Madison Park Times April 2025

TEACHING YOURSELF TO FISH: PREPPING TIPS ON YOUTUBE

Ilike the expression “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime.”

I’ve been wanting to learn more about preparedness – why not leverage the wisdom of people who do this for a hobby (and sometimes a living!)?

YouTube videos have been a surprisingly useful resource for my own prepping research for several reasons: 1) They have dates (unlike some websites) so I can usually find recent information 2) I can see items or techniques they’re recommending in detail and 3) The videos can make sometimes dry topics personal, practical and often fun. Please note that I don’t agree with all the tips discussed (I don’t think you should use candles for lighting or cooking, for safety reasons).

In this column, I grouped YouTubers by their main specialty or topic. The YouTube channels are listed by their YouTube handle (preceded by @). Using this item in YouTube’s search bar means you’ll get to the right channel!

GENERAL PREPPING

@TheUrbanPrepper: A dapper Seattle resident who focuses on city preparedness and has tons of tool/gadget recommendations, Cliff has been uploading preparedness content for 14 years! Videos include “Urban Shelter Design Strategy,” “Top 10 Preps to Buy at Costco,” (he also does Home Depot and AutoZone), and “The 10 Cs of Urban Survival.”

I enjoy his straightforward, easy-to-follow approach (when it comes to shelter, Cliff says, be sure

Armstrong Madison Park Emergency Hub

to consider three things: what you sleep under, in, and on.) His videos are professional, to the point, and have a real sense of fun.

@ModernRefugee: Sporting a deep, reassuring voice and common-sense attitude, MR has all the prepper cred you’d want. Videos include “Be Cautious & Build Everyday Redundancy,” “Have An Egress Plan,” and “Turn a Blanket Into Clothing.”

MR discusses a wide range of preparedness topics, including “country skills” like camping, fishing, and farming. I enjoyed the discussion of current events, like rising prices and everyday SHTF situations (a prepper term for when “Stuff (well, not stuff, but this is a family paper) Hits The Fan”). From a user in MR’s Redundancy video comments section, I also learned a great phrase: “One is none, two is one, and three is better.” I definitely feel this way about prep stuff!

@AmericanResiliency: Dr. Emily Schoerning is a science educator seeking to educate people on preparedness and awareness. Videos include “Workshop, Bunker Not Required,” “What is Reasonable Prep? 2025 Update,” and “120 Degrees: No Power.”

A can’t miss: the channel’s Workshop video above included access to a Google Sheets doc that lets you plan skills and stuff you’d need for “Three Bad Days,” “Three Bad Weeks,” and “Three Bad Months.” I made a copy for my own use.

Honorable mentions: @ cityprepping

(though it has a bit too much emphasis on doom and gloom for me)

PREPPING FOOD (AND MORE)

@TheProvidentPrepper: This upbeat family makes videos on emergency prep and self-reliance, including a lot of info on food and cooking. Videos include “Top 10 Foods to Hoard for ‘The End of the World as We Know It,’” “6 Lifesaving Tips to Keep Warm During a Winter Power Outage,” and “12 Food Storage Myths Debunked.” This content-packed channel includes a complete playlist for power outage cooking and a 10step video for newbie preppers, including the practical tips we often stress here at the Hub: water storage, sanitation, and shelter.

@PrepperPotpourri: Calm and savvy Mary Ellen has a very well-stocked pantry! Videos include “10 Genius Kitchen Hacks Using

Shelf-Stable Ingredients,” “Absolutely the Best Way to Store Flour Long Term,” and “Pantry Preps: Buy Before the Next Big Storm.”

In addition to abundant food tips (she also has rice and pasta storage tips), I enjoyed her “My B.O.B (Get Home Bag)” video. B.O.B. is prepper-speak for Bug Out Bag: a smallish bag full of things you’d need in an emergency. Her bag includes a surprising amount of goodies for its size – the most intriguing items for me were clips for making a tarp into a tent and a collapsible bowl (why didn’t I think of that?).

Honorable food prepper mentions: @RoseRedHomestead @ AcreHomestead @twobearshomestead.

FLASHLIGHTS

@Lumencraft: YouTuber Matt does deep dives into flashlights. And that’s it! Videos include “Comparing the Lightest Headlamps” and “Brightest Flashlight under $50.”

I was in the market for a strong flashlight several years ago (mainly to help me find dog poop under fall leaves, I admit, but also in case of extended power outages) and ran into this fun creator. He makes videos about flashlights much more

entertaining than you’d expect them to be – they’re hard to stop watching!

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL (JUST FOR FUN)

@SurvivalLilly: Perhaps more entertaining than practically useful, Lilly is an Austrian “survivalist” with over 1 million subscribers and a past stint on the TV show “Naked and Afraid.” Here in the city, we won’t likely need most of her tips (like how to make a water container out of a log), but I include this for one fascinating video: “Survival Kit you want to wear on your BODY.” In this video, Lilly fits a stunning amount of prep gear inside a tiny Altoids mints box including a super tiny knife! Anyway, I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s available on YouTube. I hope that you’ll do your own exploration of what YouTube has to offer, preparedness-wise. Thanks again to Reddit’s r/ TwoXPreppers subreddit for inspiration and information.

As always, this column is part of Madison Park Emergency Hub’s outreach effort. We’re an allvolunteer org focused on neighbors helping each other after a disaster. Contact us at madparkhub@ gmail.com to get on our mailing list.

Meditation for renewal

Our bodies are in a constant state of renewal much like the earth itself. Just as leaves unfurl, rivers forge new paths, and seasons shift; our cells undergo constant change. Meditation helps us reconnect with this natural rhythm of change, allowing us to observe the subtle shifts in our bodies and minds. Through meditation – attention to and equanimity with what is – we can observe our own regeneration.

Last month I attended my first 10-day silent meditation course. For 10 hours each day, beginning at 4 a.m. when we woke to the song of the gong, we sat in meditation, bringing our attention inward. With practice we trained our minds to come to stillness, perceive sensations in our bodies, and observe that each is fleeting. One moment I might observe an intense pain or burning in my hip. As I’d sit there and watch it without reacting – without bracing, without sifting in my seat to find ease, without even wishing it would go away – it would unfailingly shift. Sometimes it would

shift within moments; sometimes it would be there an hour later. But eventually it would shift.

Not only did we observe intense sensations in our bodies as they came up, but we attended equally to the minute.

I observed, for example, my breath naturally entering my left nostril one moment, and shifting to enter my right nostril minutes later. I observed a tickle on my upper lip –that I could have scratched to find relief – but instead simply watched with curiosity and non-reaction, until it

disappeared, as all sensations eventually do. Over hours and hours and days and day, I came to know in my being that every sensation, every pain, every tickle eventually shifts.

Modern life pulls our minds in a thousand directions; our bodies, responding to this chaos, can become burdened with stress. Meditation teaches us to attend to all moments and shifts with equanimity – without attachment or aversion, without desiring the breath to stay in one

particular nostril, and without wishing a pain away, or a new sensation to arrive. We simply observe with equanimity, knowing this too with change.

Because meditation fosters a mind state of equanimity, it allows the body to shift out of tension and into the parasympathetic mend mode. Acupuncture similarly draws the body into a parasympathetic rest and rejuvenate state, and as an acupuncturist I love helping people shift their bodies and minds from constriction to

ease and repair. But meditation is a tool we have access to all day, every day, for free. As long as we are alive, we are breathing; regardless of circumstance we can return our attention to our breath. By focusing on the breath or bodily sensations without reacting, we let go of the stress that hinders our healing process, and transformative healing shifts can occur. During my deep-dive, 100-hour meditation course, I observed as tensions unravel that had been there for decades.

Science corroborates the healthful shifts that meditation can usher in. Studies show that through meditation, cortisol levels drops, inflammation recedes, oxidative stress decreases, and immune function is boosted, and the body’s nature cellular regenerative abilities are heightened.

Studies suggesting that meditation may increase telomerase activity, and thus foster longevity and healthy aging, are particularly exciting. Telomerase is the enzyme that repairs and lengthens telomeres (which cap our chromosomes). Because telomeres act like aglets on shoelaces, protecting chromosomes from fraying during cell division, shortened telomeres are linked to cellular aging, increased risk of disease, and decreased longevity. So clearly, the higher levels of telomerase found in people who meditate regularly is an intriguing avenue of research being pursued by Nobel laureates and others.

Annie Lindberg is a licensed acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine practitioner, and Ayurvedic practitioner. She also holds a Masters of Environmental Studies. She owns and practices at The Point Acupuncture & Ayurveda, located in Madison Park and is a regular Madison Park Times health columnist.

How aging and dehydration are intertwined

By MetroCreative

The human body is everchanging. Though it’s not often so easy to detect the changes the body goes through, such alterations may become more noticeable with age.

One age-related change that’s easy to overlook is related to thirst. The Cleveland Clinic notes seniors typically do not feel as thirsty as they once did. That compels seniors to consume less fluids, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to dehydration.

Why is my risk for dehydration higher now than when I was younger?

Seniors may ask this question, and body composition changes that correspond to age are often to blame. According to the Cleveland Clinic, seniors’ bodies do not demand water in the same way they did when they were younger. So, people tend to drink

less water as they age. Some also suffer from decreased kidney function that also

compromises fluid levels in the body. These things mean many seniors have less

water in their bodies than they used to, which increases their risk for dehydration. How serious is this threat?

The threat posed by dehydration is serious. In fact, the Cleveland Clinic notes that dehydration is a common cause of hospitalization among adults 65 and older. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality also notes that adults 65 and over have the highest hospital admission rates for dehydration of any group.

How do I know if I’m dehydrated?

As noted, aging adults do not typically feel as thirsty as they did when they were younger. That’s important to remember, as the Cleveland Clinic notes that thirst might actually be a sign of early dehydration. The following are some additional physical signs of dehydration:

■ Fatigue and weakness

■ Dizziness or a loss of coordination

■ Dry mouth and/or a dry cough

■ Headache

■ Muscle cramps, which can be caused by a loss of electrolytes through sweating

■ Chills or heat intolerance

■ Flushed skin

These symptoms are notable in their own right, but some may make seniors vulnerable to additional issues. For instance, dizziness or a loss of coordination resulting from dehydration may make seniors more vulnerable to falls. Falls are a significant threat because they increase the likelihood of broken bones and other serious injuries, but a fall also can adversely affect mental health. A fall that causes injury may lead seniors to withdraw from certain activities, including recreational sports or other physical activities often

performed alongside fellow seniors. Withdrawing from such activities can lead to isolation and depression. How can I avoid dehydration?

The good news is that hydrating is pretty easy, particularly when seniors are aware of their vulnerability to dehydration. The Cleveland Clinic urges seniors to consume sufficient fluids each day, even spicing up water with a fruit slice if necessary.

In addition, seniors are urged to avoid caffeine, which can force more trips to the bathroom to urinate and thus lose fluid. Cucumbers, celery and, of course, watermelon also can be incorporated into seniors’ diets each day, as these foods are high in water content.

Dehydration poses a serious threat to seniors’ health. But that threat can be easily overcome when seniors make a concerted effort to stay hydrated each day.