Right, if I remember my basic principles of survival, they go something like this order:
1. Will. You must first actually want to survive. Without this, everything else falls apart. I can see that some of you have already failed this first hurdle, and civilisation hasn't even collapsed yet. Shakes head. Never mind. The new order of the world will have to do without, I guess.
2. Shelter. Somewhere to protect you from the elements. In the case of a nuclear exchange, shelter is especially important if one is to weather the initial fallout period. In such circumstances, it is imperative that you remain indoors and limit physical activity, so preparation is key. I already have a place and I doubt that anyone will be collecting rent, but it might be helpful to scout out a second location before everything goes to shit, just in case.
3. Water. The very stuff of life. Got a good idea for this one. So since there's going to be a pre-amble before the nukes start flying, the plumbing won't fail immediately, which should give me time to run one final bath. Yep, I'm filling that sucker with as much fresh cold water as it can hold. Water purification tablets sound like a good thing to stockpile.
4. Food. Essential to keep you going. When the pandemic started, my stockpile of non-perishable food consisted of a couple of cans of corned beef and a Fray Bentos pie or two. Stock which I did not rotate. Oh dear. But since then, I've picked up the habit of having an entire cupboard full of cans, which I keep topped up and rotate via consumption.
Now those are the basics I half-remember from various survival books and whatnot, but I think in the aftermath of a nuclear exchange, there should be a fifth addition:
5. Community/continuity - no man is an island. We humans are social creatures, our strength as survivors is greatest when we cooperate. So by using the opportunity provided by the first four, I should endeavour to link up with other survivors and pool our efforts towards our mutual survival as well as towards the eventual re-establishment of civilisation.
These are the kinds of things I will keep in mind to help me, because I'm a survivor with the will to keep on living, not some soppy wannabe starving artist taking the opportunity to mope about uselessly before expiring, or whatever other kind of worthless drama llama.
