What will you miss

The coffee, fresh fruit and vegetables we have flown in from across the world; cheap, readily-available fuel and electricity; easily-accessible healthcare services; emergency responders (police, EMS and firefighters); and several of my close friends and family members... because they are NOT prepared -- psychologically, technically and/or physically -- to survive (let alone THRIVE) in a world without the above-noted (and other) goods and services.

Great thread, BTW. Very thought-provoking. 😉

Frivolous electronic entertainment (movies, video games, t.v. shows, the internet, etc.)

Howdy all,

I would probably miss oranges and orange juice the most, nothing quite like eating a fresh orange(even though they are trucked from Florida or Mexico while green) or waking up in the morning and having a nice tall glass of juice. Refrigeration would be another thing I would miss, at least until the next winter after SHTF 🙂 And the ability to go for a walk around town and not being able to relax or be calm around other people!

The convenience of modern life

hot showers...
Sure, I've got water storage, and you could always warm up some water and pour it over yourself, but it's not the same as stepping into a shower stall on a cold winter morning and basking in the heat till the room steams up.

I have to lough reading "what will you miss" if you are just half serious it means you never lived or experience life in any of the real poor countries. When you stop living and only surviving, when you do not know where your next meal is coming from or when your next meal will be, shortly when you miss your breakfast and lunch hoping at least for supper YOU DO NOT MISS TV ,YOU DO NOT MISS SHOVER YOU DONOT MISS GAME you just hope there is tomorrow .
Trust me I saw it.
Henry

well Henry I guess you can't miss what you never had in the first place. Look around you, this discussion has a distinctly NORTH AMERICAN perspective, therefore we will list things that we would miss as NORTH AMERICANS. I am sorry that we never came from poor countries, but I don't think that gives you the right to laugh and make mockery of others. this is not a contest it is a general interest topic.

Sorry buddy I am not making fun of you as a person I am looking at it from preppers prospective and from post disaster view. I did not come from poor country just from occupied country , and few years ago I went to work for a while to post war country. To me after big disaster our country (Canada) will look like after war maybe even worse depends on disaster.
I say I lough because I see too many preppers talking about SHIFT as romancing time . Its not time to think about coffee, TV, delicateness or any good times IT IS SURVIVING TIME. These people are just romantic dreamers.
When you can not trust anybody and you see your family suffer your priority changes really fast.
So please take it from my point of view.
Henry

This thread is showing an appreciation and thanks for things we currently have & use that will be gone
or too expensive.
It is making us stop, think, be even more aware of things we use and might need, or need to change, or
learn to do now, and thus prep even more.

ie: As mentioned before, I will miss cinnamon, so I just bought cinnamon sticks & hand spice grater and I'm learning to grate my own
as needed. Grating cinnamon is harder to grate than nutmeg, as cinnamon sometimes shreds pieces rather than grate
fine ground results.

ie: As mentioned before, I will need a lot more rice. A lot more.

I get what you are saying Henry, but I think the point Woodbooger is making is that it isn't about priorities. Of course when the SHTF, things will be rough, survival will be the primary thing we will focus on, and there will be no romance in any of it. That doesn't mean that we won't ever laugh or chat. We can still sit around a campfire at night and talk about the good old days, reminisce about the things we once had and did and what we miss most since the SHTF. It's not like we'll be pining away for these things, trying to figure out a way to get them. We will just miss how life was, in general, and some of the specific things we really loved about life before SHTF. While it's fictional and in no way going to happen, I remember a scene from the first season of The Walking Dead, when the women were washing clothes by the lake and started talking about how they missed their washing machines. It's that kind of thing, ya know? Survival was their priority, but that doesn't mean they can't miss what's gone.

Survival was their priority, but that doesn't mean they can't miss what's gone.

Agreed,

And that one "hidden or set a side" teaspoon left of coffee , cinnamon , sugar, or whatever, might just be the mental boost
someone needs after a long while to help with their mental survival, their overall survival.

So all preps are not about water, beans, shelter and ammo. There is some mental survival that is needed.
A few luxury items squirrelled away can be a real mental boost.

Thinking of things people will miss, might also be good barter items if you have them, to get what you need.

Henry touched on a valid point, but didn't offer any input. I'd want to ask Henry and anyone else who has "been there" what things they missed most while they lived without any luxuries. Surely there were things that even Henry missed more than other things.
What were they?

Internal combustion engines be it for transportation or plowing

Henry touched on a valid point, but didn't offer any input. I'd want to ask Henry and anyone else who has "been there" what things they missed most while they lived without any luxuries. Surely there were things that even Henry missed more than other things. What were they?

time is one thing I missed - I know it sounds strange but when you do without running water & need to get it from a well, it takes time. You have to make a choice like the time it takes to get water to wash or the time it takes to go forge for food (even if it is only in neighborhood) - of course the food wins out and you start to get used to not being as clean as you once were. In the beginning it may bother someone to go days without a proper wash/bath/shower. If something breaks, then it takes time to fix it, there is no local store to go running to.

I still remember when a co-worker of mine brought her step-son to Canada. He was about 12 at the time (from Romania) and was just blown away buy the food we had in stores. He had his step-mom take a picture of him holding a bunch of bananas so he could send the picture back to his friends to show him how rich he now was. He never "missed" bananas as it was a rare thing to even see one.

It is hard to explain and understand but You really do not miss anything. As long as your stomach is full and you feel safe you always think what ,s next.
The only thing you miss is good night sleep. I always had enough food (not very nutritious ) , but you always sleep like on needles. ( I came home was 98 lbs)
Mentally that is different story I still turn my head or close my eyes for some scenarios on TV today because it makes me seek. The worst memories are children and old people.
Trust me some things you can see on TV or read about you will never get unless you experience it personally. It is like trying to imagine being very hungry right after big lunch and nice drink.
Henry