This post comes from a discussion that I was having on an Amateur Radio
Yahoo Group that I moderate. I thought there might be some insights contained
herein that might be relevant to this Blog. Enjoy.
I am going thru a
bit of a "change" here in the world of KD8LZB. This change
has a much larger
sphere than just Amateur Radio, but Amateur Radio holds a very
significant
place in the bigger picture. I have of course been following with
great
interest the various discussions. There is a lot of GREAT going stuff
going
on here. But the more I follow the discussions here, the more I am
convinced
that I need to get my Shack in order.
When the proverbial crap hits the
fan, and I'm convinced that here in SE MI it
is just a matter of time, all of
our fancy dancy opinions about modes and
training and promotion won't mean a
thing! I need to be completely ready to
receive traffic from my neighbors and
figure out a way to get those messages out
of my community and to their
destination. My thoughts on this matter are in
part being driven by what is
happening… or perhaps better said… what is not
happening in NY. I have to be
ready to serve my neighborhood when the Cavalry
doesn't show up. When all of
our plans fail… when all of our favorite modes
fail… when the back-up for the
back-up fails… I need to be ready.
I wish like everything that there was
some way to organize the chaos of what
will certainly be chaos… and we can
train and prepare and strategize… but when
it happens… and it most certain is
going to… all of our plans won't even begin
to handle the chaos. I am going
to have to be ready think… and improvise… and
make do with less resources
than what I have. I am going to have to be smart
and innovative. I am going
to have to figure out a way to keep my station safe.
I am going to have to
improve my people skills. I have to figure out a way to
do what I do when I'm
the only guy doing it.
Has anyone ever figured out how to set up a
Traffic Net with little more than a
mobile / portable radio in the middle of
an Interstate Highway that is nothing
more than a parking lot cluttered with
out of fuel cars and trucks that were
trying to evacuate a city that has
collapsed into rioting and looting? Has
anyone ever figured out how to set up
a Traffic Net that is prepared to handle
medical emergencies when Hospitals
are burned to the ground? Has anyone even
begun to consider what it would be
like to try to move a message from one point
to another when politicians have
declared that only "approved" radio messages
can be sent?
What is my
point in bring up these ridiculously absurd questions? It seems to
me that
many of our discussions only tend to prove that we can't agree on how
to
handle predictable disaster scenarios. How in the world can we then expect
to
deal with the ridiculously unpredictable scenarios that may very well be a
part
of our future?
Thanks for letting me vent… This is what happens
when I'm tired. I'll try to
be more happy and positive, and much less crazy
with my next post.
KC
KD8LZB
