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Who is Rourke? An interview with myself……

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I have been in contact with some of my readers and in several discussions have been asked some common questions. Basically – people are wanting to know more about me.

Tell me a little bit about yourself: Well, I am 42 years old and from here I go backwards. So – this November I will be turning 41. I work as a Production Manager in a plastic extrusion plant in the southeastern United States. I am married (apology to all the supermodel preppers out there). I have two boys – ages 7 and 12. My oldest son is an insulin-dependant diabetic. I have a hyper yippy dog and two awesome cats.

Bug-Out Vehicle

I live in a typical suburban neighborhood. I have 3 vehicles because “2 is 1 and 1 is none”- and 3 is better than 2. Although I live on a small parcel of land – I have a decent sized garden, along with two (for now) raised bed gardens. I have several compost bins/piles. Gardening for 7 years I have learned a tremendous amount and look to each season to new successes as well as failures to learn from.

How did I get into preparedness? I grew up during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States back in the 80′s. For whatever reason I had a concern about nuclear war that led to a need to prepare. As a teenager there was limited tings that I could do.  I did manage to collect some firearms and food. These paid off during the late evening when Hurricane Hugo slammed into the town was living in while I was staying at college. Amazingly – 3:00 am came quick  – no power, no water, no food, no lights. I passed out flashlights and cyalume lightsticks to people that needed them. The events of Hugo showed me just how unprepared people were and how reliant society was on modern “comforts”.

Did you find others that were like-minded at such a young age? Not really. My brother was interested in nuclear war preparedness back in the 80′s. We actually had planned to build a bomb shelter on some land that was in the family in Georgia. One of my best friends in my “survival interest” was a book called The Survivalist by Jerry Ahern. I read it from cover to cover every time I could get a new copy. I still enjoy reading it today. The Cold War passed – and that was pretty much it. My interest in Preparedness declined. I often wonder what my parents thought of me and the “fad” that I was going through with survival kits and storing extra food. I remember my dad and I went to the movies – I actually brought a small military surplus pack with me everywhere I went (small survival kit). People probably thought I was one strange kid. Well-  at the movies the power went out – and I had a flashlight – no one else did.

How did you get involved in firearms? Ever since I was a kid – like most boys — I was infatuated with guns. I used to go and watch my brother shoot in NRA .22 rifle competitions. When I was about 15 my dad bought me a Charter Arms AR-7 Explorer. I loved it. Shortly thereafter my brother bought me a Squire Bingham M16R which I still own today. It looks like an AR-15 but was a .22LR. My dream since I was a kid was to own an AR-15. A little less than 2 years ago I bought a Stag Arms M4.

My Ruger 10/22 .22LR

How about self-defense/hand-to-hand  combat? I have always had an interest in the martial arts. I took karate a short time in 5th grade – and did not study karate again until I was in college. I studied an Okinawan martial art called Isshyn-Ryu for awhile in college. I eventually made a move to another part of the country and then returned back to the South 6 years later. I took Isshyn-Ryu back up for about a year. I soon discovered Balintawak  – a Filipino Stickfighting Art. I have been hooked ever since. I have also studied ju-jitsu.

 How long have you been stickfighting? 7+ years.

Logo for my stickfighting art - I have this same artwork tattoo'd on my right arm

What is your philosophy on preparedness? I am not a survival fanatic. What I mean by this is I live my life enjoying many of the modern comfort but at the same time I am preparing “just in case”. Make no mistake about it – I am serious about preparedness. Over the last several months I have made great strides in storing extra food – one area in particular I take seriously. Improving my defensive position is always on my mind. Gardening is a survival skill I very much enjoy. Next I am going to head in the direction of alternative power as well as work on setting up a bug out location in Georgia. Back to the original question – My philosophy is that it is just common sense to take steps to prepare in case of some type of disaster that may interrupt “your normal way of life”. People buy car insurance and house insurance – why not “disaster insurance”?

What are you planning/preparedness for? Right now I am leveling up my overall supply status. My goal is to have sufficient supplies to go months without power or access to any modern day utilities. Right now I feel capable to be able to go for several weeks. It wouldn’t be easy – but we would make it.

Rourke & youngest son

Well – there is a little insight on me.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Maybe there will be a part #2.

Rourke

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