TEOTWAWKI!! (Not all that likely, but...)

There's a lot of talk about "The end of the world as we know it" - total, global collapse of commerce, infrastructure, society, law and order, etc. -  and being prepared for such an eventuality. 

Preppers prep for it. Scoffers scoff at it. Most people completely ignore the whole idea.

The reality is that total collapse is not really all that likely a scenario, and most of us do realise that. The thing is though, pretty much all the same preparations for the ultimate SHTF situation will also stand us in good stead for the more likely situations. Things from the mundane - normal winter storms, scheduled (or not) utility maintenance, fried squirrel/bird/racoon transformer blowout, or a vehicle hitting a utility pole - to more severe things like earthquakes, floods, severe storms (hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, etc), epidemics, war, large scale terrorist attacks, or whatever.
 All of these routinely include downed trees, blocked or closed roads, power or other utility outages, shortages of supplies in stores (or closures), and, of course, panicked sheeple, and usually come with little to no warning. 

Preparedness makes most of these things a relatively minor inconvenience, rather than an emergency, and makes even the more major disasters more easily survivable, so you and yours are not only doing ok, but also, not further straining rescue efforts, and potentially in a position to help!

Even something as simple as having car trouble and being stranded on the side of the road somewhere for a while can end up being a dire emergency if you're not properly prepared. 

I have personally experienced several situations over the years, where being prepared made the difference between emergency and inconvenience, including: Being stranded in a vehicle in the middle of nowhere for one to several days (alone and with kids/dogs); stranded in a van with the back half hanging off a nasty drop overnight once (with 2 adults, 2 big dogs, and a pre-teen in the van!); house full of holiday guests totally snowed in with no road access for nine days, almost half of which with no power or running water; caught in gnarly bad storms out in the middle of a National Forest, with exit roads impassable; stuck for extra time in the forest due to nearby forest fires (or emergency personnel fighting them) blocking access roads except for evacuation areas; multiple power and other utility outages; being stuck with no vehicle and no way home (or anywhere) overnight or for days/hours, due to cancelled Greyhound buses/inclement weather or just missing the last local bus; and various other "interesting times". 

Every one of those experiences was reduced to, at worst, a royal pain in the arse, and everyone involved was able to get/stay warm (or cool, as needed), dry, fed, sheltered, safe, comfortable, and had a sanitary way to relieve themselves and clean up afterward. Most of the time, we were even entertained too! 
That outcome, in every instance, was a result of being prepared!

So... Even if you are a total scoffer, and don't think there is any chance, whatsoever of TEOTWAWKI, there are plenty of good reasons to prepare for it anyway!