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It’s always a good idea to be prepared ahead of time in the event of an emergency or disaster. Hopefully it is something you will never need but it’s an excellent idea to be prepared and have supplies ready ahead of time.

We see, hear or read the news daily about fires storms, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcanic activity, etc. Just about every part of the U.S. as well as many other countries around the world is susceptible to natural disasters of some type.

Others are prone to human-caused disasters such as fire and vehicle-related. You just may want to take heed ahead of time and keep an emergency supply or survival kit nearby or close at hand.

And the do-it-yourself kind is the way to go. Let this checklist below be a guide for you. Print it out and keep it handy.

Use it to put together a kit for yourself and family. Feel free to customize it to your families own personal needs.

It is not necessary to spend a lot of money, and I would really NOT recommend buying the ready-made or pre-packed kits from a store. You can easily put together your own kit with better quality items.

A large number of these items can be found around the house if you look for them. Another idea, if you already own a vacuum-sealer (such as a Food Saver), you can even seal clothing to make sure they stay dry.

__ Water – at least 1 gallon per day / per person for approximately 3 to 7 days

__ Food – at least enough for approximately 3 to 7 days

__ non-perishable packaged or canned food

__ non-perishable packaged or canned juices

__ specialty foods for infants or the elderly (if applicable)

__ snack foods (chips, crackers, apples, oranges, energy bars, etc)

__ Utensils

__ non-electric can opener

__ cooking tools

__ portable camping stove and fuel

__ paper plates

__ plastic utensils

__ extra ziplock or sealable bags

__ extra garbage/trash bags (medium or large)

__ aluminum foil

__ twist ties, rubber bands, etc.

__ duct tape

__ bucket(s)

__ Swiss Army Knife / multi-purpose pocket knife

__ Lighter / Matches / Flint and Steel

__ Sleeping Gear

__ Blankets

__ Pillows

__ Sleeping Bags

__ Clothing – season appropriate

__ complete change of clothing (2-3 changes per person)

__ rain gear (if applicable)

__ sturdy shoes

__ First Aid Kit (new or fully stocked)

__ Medicines / Prescription Drugs (if applicable)

__ Specialty Items – for babies and the elderly (if applicable)

__ Toiletries / Hygiene items (include dental floss for multi-purpose use)

__ dental needs

__ hand sanitizer or moisture wipes

__ towels & washcloths

__ toilet paper

__ tissue paper

__ paper towels

__ Flashlight / Batteries

__ Portable Lantern

__ Light Sticks or Glow sticks

__ Radio – Hand-cranked or Battery operated + NOAA weather radio (if possible)

__ Phones

__ fully charged cell phone with extra battery

__ traditional (not cordless) telephone set

__ Cash (with some small bills)

__ Credit Cards – Keep in mind that Banks and ATM’s may not be available for extended periods

__ Keys

__ Toys, Books and Games (age appropriate)

__ paper, drawing pads, pencils, pens, crayons, etc.

__ Important Documents – in a waterproof container or watertight resealable plastic bag

__ Insurance information

__ Medical records

__ Bank account numbers

__ Social Security card

__ Drivers License/ID Card

__ Personal phone book of family, relatives, friends, work associates, etc.

__ Tools – you should keep a set in your vehicle

__ foldable shovel, axe, hammer, pliers, wrench, screwdrivers, etc.

__ rope

__ Vehicle Fuel Tanks Filled

__ Pet care items (if applicable)

__ proper identification / immunization records / medication

__ ample supply of food and water

__ a carrier or cage

__ muzzle and leash

The most important thing is to plan ahead and start assembling these items NOW!

The FBI plans to drill outside a suburban Detroit residence  in the search for Jimmy Hoffa, the labor strongman whose disappearance is one of the most notorious and mysterious in U.S. history.  A tipster says a body was buried at the spot in Roseville, Michigan, at around the same time the Teamsters boss disappeared in 1975, but did not claim it was Hoffa’s body.

Odd how the federal government is willing to drill for a dead union guy — but won’t drill for oil.

It began with Gregory A. Prince, a Mormon author and blogger, who wrote about GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney:

“His arrogant and out-of-hand dismissal of half the population of this country struck me at a visceral level, for it sullied the religion that he and I share — the religion for which five generations of my ancestry have lived and sacrificed, the religion whose official mantra is ‘to take care of the poor and needy throughout the world,’” Prince wrote. “My first impulse was to rent an airplane towing a banner: ‘Mitt Romney is Not the Face of Mormonism!’”

Prince, who claims he backed Romney in his Massachusetts gubernatorial bid and in his 2008 run for president, railed against Romney after a secretly recorded video appeared in which the candidate said 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims and entitled to government handouts.

When asked if he agreed with Prince, Senator Harry Reid, a Mormon himself, answered, “He said that Romney has sullied the religion that he, Prince and Romney share and he’s so disappointed that in his words, ‘It’s a good religion and he’s hiding from it.”

“I agree with him. Romney’s coming to a state where there are a lot of members of the LDS Church.” Reid continued, “They understand that he is not the face of Mormonism.”

Remember, facts like the truth are a tricky thing for the Democratic Senate Majority Leader.

During the 2012 Democratic National Convention the party adopted the following, “The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay.”

Reid has yet to denounce this platform statement which isn’t in good standing with the Mormons church. In 1973, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the following statement about abortion, which remains applicable today:

“The Church opposes abortion and counsels its members not to submit to or perform an abortion except in the rare cases where, in the opinion of competent medical counsel, the life or good health of the mother is seriously endangered or where the pregnancy was caused by rape and produces serious emotional trauma in the mother. Even then it should be done only after counseling with the local presiding priesthood authority and after receiving divine confirmation through prayer.”

Who is more the face of the LDS Church and who isn’t couldn’t be clearer.

“Few of Romney’s billionaire backers make actual products – most simply siphon income from ordinary workers into their Swiss bank accounts.”

That’s the latest from International Brotherhood of Teamsters president, James Hoffa, writing in the Summer 2012 issue of the union magazine, “Teamster.” He’s really nothing more than a hypocrite.

He makes nothing and yet earns $362,869 and benefits annually. Furthermore his salary comes from the membership dues paid by those who actually labor day-in and day-out.

Mind you, the average 2012 American household’s income is $63,091 per year.

William Carson situated his home in the heart of the city next to his lumber mill and the bay. From his cupola he could view commerce on the bay and check the happenings at his lumber mill to the north.

Constructed in 1884-85, for over $80,000 is a four-story, 18 room structure with a tower and basement, and one of the most photographed structures in the world.

Carson came from New Brunswick, Canada during the gold rush and tried mining along the Trinity River. By 1854 he was operating a lumber mill in Humboldt County.

In 1855 he shipped the first cargo of redwood lumber from Humboldt Bay to San Francisco, where before only spruce and fir timber had been shipped.  On April 17, 1863, Carson signed a partnership agreement with John Dolbeer which lasted for 87 years.

Dolbeer revolutionized the logging business with his mechanical talent. In 1881, he patented the “Dolbeer Steam Logging Donkey,” which modernized logging by replacing workers with machine power.

The Dolbeer and Carson Lumber Company prospered. They bought up some of the finest timberland, kept pace with the latest equipment, and they continued to prosper as logging methods and transportation improved.

By the 1890s, they owned several lumber mills, held an interest in the rail lines and in sailing vessels to insure the transport of their lumber. They incorporated the Eel River and Eureka Railroad Co. Helped build the Bucksport and Elk River Railroads and held interests in the Humboldt Northern Railroad.

The major destination for lumber was San Francisco, but they shipped all over the world. They had diverse holdings as well, including oil fields, the Humboldt Woolen Mills and Humboldt Shoe Factory.

Carson was one of the founders of Humboldt County Bank, Bank of Eureka, and the Savings Bank of Humboldt Co.  At his death, his fortune was estimated to be $20 million.

His will contained 116 beneficiaries, many company employees, as well as churches, hospitals and other community agencies.  The mansion was almost demolished when the last Carson heirs to live in the Mansion moved to San Francisco in the late 1940s.

Some Eureka businessmen decided to form a men’s club, and an option to buy the Carson property was obtained from the owners in October 1949. The deal was formally completed early in 1950 and the new club was named the Ingomar Club.

After the death of a third person exposed to the mouse-borne hantavirus, public health officials are expanding their warning to include more than 22,000 visitors to Yosemite National Park. So far, eight people who visited the 1,100-square-mile park in California this summer have been infected.

Hantavirus has been around for hundreds of years, with the first outbreak being chronicled before the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The disease made a comeback in 1992 in the Four Corner’s area of the U.S., though it’s reappeared intermittently over the years, including 1959 and 1978.

Knowing this, one might think the National Park Service would have had an ongoing rodent abatement program in operation to protect visitors to the park. But it’s clear after so many people have turned up infected, the it didn’t.

Frightening to realize the National Park Service is run by the same folks who’ll be overseeing ObamaCare.

They were a group of friends from Fort Dodge, Iowa and in Des Moines, the state’s capital, and on the brink of mischief. The four friends, between 14 and 17 years old, concluded it would be fun to stage a mob rub-out.

They had balloons filled with red-dye, ketchup and water and guns loaded with blanks. Each dressed in a suit and tie, borrowed from their father’s wardrobe and were driving a car, much like one Scar-face Al Capone rode in.

When the time came, one boy got out of the car and walked to a designated street corner. At an appointed time, the car came down the busy street and pulled up in front of the target on the corner.

There a gun fight ensued, with two of the so-called thugs getting out of the car and shooting the boy. As for the target, he returned fire on the two thugs, missing them.

The boy leaned against a brick building, slid to the sidewalk and played dead. By this time people were ducking for cover and women were screaming in fear.

That’s when the two thugs grabbed the boy and dragged him into the car, and the vehicle sped off. Road blocks catch the get-a-way car and gangsters went up, but to no avail.

There were reports on the radio that evening and in the papers the following day. The quartet became scared when they heard the FBI had become involved in the case.

To my knowledge Dad only told this story once. I remember hanging on every word, thinking, “How cool!”

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find one newspaper article written about this event. So it’s safe to say, it never happened, but sure made a great story.

After having run around Margaret Keating School’s track as fast as I could, I stopped at the fountain outside my sixth grade classroom and guzzled as much water as possible. I felt hot and sweaty as I started drinking, but suddenly became cold and clammy afterward.

My head felt like it was about to explode from the pain I was experiencing and my stomach seemed to grow so tight that I could no longer stand up. Then much like one might see in a movie, my entire world faded to black.

By the time I regained consciousness, I was no longer outside by the water fountain and was somewhat confused by my surroundings.  I was lying on the bed in the nurse’s office, having been carried there by Mr. Hammond, and where Mrs. Zwierlein was attending to me.

A few minutes later, Uncle Ron arrived and took me home. Mom immediately made me go to bed, uncertain what had caused me to pass out.

It was later determined that my body didn’t tolerate the sudden extreme of overheating to very cold. In essence, I had a simultaneous brain-freeze and stomach cramp, forcing blood to shunt in different directions – causing me to pass out.

I never let it happen again, no matter hot or how thirsty I was.

But what I find most interesting about this incident is how it shaped the way I look at dying.  I’ve come to believe that when our body dies, it’s like a sudden ‘fade to black,’ followed by the reawakening of our soul in a different place.

And yes, I think that for a few seconds, we’ll feel confused and disoriented, but eventually we’ll realize where we are and what has happened. Besides, having a 12-year-olds view of this process makes it less scary for me.

What sort of campaign slogan is “Forward,” Mr. President? It means nothing to the working man or woman struggling to make ends meet, keeping both a roof over their families head and food on the table in this tough economy.

“Forward,” to where Mr. Obama? Into de-industrialization, socialized everything, a third world nation?

No thank you.

And if I hear Vice President Joe Biden spout off one more time, saying, “Here’s a bumper sticker for you: Osama Bin Laden’s dead and GM lives,” I think I’ll go play in rush-hour traffic. Again it mean’s nothing, with the number of people out of work and foreclosures wrecking neighborhood throughout the U.S.

After all if we’re going to elect a president based on who killed Osama Bin Laden — I’m voting for a Navy SEAL.

This was my first car — a 1963 Chevy Biscayne. I bought it for 300 bucks. I took Jill Ziemer to the prom in this car. It was a three-on-the-tree and I couldn’t get the stupid thing in reverse. Jill saved the day by climbing in the driver seat and finding the gear for me. Admittedly, it was kind of embarrassing.

I traded out my Biscayne and a couple hundred dollars for a 1967 Dodge Charger. It had a 383 under the hood and 440 Interceptor shift-kit. I out ran the CHP in it a couple of times. Shame on me! Because I tended to drive too fast in this car, my parents refused to let me take Connie Harper to prom in it. Instead I had to drive their 1971 Opel Cadet. It wasn’t a very sexy look!

While stationed at Warren AFB, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I spent 1200 dollars on a 1976 Datsun 610 Wagon. I did my best to drive that thing to death by taking it camping, with my friends Dave Barber and Linda Alverson and on long road trips. It was a piece of crap — but it got me from there to here and back again. Even my friend Linda Bottazzo, who was also stationed at Warren and owned one, says they were crappy, but reliable.

I had a 1977 Triumph Spitfire for a few months. I ended up with after I sued an employer to get my back pay. Unfortunately, since it was owned by that same employer, I had to surrender it to get paid. Sometimes I think I should have jus’ hung on to the car and forgone the check. It was a chick-magnet. Hind-sight is 20/20, huh?

I didn’t own a working vehicle for nearly two-years after giving up the Spitfire.  I bought a 1974 VW Superbeetle, completely rebuilt with a 9-11 Porsche engine, for $3,500. The  day I got it anew paint job, my friend Beth Wachter stuck a bag full of gummy bears to it. So much for the paint job as I removed them one-by-one. It didn’t look like much, but add a few bags of sand in the front trunk to weigh it down and whammo — that little Bug could do near 60 mph in second gear. I sold back a number of pink slips, making my rent because of this.

 My first real old-timer was a 1937 Pontiac six 4-door Touring Sedan. I traded for it with a biker named Russ, who wanted my leather jacket. Since it didn’t run very well and a hole in the gas tank, I left it parked on the far-side of the apartment complex from where I lived. I should have kept my eye on it as within a couple of weeks, somebody stripped it down to its chassis. They even stole the seats, which were in pretty good shape. All I could do was file a police report and hope. Nothing was ever recovered. Dirty bastards!

After blowing the engine for a second time, I figured it was time to part with the Bug. And for the first in my life I decided to buy a brand-new vehicle. I drove my 1988 Hyundai Excel for 14-years until it caught fire on I-80 one morning and burned to the ground. The sad part about this is I had jus’ put anew water pump and radiator in the damned thing. I was also arrested for arson because the police thought I’d set the fire. They dropped the  charges after the fire marshal found an electrical short at the point of the fires origin.

For some reason I got a bug up my butt and decided to buy myself a “classic truck,” in this case a 1959 Chevy Apache Fleetside pick-up, that I named “Big Red.” I never could get the speedometer to work properly, having been over three times, though never cited, for going over the speed limit by 10 mph. I had a friend named Ray who was a mechanic and a race car driver, who was going to fix it up for me, so I moved it to his garage, unfortunately he and his wife split the sheets and she absconded with my truck and his two race cars. She is from Arizona, so I suspect the truck is sitting someplace on one of the many Reservations in that state. Whadda shame.

Shortly after moving into our new home, I had what I call a mid-life crisis spending $4,000 on a Chevy 3100 Series step side truck.  After five years of ownership I concluded “Little Blue,” deserved better TLC and feeding than I was giving her, so I sold it to my friend Paul Hinen’s son for 500-bucks. Happily, I see him zooming around town in the truck from time to time, so I think I got a good deal out of the sale.

After the Hyundai went up in flames, I needed a vehicle. I looked at all sorts of cars and trucks. I knew what I wanted and needed so I set about to find something that would solve both. That solution was a 1998 Ford Ranger XLT. I purchased it used for $12-thousand, which was about 1K more than I’d hoped to pay — but it has been worth every dime spent. I’ve crossed the western part of the U.S. twice in it, travelled up and down Nevada and California too many times to count in this truck and I continue to drive the hell out of it today.

Honestly — I had no idea I’d owned so many vehicles in my lifetime.