looking on eBay and other places online looking at the price my desired inventory will cost. Because we live above a television store and not on ground level, I've planned to pack everything very tightly and put it into the trunk of our explorer (wrecked my first one and we've just bought another).

Planning to be prepared for camping or a disaster gives me a thrill! I can't wait to get everything and put it all together. At that point one could call me "adventure ready." I'm looking forward to this year's Family Camp out and to all the fun outdoorsy times I'm going to be able to have while being prepared for the worst.

The World

Why do we want to get away?
It would be impossible to visit everywhere in the world in a single lifetime, and yet I still want to travel the world. With the advancement of technology anyone can access pictures and video of any popular tourist spot. Films depict these wonderful places in many different ways as well. The images of these far away locations inspire us to travel and to visit these places. Perhaps it's a sense of adventure that makes us want to spread our wings and fly away from all that we know. Do we get sick of the same scenery outside of our window? Why do we all seem to suffer from "small town" syndrome?

Let me tell you, I'm actually from a small town. I moved away from South Shields when I was about 3 and a half years old. Since then I've lived in Rexburg, St. Anthony, Meridian (that one was huge!), Idaho Falls (a good sized town), Sugar City (population 1514 and no stop lights), and recently moved back to Rexburg after I got married. But Sugar City is still clinging on to me like a strand of spiderweb and this makes me anxious to get out.

My sense to travel could be because I was born in England and have only visited twice there since moving to America. The castles, the countryside, the accent, it's all foreign (is that a pun?) to me now that I've relocated. Not only do I want to eventually go and visit my father's side of the family and my homeland. I also have a passion for museums and art, and that means France isn't out of the question. My desire is to answer the questions I have and to experience the things I have only heard about. Who wouldn't want to leave their worries behind and go on an adventurous vacation?

What's out there?
Perhaps it's because we seek the unknown. We naturally develop questions about things we don't understand and the places we have never visited provide an opportunity to discover the unfamiliar and fascinating. What is waiting to be discovered? I've been in enough history classes to know that there are amazing places to visit and to take your own pictures of. I'd like to take my camera and find out what memories I can capture, save, and share with others.

I wonder if I'll end up telling  my children or grandchildren about my travels. Perhaps I won't even be financially stable enough to go until I have grandchildren. There are a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts' in dealing with plans of the future, especially those that involve as much money as it takes to travel. But isn't it a goal worth achieving if it's just for the memories that you'll make? Why must we stay at home and be content with an average lifestyle when we have the whole world offering itself to us. I want to discover what's out there for me, and I think the trips will be well worth it.

What is left behind?

Ideas. Each one is the beginning of something, the center of a web that can be expanded as time passes. As I've been reading some articles lately about entrepreneurs I've found what appears to be a thread. Starting with a single idea these people made it big but one particular idea is what they are best known for. "Oh you're the guy who made that eh?" My question is: what is your idea going to be? What are you going to be known for? It's not just for business, it's not just for monetary gain, it will be the legacy you leave behind.

What do you like to do?

Though I enjoy writing I haven't written anything that would be a best seller, nor am I a playwrite. I sometimes wonder if I'd ever have the chance or creativity to create a world totally of my own. George Lucas created the beloved Star Wars universe. JK Rowling inspired her readers to wait for an owl carrying a certain letter from a particular school. CS Lewis spread Christian teachings to the world through his metaphoric novels. And the beloved JRR Tolkien constructed a home away from home for those who are adamant page turners. These authors have inspired the world with what they like to do.

That one person

Attending a massive school gives plenty of opportunities to run into people you may not know by name. People tend to remember what people have done rather than their names (actions speak louder than words?). All of us at some point have heard a story from someone else about something happening. From breakups to funny things said, there's always a story connected to someone. Now we find ourselves in public, at a party, or meeting someone our roommate brought over.

"This is so-and-so, remember me talking about them?"
"Um... no?"
"The person who ____________?"
"Oh, yeah!" *queue shaking hands* "That was hilarious! I saw the YouTube video of what you did."

And from then on, they are known by that deed. It's their ID to get into other people's contacts list.

The Legacy

What will people remember about me when I'm gone? Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar, "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones..." Unless I do something outstanding that will outweigh my mistakes those who live after me will only hear of the bad. A man who enjoyed painting beautifully is now only remembered for his unjust persecution of the Jews.

What do people want to hear, see, feel, taste, or touch? What product will people want in their lives? Certain characteristics? A particular sense of humor? Something that makes a task easier for them? What will people remember about somebody? The legacy left behind will be what you decide to do with your life. Will you be remembered as someone who was a couch potato or as someone who went out of their way to help others? Will you make a name for yourself in the field of your choice or will you be satisfied with working somewhere you don't want to? I want to be remembered for good, not for bad. I want to write a joyful story full of adventure and love not dismal and story that's plain and begins and ends with me forever wishing but never actually living my dreams.

With the ideas that have begun to spin into webs, which one will we be remembered by? It depends on what audience is watching. Our ideas, our actions, our fate, how can we inspire for the better? We each can make a difference, let's make it a great one.