Remember way back before COVID when you’d watch shows like Doomsday Preppers and think to yourself “these people are nuts.”?

I used to. In fact, I still think some of those people are nuts. But you just know – when people panicked and suddenly there was not a roll of TP to found for miles – those “crazy” preppers were laughing to themselves.

Why wouldn’t they? There was nothing for them to worry about. They had a bunker full of bog roll, a pantry full of pasta and enough headache tablets to kill an elephant. Add in the mega litres of fresh water and enough guns to overthrow a small nation and the real preppers were ready to survive coronavirus five times over. Some of them probably haven’t even had to re-supply yet.

And we called them crazy.

But then the world turned to shit and suddenly these prepper types didn’t seem quite so nutty. I mean, really, what’s so wrong with being prepared for the unexpected?

Granted, there’s a distinct line between being prepared and being insane. The guys who are prepping for the zombie apocalypse or planet-cooking solar flares with their enormous caches of weapons and “shoot-first” weekly training camps are probably swimming off the deep end.

But those who stockpile sensible amounts of food and fresh water in a secure place for themselves and their families in a time of crisis are actually pretty smart folks. They take their responsibility to the safety of their loved ones seriously and they take measures to ensure that safety.

I’m not suggesting we should all start digging bunkers and procuring anti-aircraft guns to defend our perimeters. But as we roll uncertainly into 2021 with the absolute shit-show that was 2020 still fresh in our minds, perhaps we should be considering being a little better prepared. Just in case.

I’m not suggesting you clean out your supermarket shelves and panic-buy everything you can get your hands on. To do so is both selfish and unnecessary.

You don’t need to put on your tinfoil hat and preach your paranoid conspiracy theories to the people in the street. Unless that kind of thing is your jam, in which case, go for it.

But think about the worst parts of what has happened during the past year. Don’t rule out that the same won’t happen again. Or worse.

What would you need to cope with it better if there is a next time?

Be prepared, as the Boy Scouts say. Just don’t go crazy.