How to Survive an Apocalypse: Lessons from 12/21/12

If there’s one thing all the hype leading up to 12/21/21 has taught me, it’s how to survive an apocalypse. Here’s what I’ve learned:

LESSON #1

The first thing is not to put too much stock into one coming. (Okay, as I admitted in another post about 12/21/12, I sort of learned that thanks to Y2K’s hype.)

But here’s why I’m a bit jaded and desensitized. In addition to Y2K amounting to nothing, there’s been media hype around other supposed coming disasters. Like several years back when they were abuzz with accounts of invading swarms of killer bees we’d have to contend with. And who can forget the apocalyptic flu outbreak in 2009. (Okay, that year of H1N1 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and Mexico was one of the hardest hit places, but…it still wasn’t as apocalyptic as the media made it out to be.)

So, yeah, I was pretty sure nothing was going to come of 12/21/12. Yet, I’ll admit I did allow myself a smidge of “What if…?” thinking. But the rational side of me said, “You know what? It’s not going to be that neat and tidy. You’re not going to get an end date for the world like that. If it ever does happen, it’s just going to happen and no one will truly ever be ready for it.”

LESSON #2

There are people who would not care about how to survive an apocalypse. There are apparently folks who would be inclined to commit suicide. I read a fascinating article (Mayan apocalypse 21/12/12: ‘The planets are aligned the sun will activate, let the deluge come’) that detailed aspects of how the Mayan apocalypse was being interpreted, and prepared for, around the world. Here’s the part that disturbed me most:

In Argentina the authorities closed off a section of the Sierras Chicas mountain range in Cordoba fearing mass suicide attempts there following a Facebook posting.

Mass suicide? Let’s hope we get through 12/21/12 without any reports of that happening anywhere.

LESSON #3

If you want to know how to survive an apocalypse, a good place to start would be hunkering down in a place that will withstand one. That doesn’t necessarily mean a subterranean shelter in your backyard either. Apparently there are a couple of places on Earth that will be spared from an apocalypse.

This was news to me. I figured every place would be affected equally and you’d need some kind of shelter to hunker down in.

Nope. Just make your way to either Bugarach, France or the Turkish town of Sirince.

I guess in Bugarach “it was rumoured that aliens would land on the ‘sacred mountain’ to save humans from the conflagration.” The rumor has created a headache for the town’s mayor, who urged people to stay away. But if you want to wait for a ride in an alien spacecraft, that might be the place to go next time an apocalypse comes to town.

Not sure why Sirince is a place that will be spared, but I’d head there. It’s in Turkey and near Ephesus. Loved Turkey when we went. I wouldn’t mind trying to surviving an apocalypse there.

An overview of Sirince. Image from Wikipedia.

LESSON #4

The best way to survive an apocalypse? Throw a party! Druids expect a larger than normal turn out at Stonehenge to celebrate the Winter Solstice.

Russia and London also got in the act with party events. Russia’s sounded lavish. A $1,000 ticket granted you entrance to a party in an underground Cold War-era nuclear bunker.

Or just do what I did on 12/20/12. Crack open a beverage of choice, toast your loved ones, have a nice meal, and watch a little TV. Not very ceremonious, but it was a harmonious way to spend what could’ve been my last night on Earth and it suited me just fine.

What lessons have you learned? Do you think there will be a lot of Mayan apocalypse babies being born nine months from now? (I’m thinking a lot of people might’ve spent their 12/20/12s getting frisky.)