This is a subject and post which will probably bug most readers. If easily offended, please turn on TV or something.
The question comes up frequently: When the SHTF, who will go first? In other words, which group of people won't make it and will fall earliest?
Generally, the response from those questioned, especially those into preparedness, is the same...
- Welfare recipients
- "Yuppies"
- Tree huggers
- Don't get its (DGI)
- Druggies
The stereotypical responses. Further, those questioned never consider where they would be. Most are self assured that they will be fine as they are in the "Get It" column.
OK. If the S really HTF, think about what will happen and who will really be effected.
- No more US mail.
- No more doctor's offices, hospitals, clinics
- No more pharmacies
- No more pensions or social security checks
- No more government offices or agencies to be called for assistance
- No more assistance, no more food banks, no more home delivered meals
Get it? If you live off any form of government assistance, then you are also at risk. That includes veteran benefits, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, and so on.
Suddenly, the pool is larger.
Further, a healthy 20-something former condo living, BMW driving now desparate urban resident on the run is a real threat to a 60-something, scooter riding retiree who has a pantry full of food and a running pickup truck. One is healthy and the other is taking a kitchen counter top full of medications. Who wins in a one on one fight?
The welfare recipient may be dismissed, but don't forget, they have adapted to the system. They currently know how to get free medical treatment from the emergency room, how to get food stamps and eat, how to get a free bus pass and a ride, how to get discounted housing and a place to sleep. In a nutshell, they figured out how to ride the system to get what they want and need.
That same mindset can and will help them survive in a post-SHTF world. They will adapt and figure out where the lone survivor is with the stored food because that is how they survive now. They can sniff out "stuff" and consider themselves entitled to it. Watch out for this group, they are more dangerous then you think.
Next, addicts. Addicts don't care if they are dirty, if they steal, if others die or if they offend anyone in order to get their next fix. Most of all, they personally don't care if they live or die, afterall, they are pumping their body with dangerous chemicals with little regard for their own health.
Therefore, they are the most dangerous of all to the prepper post-SHTF. They will come for you and your stuff if they think you have alcohol, cigarettes or drugs that they need. And they won't think anything of killing or hurting to get it. The addict will also adapt to the situation much faster than the "stick in the mud" who thinks his preps are enough to ride out the situation.
Next up, the obese. I don't care if you have five years worth of food and the latest Socko-Whammo M5000 rifle, if you get out of breath walking from the Laz-E-Boy to the front door, your butt is toast. In the time it takes to turn around or get up from bed, the younger, faster and much slimmer raider is going to disarm you, push you on the floor and watch you flounder around like a turtle on its back.
Don't fall for this imaginary world presented online where the "feisty, he-may-be-slow-but-is-crafty old timer" defeats innumerable hoardes of city dwelling, welfare abusing, don't get it, yuppie raiders. Those who adapt first in the post-SHTF world will win. And they will win by being prepared now in the pre-SHTF world.
Showing posts with label end of the world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end of the world. Show all posts
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Prepare: Getting Started Part One
I just finished reading an online preparedness fiction story. It went the usual way..
Man wants to get prepared. Has a retirement account, savings, inheritance, great credit and regular income. He makes a list of things needed for a fallout shelter, weapons, food and other supplies and within two years, is ready to ride out a nuclear attack which fortunately happens right when he completes his project.
For normal folks like us, this sort of story is depressing. I don't know about you, but I don't have fifty thousand dollars for an inground, sixteen hudred square foot shelter. I don't have five thousand for a year supply of LTS food for two. I don't have ten thousand laying around for a Springfield M1A, a fifty caliber sniper rifle or thousands of rounds of ammunition.
If I were new to prepping, and found a survival themed forum and read one of these stories, with it's over the top American Safe Rooms doors, Canning Pantry canners, or Slumberjack sleep systems, I would feel compelled to turn off the computer and invest in some cyanide for the Big Day.
If this sounds like you, don't run out to the hardware store for some rat poison yet. Like the saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", prepping is the same way. One step at a time.
Survival, in any situation, can be broken down into small pieces. For instance, food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, protection and medical. Each of these can be tackled reasonably as long as there are reasonable goals set. Jumping off the couch to make a one time purchase of food for five for one year is simply not doable for most of us. However, anyone can successfully stock one week of food, two weeks of water, or four working flashlights with batteries without going to too much trouble.
So, get ready to begin the journey of a thousand miles, one step at a time.
Man wants to get prepared. Has a retirement account, savings, inheritance, great credit and regular income. He makes a list of things needed for a fallout shelter, weapons, food and other supplies and within two years, is ready to ride out a nuclear attack which fortunately happens right when he completes his project.
For normal folks like us, this sort of story is depressing. I don't know about you, but I don't have fifty thousand dollars for an inground, sixteen hudred square foot shelter. I don't have five thousand for a year supply of LTS food for two. I don't have ten thousand laying around for a Springfield M1A, a fifty caliber sniper rifle or thousands of rounds of ammunition.
If I were new to prepping, and found a survival themed forum and read one of these stories, with it's over the top American Safe Rooms doors, Canning Pantry canners, or Slumberjack sleep systems, I would feel compelled to turn off the computer and invest in some cyanide for the Big Day.
If this sounds like you, don't run out to the hardware store for some rat poison yet. Like the saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", prepping is the same way. One step at a time.
Survival, in any situation, can be broken down into small pieces. For instance, food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, protection and medical. Each of these can be tackled reasonably as long as there are reasonable goals set. Jumping off the couch to make a one time purchase of food for five for one year is simply not doable for most of us. However, anyone can successfully stock one week of food, two weeks of water, or four working flashlights with batteries without going to too much trouble.
So, get ready to begin the journey of a thousand miles, one step at a time.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Prepare: Is Prepping an American thing?
One of the frequest readers to Prepare (Frugal UK, shout out!), asked if the obsession with the end of the world was an American thing. In relation, there does not seem to be the same concern in the UK.
Fair question. Here's my take on it...
I don't have any numbers of how many "preppers" there are in the US. And I don't know how many people are concerned about the end of the world. Fortunately, that sort of data is not collected by pollsters and that's good news because most die hard preppers don't want anyone to know what they are up to.
How did it get started?
Go back to the Cold War. America was locked in a multi-national tug of war with the Soviet Union. The stakes were high; both had large land and sea forces and a stockpile of nukes if matters got out of hand.
For the first time, Americans were faced with the prospect of a foreign nation being able to lob bombs on their cities from a variety of locations - land, sea and air. Up until then, the US had two oceans separating them from the problems Europe and Asia had dealt with for hundreds of years - war and potential occupation.
From the late 50's to the mid 1960's, America embarked on a national campaign of "civil defense". Government and individuals would prepare shelters in the event of nuclear war and would stock those shelters to ride out fallout from atomic weapons. Americans began stockpiling food (canned and dry goods), water, batteries and other supplies into their basements or backyard fallout shelters. The "prepper" was mainstream and lived in the suburbs.
With the 1970's, the civil defense movement waned (for a number of reasons) as Americans drifted through detente and turbulence at home. Then, with the recession of the late 70's, Americans discovered that the post WWII system of robust economic growth was collapsing and when combined with rapid social changes and constant confrontation abroad with the Soviet Union and new regional powers, had the forboding feeling that doom was imminent.
The American self image was shaken. Not only could we be attacked by what seemed, a much more powerful Soviet Union, our institutions of work, marriage and community were clearly not as strong as they appeared to be in the previous generation.
Whether it be riots in the late 60's, the deterioration of the American city, rampant crime, inflation, or corruption, American was not what it used to be and its best days seemed to be behind it.
Americans dug inward. Prepare for the worse, but hope for the best. During this period, from the late 70's to the end of the 80's, America and American culture, began prepping for the end of the world.
Not only was the modern survivalist movement born, but pop culture reflected the growing concern and facination Americans had with the apocalypse. Books like "The Stand" were published. Movies like "The Road Warrior" and "Red Dawn" were blockbusters at the theatres.
The 80's post-apocalyptic movement settled down with the advent of the 1990's and the end of the Soviet Union. But with the same era, came a host of new concerns. The potential for an overbearing, insidious federal government, encroachment by the United Nations, the rise of terrorism overseas and the potential for some sort of Balkan style dissolution of the US in the near future.
And then the decade ended with the single event which most defined the modern, post-Cold War prepper movement: Y2K. The collapse of a computer based society due to an oversight in software coding.
Overnight, millions of people who normally would be concerned with the latest news on the nascent Internet or the value of their stock portfolio became concerned about a technology induced shutdown of Western civilization. A remote rural retreat, a stack of gold coins and canned goods sounded pretty good to a society faced with the sudden and disasterous loss of all power, communications and transport.
Of course, the event never happened, but shortly afterwards, 9/11 did. America, after thirty years of internal anxiety saw their worse fears realized. War had come to their shores.
Again, sales in stored foods and bottled water went up, but so did demand for gas masks and Geiger counters. A rural home would not attract the attention of terrorists they thought, and so once again, a remote location seemed appealing to millions.
Toss in ten years of natural disasters, fires, blackouts and terror threats and the world becomes a pretty scary place.
Today. Take everything which has happened in the past generation and combine it with the current economic and social climate in the US and one has to wonder why the whole country is not digging a fallout shelter in the backyard and pulling the door closed behind them.
To be fair, Most Americans go about their business and are more concerned about keeping their job (most likely urban), paying their mortgage (most likely suburban) and keeping the lights on than they are about a foreign army marching down their street or a plague depopulating the earth.
However, whether it is a national best seller like "One Second After" or Tivo'ing a Discovery Channel documentary on 2012, Americans continue to be open to that little voice in the back of their head which tells them to "fill up the car before the weekend, grab that extra case of water at the grocery store or make a run to the warehouse store to do a little shopping..."
After all, it can't hurt - just in case.
And that might explain why we do the things we do here in the US.
Fair question. Here's my take on it...
I don't have any numbers of how many "preppers" there are in the US. And I don't know how many people are concerned about the end of the world. Fortunately, that sort of data is not collected by pollsters and that's good news because most die hard preppers don't want anyone to know what they are up to.
How did it get started?
Go back to the Cold War. America was locked in a multi-national tug of war with the Soviet Union. The stakes were high; both had large land and sea forces and a stockpile of nukes if matters got out of hand.
For the first time, Americans were faced with the prospect of a foreign nation being able to lob bombs on their cities from a variety of locations - land, sea and air. Up until then, the US had two oceans separating them from the problems Europe and Asia had dealt with for hundreds of years - war and potential occupation.
From the late 50's to the mid 1960's, America embarked on a national campaign of "civil defense". Government and individuals would prepare shelters in the event of nuclear war and would stock those shelters to ride out fallout from atomic weapons. Americans began stockpiling food (canned and dry goods), water, batteries and other supplies into their basements or backyard fallout shelters. The "prepper" was mainstream and lived in the suburbs.
With the 1970's, the civil defense movement waned (for a number of reasons) as Americans drifted through detente and turbulence at home. Then, with the recession of the late 70's, Americans discovered that the post WWII system of robust economic growth was collapsing and when combined with rapid social changes and constant confrontation abroad with the Soviet Union and new regional powers, had the forboding feeling that doom was imminent.
The American self image was shaken. Not only could we be attacked by what seemed, a much more powerful Soviet Union, our institutions of work, marriage and community were clearly not as strong as they appeared to be in the previous generation.
Whether it be riots in the late 60's, the deterioration of the American city, rampant crime, inflation, or corruption, American was not what it used to be and its best days seemed to be behind it.
Americans dug inward. Prepare for the worse, but hope for the best. During this period, from the late 70's to the end of the 80's, America and American culture, began prepping for the end of the world.
Not only was the modern survivalist movement born, but pop culture reflected the growing concern and facination Americans had with the apocalypse. Books like "The Stand" were published. Movies like "The Road Warrior" and "Red Dawn" were blockbusters at the theatres.
The 80's post-apocalyptic movement settled down with the advent of the 1990's and the end of the Soviet Union. But with the same era, came a host of new concerns. The potential for an overbearing, insidious federal government, encroachment by the United Nations, the rise of terrorism overseas and the potential for some sort of Balkan style dissolution of the US in the near future.
And then the decade ended with the single event which most defined the modern, post-Cold War prepper movement: Y2K. The collapse of a computer based society due to an oversight in software coding.
Overnight, millions of people who normally would be concerned with the latest news on the nascent Internet or the value of their stock portfolio became concerned about a technology induced shutdown of Western civilization. A remote rural retreat, a stack of gold coins and canned goods sounded pretty good to a society faced with the sudden and disasterous loss of all power, communications and transport.
Of course, the event never happened, but shortly afterwards, 9/11 did. America, after thirty years of internal anxiety saw their worse fears realized. War had come to their shores.
Again, sales in stored foods and bottled water went up, but so did demand for gas masks and Geiger counters. A rural home would not attract the attention of terrorists they thought, and so once again, a remote location seemed appealing to millions.
Toss in ten years of natural disasters, fires, blackouts and terror threats and the world becomes a pretty scary place.
Today. Take everything which has happened in the past generation and combine it with the current economic and social climate in the US and one has to wonder why the whole country is not digging a fallout shelter in the backyard and pulling the door closed behind them.
To be fair, Most Americans go about their business and are more concerned about keeping their job (most likely urban), paying their mortgage (most likely suburban) and keeping the lights on than they are about a foreign army marching down their street or a plague depopulating the earth.
However, whether it is a national best seller like "One Second After" or Tivo'ing a Discovery Channel documentary on 2012, Americans continue to be open to that little voice in the back of their head which tells them to "fill up the car before the weekend, grab that extra case of water at the grocery store or make a run to the warehouse store to do a little shopping..."
After all, it can't hurt - just in case.
And that might explain why we do the things we do here in the US.
Monday, August 16, 2010
SHTF: Some hard facts
Let's take a Katrina situation times 100. 100 major US cities facing the same scenario as Katrina but due to a variety of causes.
Weather event, terrorisim, global war, cataclysmic event like EMP and so on.
FACT NUMBER ONE - The government will be slow to respond, (if at all) and states, cities and communities will be on their own indefinately.
It took the Federal government five days to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. (The state of LA did viritually nothing). Surrounding states (Arkansas and Texas) sent help, but that was because they had no problems where they were.
Help came to New Orleans from the US and other countries because it was the only disaster that day.
Now, imagine the problem was in 100 cities across the nation. There will be no federal help for weeks; no FEMA, no MRE handouts, no regular military backing up police. Nothing. Some cities will get preferred help because their homestate politician is further up the food chain than others and thus they will go to the head of the line. Soldiers and resources (food, generators, fuel, etc) will be ordered to leave location X and depart for location A because politician in DC said so.
Also, no states will be able to send help to their neighbors as they will have problems of their own. State 17 will keep his resources for his own people rather than cross the border into State 19 to help the afflicted there.
And smaller towns and communities can expect nothing from any organized relief effort other than what they put together on their own. No Guard units will roll in with water purification or meals; those resources will go to the top dogs first - if they are ever deployed.
FACT NUMBER TWO - The healthy will be in better shape than the infirm, elderly or sick.
Sounds right on paper, but consider what this means. The residents of nursing homes the night Katrina hit landfall were in many cases, left on their own. The chronically ill in hospitals were made as comfortable as possible, but many passed away without power, medical help or aid. Those unable to leave the home due to medical reasons, were sometimes left behind.
People on ventilators, or carrying portable oxygen or riding around in a scooter are going to be in trouble. So will the type one diabetic and the premature infant.
The victims will be fathers, mothers, grandparents, children and friends. If you are in good health, stay that way. If you have children, feed them right and make them excersize. If you have habits which can lead to poor health, stop now. If you care for another family member with health issues, take steps to provide for them as long as possible after an event.
FACT NUMBER THREE - Communications will be sporadic, information will be incorrect and often, will be dishonest.
If the US had 100 cities basically stop functioning, modern communiciations would come to a standstill. Cell phones, landline service, cable tv, and satellite would cease to function or would have limited availability.
Other communications channels such as private radio, CB, pagers and shortwave are used by only a small percentage of the population. Most people will either have no reliable means for communications outside of their immediate area and will know nothing.
Much of the information shared by both official and unofficial sources will be second guessing, wild speculation and conjecture.
And finally, those in charge will possibly cover up the scale, magnitude and severity of the situation to avoid greater panic and destruction. In a nutshell, our public servants may lie to us just to keep the lid on things for a few extra days.
FACT NUMBER FOUR - There won't be enough to eat and it will get worse.
Americans love their food and love to eat. Three or more meals a day, snacks and soft drinks are part of our daily ritual.
The US produces a huge amount of the world's food. It requires massive amounts of fuel, labor and technology. And a complex web of supply chain management to get it from the "farm to the fork".
When the pieces break, the rest of the system breaks down as well. The stores and restaurants will run dry. The military will run out of emergency food (Meals Ready To Eat) eventually. Seizing stored food from warehouses and restaurants will only make a small dent in the need as will taking food from individuals and redistributing it. Unless production is maintained, the food will be consumed and run out.
Then what? Unless some unaffected, generous and transport rich magical land steps in, the citizens of the US will go hungry and quickly. It is no surprise that there is no nation on earth which can produce and ship (key word) to the US the amount of food needed to sustain the population. There will be starvation.
FACT NUMBER FIVE - Large is bad and small is good post-SHTF.
A central government making demands and issuing orders to all corners of the country will be ineffective at solving problems, only at causing unrest and confusion.
It amazes me that when there is a problem, the solution for so many is to create a larger organization with further reaching territory to address it. That model rarely works.
A small community, banded together by common goals (and sometimes by force), will survive. But only if they have the resources and where with all to provide for themselves. Arid land, irregular water supply, lack of able bodies and short term goals will only hasten their imminent demise. So better to be in a place with usuable resources and population able to provide physical labor.
Like Joe Friday said, "Just the facts ma'am". That's what we have to deal with now. The facts. Anything else is pretending and pretend is a game for children. Time to get ready.
This post brought to you by Carla Emery's timeless classic...
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Weather event, terrorisim, global war, cataclysmic event like EMP and so on.
FACT NUMBER ONE - The government will be slow to respond, (if at all) and states, cities and communities will be on their own indefinately.
It took the Federal government five days to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. (The state of LA did viritually nothing). Surrounding states (Arkansas and Texas) sent help, but that was because they had no problems where they were.
Help came to New Orleans from the US and other countries because it was the only disaster that day.
Now, imagine the problem was in 100 cities across the nation. There will be no federal help for weeks; no FEMA, no MRE handouts, no regular military backing up police. Nothing. Some cities will get preferred help because their homestate politician is further up the food chain than others and thus they will go to the head of the line. Soldiers and resources (food, generators, fuel, etc) will be ordered to leave location X and depart for location A because politician in DC said so.
Also, no states will be able to send help to their neighbors as they will have problems of their own. State 17 will keep his resources for his own people rather than cross the border into State 19 to help the afflicted there.
And smaller towns and communities can expect nothing from any organized relief effort other than what they put together on their own. No Guard units will roll in with water purification or meals; those resources will go to the top dogs first - if they are ever deployed.
FACT NUMBER TWO - The healthy will be in better shape than the infirm, elderly or sick.
Sounds right on paper, but consider what this means. The residents of nursing homes the night Katrina hit landfall were in many cases, left on their own. The chronically ill in hospitals were made as comfortable as possible, but many passed away without power, medical help or aid. Those unable to leave the home due to medical reasons, were sometimes left behind.
People on ventilators, or carrying portable oxygen or riding around in a scooter are going to be in trouble. So will the type one diabetic and the premature infant.
The victims will be fathers, mothers, grandparents, children and friends. If you are in good health, stay that way. If you have children, feed them right and make them excersize. If you have habits which can lead to poor health, stop now. If you care for another family member with health issues, take steps to provide for them as long as possible after an event.
FACT NUMBER THREE - Communications will be sporadic, information will be incorrect and often, will be dishonest.
If the US had 100 cities basically stop functioning, modern communiciations would come to a standstill. Cell phones, landline service, cable tv, and satellite would cease to function or would have limited availability.
Other communications channels such as private radio, CB, pagers and shortwave are used by only a small percentage of the population. Most people will either have no reliable means for communications outside of their immediate area and will know nothing.
Much of the information shared by both official and unofficial sources will be second guessing, wild speculation and conjecture.
And finally, those in charge will possibly cover up the scale, magnitude and severity of the situation to avoid greater panic and destruction. In a nutshell, our public servants may lie to us just to keep the lid on things for a few extra days.
FACT NUMBER FOUR - There won't be enough to eat and it will get worse.
Americans love their food and love to eat. Three or more meals a day, snacks and soft drinks are part of our daily ritual.
The US produces a huge amount of the world's food. It requires massive amounts of fuel, labor and technology. And a complex web of supply chain management to get it from the "farm to the fork".
When the pieces break, the rest of the system breaks down as well. The stores and restaurants will run dry. The military will run out of emergency food (Meals Ready To Eat) eventually. Seizing stored food from warehouses and restaurants will only make a small dent in the need as will taking food from individuals and redistributing it. Unless production is maintained, the food will be consumed and run out.
Then what? Unless some unaffected, generous and transport rich magical land steps in, the citizens of the US will go hungry and quickly. It is no surprise that there is no nation on earth which can produce and ship (key word) to the US the amount of food needed to sustain the population. There will be starvation.
FACT NUMBER FIVE - Large is bad and small is good post-SHTF.
A central government making demands and issuing orders to all corners of the country will be ineffective at solving problems, only at causing unrest and confusion.
It amazes me that when there is a problem, the solution for so many is to create a larger organization with further reaching territory to address it. That model rarely works.
A small community, banded together by common goals (and sometimes by force), will survive. But only if they have the resources and where with all to provide for themselves. Arid land, irregular water supply, lack of able bodies and short term goals will only hasten their imminent demise. So better to be in a place with usuable resources and population able to provide physical labor.
Like Joe Friday said, "Just the facts ma'am". That's what we have to deal with now. The facts. Anything else is pretending and pretend is a game for children. Time to get ready.
This post brought to you by Carla Emery's timeless classic...
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Prepare: Vivos
Vivos is selling spaces in their deluxe shelters for the low cost of $50,000.00 for adults with discounts for children. Pets are free.
The shelters will include spacious private living quarters, gourmet food for one year, power, clean water, and fortified protection from all sorts of events.
The website is sharp. Lots of illustrations and graphics of shelter layout and design, videos of possible scenarios, and a map of possible shelter locations.
Here's a few problems...
1) None of the shelters have been built. According to the website, construction on the first one begins in 2010, but none are complete now.
2) The shelters have a maximum occupancy rating and no staff. What happens, if any of these shelters are completed, a catastrophic event occurs and Shelter Purchaser Bob shows up with his extended family, neighbors and co-workers? Who keeps the non-payers out?
3) The videos showing scenarios are all lifted from other sources. Not really a problem, but there is something "easy" about including them.
4) None of the principals behind Vivos are featured. Nor is there any information about building timelines or approvals for shelter construction.
5) Some of the photos of features are actually photos from missile silos which are available online. That smells funny to me.
I don't know. $50,000.00 per adult and there is so little information about the company. Seems fishy.
For that much money, about $100,000.00 for a family of four, one could buy a nice piece of rural land, drill a well, put up a functional home and stock it for multiple years. That might be a better option for some.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Prepare: America + 30 - A New Day!
Good Morning Citizen! It's another glorious day in America! The future starts with us! Today is November 3, 2038! Let's get moving!
It's a typical Monday morning in new America. Your combination phone, computer and personal digital assistant alerts you that it is 7AM and everyone in your district must be up by that time.
Since its Monday, you don't get a shower this morning; your shower days are Tuesday and Friday and every other Sunday. So you take one of your three daily Wipes from the dispenser on the wall and give yourself a good clean up. Things go fast because you no longer have to shave (shaving wastes water) and you no longer have to brush your teeth. Rather you stick a rubber mouth cleaner in for 30 seconds and you are done.
You have your hair and beard cropped as close a possible. Washing hair wastes too much water and long hair attracts lice, so hair care is a breeze in the New America.
You get dressed, again easy as you only have a choice of two outfits. Both feature khaki pants and a blue denim shirt and both are made from a synthetic material which repels stains, is fireproof, water proof and can only be cleaned at a state approved cleaners once a month. Sure, you have bit of body odor, but everybody does these days, don't they?
Your shoes are slip on, made from the same material as your clothing and without any sort of laces or other decoration. Shoe laces were banned years ago as they were unsafe for children and could be used for purposes other than shoes.
You leave your one room apartment without having to lock the doors or turn off the lights. Electricity is shutdown at all homes during work hours and there are no locks on doors any longer. Nobody has anything to steal and only criminals would want to lock their fellow citizens out of their home.
You take the five flights of stairs down (elevator use is strictly controlled and only available for key facilities as they use electricity and do not encourage healthy living or exercise. Besides, you have heard stories about people being trapped in elevators in older building and who were not found until the smell alerted other citizens) to the street level.
You have to walk six blocks to the transportation center to catch your assigned bus and train to work. There are no vehicles on the streets any longer except those approved by the City such as law enforcement vehicles. The streets are clogged with people and piles of trash. The garbage workers are on strike again as they fight to keep their three day work week and pension plans for extended family members. While you support their efforts to maintain work place parity, you sure wish someone would pick up the trash.
Your stomach is rumbling but breakfast is an hour away at work. Most citizens no longer keep food at home so everyone eats at work or at approved city run cafeterias. Keeping food at home is dirty and may attract pests. Further, what if someone ate something which was unhealthy, or had been stored improperly and which resulted in them getting sick? Besides, food at home only encouraged hoarding and overeating and America's First Mother is first and foremost concerned with fighting obesity and making sure everyone gets their share.
At the transport center you wait in line for your bus. A large woman with a baton is pushing everyone back away from the barrier as the first buses arrive. As the old diesel buses come to a stop, a giant burp of black smoke issues from the lead bus clouding the commuters. All buses run on clean bio-mass diesel or electricity, but occasionally, a terrorist will tamper with the engines to make citizens think the buses are still running on petroleum products. It's ridiculous because everyone know that America does not run on any refined oil at all and hasn't for over 15 years.
The baton wielding woman pulls a man from the line and he is immediately accosted by three black uniformed guards. Turns out the citizen did not have the proper boarding pass for this transport center. While the man screams about his need to get to work in time, the guards drag him to a holding cell for questioning. Sometimes it boggles the mind how people still fail to understand the system.
Once on the bus, you move to the middle to stand in your assigned square, number 78. While it is normal to be a little out of place, everyone knows to sit or stand where they are supposed to in order to ensure an orderly and safe ride. In six years you will be eligible for a seat toward the back of the bus. If only you could find an black market income evader or other criminal and then you could really ride in style in one of the big seats up front!
After fifteen bone jarring minutes (the potholes and poor street conditions are the result on ongoing terrorist activities), you arrive at the train station for the final leg of your journey. While some of the trains are as much as 40 or 50 years old, there is word some new, modern cars will be joining the fleet with the newest round of American Investment Funding approved by the Joint Congress this past year. Hopefully you will get a seat on one these new cars; they are supposed to be really swanky.
You hang onto the rusty center pole in your car and brace for the 20 minute ride. An old woman once said to you it was like a "rolly coaster". What a negative old bird she was. Probably just hates progress.
The ride only lasts 10 minutes as the car comes to a stop suddenly. The tinny speaker on the wall alerts riders that a breakdown has occurred further up the line after terrorists shorted out the signaling system. Darn it! You are going to be late for work and might even miss breakfast! Suddenly the car lurches forward without warning. "Hooray for New America!" the speak blats to the commuters huddled and packed in the car.
Only two minutes late, your train arrives at Station 17, the one which serves your work park. Row after row of low office buildings and warehouses stretch down the broad lane. Here in building 44, you help repair and assemble traffic signals and street lights for the City. You earned this job four years ago as part of Infrastructure Stimulus 82 and it was a step up from your last job of septic tank dismantling and decommissioning.
You clock in with your palm at one of the entry stations and then hurry to your ready site. There the supervisor will scan your palm again and download your work orders to your digital assistant. At the end of the day your quota and hours will be computed and your compensation adjusted. Its a swell and effective system.
10 minutes later and it breakfast! You line up with the other 600 workers on Shift A, grab a tray and work your way down the line. Today is Tofu Scramble, Just Like Oranges, and Shingles. A big glass of Sunny Sometimes Soy and you are just full enough to look forward to lunch. You take your clean, wiped tray to the drop off where it will be sprayed with disinfectant and reused by one of the others still in line.
Off to work. Your work bench is home to 30 other workers like yourself. The supervisor on the floor is a big woman who carries a reminder baton to keep people focused. America has always been the manufacturing leader of the world and others are counting you on to get the job done. Let's keep New America moving!
After four hours, the line stops and everyone stands at attention. The lights are dimmed and the President gives a quick pep talk about duty and hard work. While he is nearly 80, his eyes are still full of the bright fire which brought him to the post during the Dark Years. What a speaker! Next, your union chief appears on the screen and reminds everyone that dues are coming up on the 15th and everyone is required to put in an additional four hours of work to cover the costs. The benefits of the union are legion. Imagine that 25 years ago, people were forced to work up to 18 hours a day each day of the week! Thankfully, the union fought for the 6 day work week we enjoy today. If you had a City Job you would enjoy the 3 day work week like the garbage collectors had, but those jobs are reserved for Key Workers only.
The Lunch bell sounds and its time to scurry to the Cafeteria again. First, the Pledge of Progress is repeated then it's chow time! The Real Burger (made from reconstituted soy and vegetable by products), Broc-i-gus (All of us love Broc-i-Gus!) and Power Pudding are on the menu today. Just enough to keep the old motors running until dinner.
Back to the line, work, then inspection and then, as the sun sets on another day, its quitting time!
By 8PM you are on the platform waiting for your train in a sea of grimy, blue and khaki citizens. A whistle sounds and everyone presses forward to the opening train doors. Only one train and then no more until 7 AM the next day.
Once back to the transport station, the buses are not an option. You have to walk the full 15 blocks back to your apartment. You travel through a neighborhood where Key Workers and supervisors live. Their apartment buildings are slightly larger, cleaner and sometimes even new. Some have small carports attached which house new model government marked hybrids.
This is where the earliest supporters of Progress came from. The Key Workers and supporters who championed for a New America all those years ago. The City and State Workers who made so many sacrifices for America and its infrastructure. The neighborhood activists who fought the racists, the speculators, the power brokers and all the rest who shrank and pinched the middle (Only) class.
Your father was a naysayer. He was an adjuster one of the old insurance companies. And no matter how much you loved him, he was just another greedy corporate drone who would do anything to hurt the Common Man. Because of your father, you were late to the game and saddled with his legacy. You were proud to work Stimulus Jobs, but wished you could move up. Get a better job. Maybe get approved for marriage and a family.
But for now, all you could do was wait.
You make it to the walk thru Cafeteria and grab your assigned meal bag. Something greasy has leaked inside, but that's okay. You can be assured that whatever is in a meal bag is good, good for you and good for the Earth.
When you finally trudge home after 10PM, the building supervisor informs you that your belongings have been moved to the seventh floor to a smaller apartment. A new family has arrived from Bangladesh and needs the space. You tell the super you are proud to do your duty and to welcome a new family to America. You then offer to help them move their possessions.
By midnight you are in your new apartment. The door bangs the bed when it opens and there is no sink, just a Wipes dispenser on the wall. The shower is on the sixth floor so you have to be up at 5 AM to get your Tuesday slot. Before you drop off, you remember the children from Bangladesh whose parents received your old apartment. Children. There were so few these days and he could not think of anyone who was allowed to have them yet. How exciting. There would be kids in the building. Good night, New America!
It's a typical Monday morning in new America. Your combination phone, computer and personal digital assistant alerts you that it is 7AM and everyone in your district must be up by that time.
Since its Monday, you don't get a shower this morning; your shower days are Tuesday and Friday and every other Sunday. So you take one of your three daily Wipes from the dispenser on the wall and give yourself a good clean up. Things go fast because you no longer have to shave (shaving wastes water) and you no longer have to brush your teeth. Rather you stick a rubber mouth cleaner in for 30 seconds and you are done.
You have your hair and beard cropped as close a possible. Washing hair wastes too much water and long hair attracts lice, so hair care is a breeze in the New America.
You get dressed, again easy as you only have a choice of two outfits. Both feature khaki pants and a blue denim shirt and both are made from a synthetic material which repels stains, is fireproof, water proof and can only be cleaned at a state approved cleaners once a month. Sure, you have bit of body odor, but everybody does these days, don't they?
Your shoes are slip on, made from the same material as your clothing and without any sort of laces or other decoration. Shoe laces were banned years ago as they were unsafe for children and could be used for purposes other than shoes.
You leave your one room apartment without having to lock the doors or turn off the lights. Electricity is shutdown at all homes during work hours and there are no locks on doors any longer. Nobody has anything to steal and only criminals would want to lock their fellow citizens out of their home.
You take the five flights of stairs down (elevator use is strictly controlled and only available for key facilities as they use electricity and do not encourage healthy living or exercise. Besides, you have heard stories about people being trapped in elevators in older building and who were not found until the smell alerted other citizens) to the street level.
You have to walk six blocks to the transportation center to catch your assigned bus and train to work. There are no vehicles on the streets any longer except those approved by the City such as law enforcement vehicles. The streets are clogged with people and piles of trash. The garbage workers are on strike again as they fight to keep their three day work week and pension plans for extended family members. While you support their efforts to maintain work place parity, you sure wish someone would pick up the trash.
Your stomach is rumbling but breakfast is an hour away at work. Most citizens no longer keep food at home so everyone eats at work or at approved city run cafeterias. Keeping food at home is dirty and may attract pests. Further, what if someone ate something which was unhealthy, or had been stored improperly and which resulted in them getting sick? Besides, food at home only encouraged hoarding and overeating and America's First Mother is first and foremost concerned with fighting obesity and making sure everyone gets their share.
At the transport center you wait in line for your bus. A large woman with a baton is pushing everyone back away from the barrier as the first buses arrive. As the old diesel buses come to a stop, a giant burp of black smoke issues from the lead bus clouding the commuters. All buses run on clean bio-mass diesel or electricity, but occasionally, a terrorist will tamper with the engines to make citizens think the buses are still running on petroleum products. It's ridiculous because everyone know that America does not run on any refined oil at all and hasn't for over 15 years.
The baton wielding woman pulls a man from the line and he is immediately accosted by three black uniformed guards. Turns out the citizen did not have the proper boarding pass for this transport center. While the man screams about his need to get to work in time, the guards drag him to a holding cell for questioning. Sometimes it boggles the mind how people still fail to understand the system.
Once on the bus, you move to the middle to stand in your assigned square, number 78. While it is normal to be a little out of place, everyone knows to sit or stand where they are supposed to in order to ensure an orderly and safe ride. In six years you will be eligible for a seat toward the back of the bus. If only you could find an black market income evader or other criminal and then you could really ride in style in one of the big seats up front!
After fifteen bone jarring minutes (the potholes and poor street conditions are the result on ongoing terrorist activities), you arrive at the train station for the final leg of your journey. While some of the trains are as much as 40 or 50 years old, there is word some new, modern cars will be joining the fleet with the newest round of American Investment Funding approved by the Joint Congress this past year. Hopefully you will get a seat on one these new cars; they are supposed to be really swanky.
You hang onto the rusty center pole in your car and brace for the 20 minute ride. An old woman once said to you it was like a "rolly coaster". What a negative old bird she was. Probably just hates progress.
The ride only lasts 10 minutes as the car comes to a stop suddenly. The tinny speaker on the wall alerts riders that a breakdown has occurred further up the line after terrorists shorted out the signaling system. Darn it! You are going to be late for work and might even miss breakfast! Suddenly the car lurches forward without warning. "Hooray for New America!" the speak blats to the commuters huddled and packed in the car.
Only two minutes late, your train arrives at Station 17, the one which serves your work park. Row after row of low office buildings and warehouses stretch down the broad lane. Here in building 44, you help repair and assemble traffic signals and street lights for the City. You earned this job four years ago as part of Infrastructure Stimulus 82 and it was a step up from your last job of septic tank dismantling and decommissioning.
You clock in with your palm at one of the entry stations and then hurry to your ready site. There the supervisor will scan your palm again and download your work orders to your digital assistant. At the end of the day your quota and hours will be computed and your compensation adjusted. Its a swell and effective system.
10 minutes later and it breakfast! You line up with the other 600 workers on Shift A, grab a tray and work your way down the line. Today is Tofu Scramble, Just Like Oranges, and Shingles. A big glass of Sunny Sometimes Soy and you are just full enough to look forward to lunch. You take your clean, wiped tray to the drop off where it will be sprayed with disinfectant and reused by one of the others still in line.
Off to work. Your work bench is home to 30 other workers like yourself. The supervisor on the floor is a big woman who carries a reminder baton to keep people focused. America has always been the manufacturing leader of the world and others are counting you on to get the job done. Let's keep New America moving!
After four hours, the line stops and everyone stands at attention. The lights are dimmed and the President gives a quick pep talk about duty and hard work. While he is nearly 80, his eyes are still full of the bright fire which brought him to the post during the Dark Years. What a speaker! Next, your union chief appears on the screen and reminds everyone that dues are coming up on the 15th and everyone is required to put in an additional four hours of work to cover the costs. The benefits of the union are legion. Imagine that 25 years ago, people were forced to work up to 18 hours a day each day of the week! Thankfully, the union fought for the 6 day work week we enjoy today. If you had a City Job you would enjoy the 3 day work week like the garbage collectors had, but those jobs are reserved for Key Workers only.
The Lunch bell sounds and its time to scurry to the Cafeteria again. First, the Pledge of Progress is repeated then it's chow time! The Real Burger (made from reconstituted soy and vegetable by products), Broc-i-gus (All of us love Broc-i-Gus!) and Power Pudding are on the menu today. Just enough to keep the old motors running until dinner.
Back to the line, work, then inspection and then, as the sun sets on another day, its quitting time!
By 8PM you are on the platform waiting for your train in a sea of grimy, blue and khaki citizens. A whistle sounds and everyone presses forward to the opening train doors. Only one train and then no more until 7 AM the next day.
Once back to the transport station, the buses are not an option. You have to walk the full 15 blocks back to your apartment. You travel through a neighborhood where Key Workers and supervisors live. Their apartment buildings are slightly larger, cleaner and sometimes even new. Some have small carports attached which house new model government marked hybrids.
This is where the earliest supporters of Progress came from. The Key Workers and supporters who championed for a New America all those years ago. The City and State Workers who made so many sacrifices for America and its infrastructure. The neighborhood activists who fought the racists, the speculators, the power brokers and all the rest who shrank and pinched the middle (Only) class.
Your father was a naysayer. He was an adjuster one of the old insurance companies. And no matter how much you loved him, he was just another greedy corporate drone who would do anything to hurt the Common Man. Because of your father, you were late to the game and saddled with his legacy. You were proud to work Stimulus Jobs, but wished you could move up. Get a better job. Maybe get approved for marriage and a family.
But for now, all you could do was wait.
You make it to the walk thru Cafeteria and grab your assigned meal bag. Something greasy has leaked inside, but that's okay. You can be assured that whatever is in a meal bag is good, good for you and good for the Earth.
When you finally trudge home after 10PM, the building supervisor informs you that your belongings have been moved to the seventh floor to a smaller apartment. A new family has arrived from Bangladesh and needs the space. You tell the super you are proud to do your duty and to welcome a new family to America. You then offer to help them move their possessions.
By midnight you are in your new apartment. The door bangs the bed when it opens and there is no sink, just a Wipes dispenser on the wall. The shower is on the sixth floor so you have to be up at 5 AM to get your Tuesday slot. Before you drop off, you remember the children from Bangladesh whose parents received your old apartment. Children. There were so few these days and he could not think of anyone who was allowed to have them yet. How exciting. There would be kids in the building. Good night, New America!
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
SHTF Fiction: Too Bad, So Sad
How about some home made SHTF fiction courtesy of me? I am working on a new site for this stuff and penned a quick tale today to share. Standard stuff applies.. It's my story. No you can't reprint it without my written permission and if I catch you doing so, watch out for my big legal boot.
Enjoy!
IT happened about halfway through my standard Thursday night dinner - two McDonald Quarter Pounders, two large fries and a six pack of Miller's Genuine Draft. That ego maniac president came on and stated the obvious - the US was broke. There would be no more welfare, social security or food stamps. In an effort to collect outstanding debts, the UN would be landing about a half a million blue hats tonight at airports around the country. Then he said good night and good luck and he walked off the screen.
I didn't wait to hear what happened next. I turned off the set and threw the remote across the room. It was a matter of time before law and order broke down and things went crazy. Good thing I was as prepped as best as I could be. I looked around at the guns I had acquired over the past three years. They were scattered through out the living room, kitchen and dining room (as well as in my bed room) where they would be handy for just in case. Like today.
My jaw was still on the living room floor taking in all that had happened when I heard a crash outside. Looking out the window, sure enough its a couple of the the gang banger lowlife neighbors next door knocking over my trashcans on their way to pay me a visit. I guess they figure with no welfare check coming from taxpayers LIKE ME, they plan on making a withdraw direct.
Not wasting time, I choose the right tool for the job from my armory. I pick my Mossberg 590 with extended tube, elastic side saddle, sythetic stock and muzzle break. It was loaded with 6 00 bucks I had picked up online from one of the ammo sites I read about online.
After racking a fresh shell in the pipe, I stepped out on the porch in a move I had rehearsed in my mind a dozen times "Come and get it you pieces of scum!" I yelled and let Gang Banger number one have it front and center. GB number two behind him reaches for something in his baggy pants and that give me time to rack shell two into place with his name on it. "Kaboom!", the Mossberg does it's job and makes me a happy customer.
I hustled down to the waiting bodies and turn them over looking for "war booty". Sure enough, number one has a Glock 21 in his pants along with a half dozen spare mags (no wonder his pants were failing down!). Banger two has a matching Glock with four mags and surprise - a wad of twenties and fifties. Drug money no doubt. It's mine for now and will go a long way on some last minute preps.
This was just like those end of the world stories online. I discovered them a few years back and read them every chance I get. I never bothered with buying a computer not when I could use the one in the break room at work for free. I just sneak out a few minutes early for lunch and hog it for the whole hour before anyone else can get claim it. Too bad, so sad for them.
I take my spoils and decide its time to bug out of dodge! I head for the house and grab my left over Quarter Pounder and cram half in my mouth. Gonna need some fuel to get this job done!
I start with my guns and ammo. I have more than a dozen choice pieces and thousands of rounds for each stored in .50 caliber ammo cans. The cans line my living room wall and I frequently like to get all my guns out and line them up in front of the ammo cans and just look at them. Its really cool.
Forty five minutes later and I have only managed to get the ammo into the bed of my Ford Extended Crew Cab Four by Four. I had to take two breaks and the same number of Cokes to keep the ole engine running.
By the way, who am I? My name is Bob Kirgus. I am 45, divorced and living the life on my own in a two bedroom house in a town not much different than yours. I work as foreman down at United Mail Service, you know, the guys in the red and yellow trucks. I am the local trouble maker on the job and have a great time being the "difficult one" my boss refers to at our team meetings. Ha ha! Wonder how HE'S doing with all this? Bet he has his head in some three ring manual trying to figure out the answer to S-H-T-F. Ha!
Right now, I got to get the truck loaded with food and ammo and head for the hills. I imagine this place is going to go up like a road flare once the "Don't Haves" realize there's no more free lunch.
I start on the guns and try to decide the best choices for the ride. The Mossberg for sure. And my Colt 1911A, parkerized, with laser sites and extended custom made Beaver mags and 185gr rounds. But should I include my loaded McMillian TAC-50 (cashed out my 401K for that one!) with flash suppresor in the front seat as well? What if I run across a road block like in those stories? What about my Main Battle Rifle? My loaded Springfield M1A1 Match with synthetic stock and 32 twenty round magazines loaded with Lake City (purchased after the divorce, thank you very much, from my share of the sale of the former Miss Cheapskate Ball and Chain and my home!).
By now, its been two hours since the Big Mouth's announcement and its getting late. I end up throwing all the guns in the front and back seat of the Ford and decide to play it by ear. Then I load up all the canned goods, (good stuff like Hormel chili, Spam, canned tamales, and so on) from the kitchen and grab the rest of my Cokes and Mountain Dew from the pantry. I can't decide whether to take the buckets of sugar, flour and baking stuff I planned on learning to use. In the end I just leave them and the pots and pans and whatever for the looters.
After putting the food in the truck bed, I change into my bug out clothes. A pair of jeans. t-shirt, suspenders (damn gut!), my favorite team's ball cap, photographer vest and fanny pack. I lace up my boots (with a break to catch my breath between each boot).
If you are wondering, my vest is loaded with spare mags for my Raven .25 back up gun, a dozen protein bars, two bic lighters, a compass, notebook, pen, 50" of paracord, my Streamlight tactical flashlight, spare batteries, a half dozen 12 guage slugs and buckshot, p38 can opener, rain poncho and a Cold Steel folder).
Yeah, the vest is heavy, but I got enough stuff here to save my backside in ANY situation. My fanny pack has some of the same stuff plus a roll of Charmin, flattened and stored in a two gallon Ziploc bag and some contractor trash bags.
I stuff my big blue Samsonite suitcase with jeans, t-shits and underwear and haul out for the front of the house. Damn! I forgot my toothbrush, razor and bathroom stuff. Oh well, I can get a tooth brush on the road and I might as well grow a beard. In a few weeks the thin veneer of civilization with its shaving, alimony and red and yellow United Mail Service uniforms will be HISTORY, baby!
I head out the door, but not before throwing the house keys on the couch. I won't need this place anymore! Take that fat cat Mr. Banker!
I snag my four NATO jerry cans from the garage and heave them into the back of the truck bed. Two are empty so I better grab some more fuel before I leave town. I crank up that bad boy and squeal out of the driveway and down the street.
But that has to wait because no sooner had I get around the corner when I run into trouble. Again.
A fruity looking Volvo with a "Hug the Planet" sticker on the bumper is stopped in the middle of the street. Two more gang bangers have pulled the occupants (Mr and Mrs Flower Power) out and are giving them the going over. I slam on the brakes, step out and introduce them to Mr. Springfield M1A. Bam bam bam! The bangers go down and unfortunately, Mr Flower Power took one to the head in the rush. Adrenaline I guess. Not my fault.
Mrs Flower Power, is stunned. Probably the new found respect and admiration she has for a REAL MAN like me. But its not for long. Banger on the ground is still alive and puts a nine into her back. I snap off three shots into the ground from my Springfield before number four finds the mark. No more outings for that upstanding youth as the missed rounds whine off into the night air.
Again, I help myself the leftovers. This time I end up with a Taurus nine millimeter Barretta clone and a Smith and Wesson .38 with a five inch barrel. I didn't know bangers went for classics! Some more ammo and spending money came with the deal as well. Too bad for the Flower Powers, but the tough new world probably won't come with lattes. Ha! Too bad, so sad.
I get back on the road and head for the gas station and get another dose of bad news. There is a line around the block for the four pumps. No surprise, but I don't have time to wait.
I nose the Ford in between two cars already at the pumps, a Honda and a Toyota Prius, and get out with my 1911A. I fire a round into the air and shout "We can do things my way or the hard way! What's it going to be?". Some gal screams and a guy tears away from his car for the safety of the ladies room, so I start filling my truck up.
Aboo or Habib who runs the place comes out and demands cash or no gas. No problem and I start peeling Jacksons and Grants off the bangers flash wad and Mr MidEast's eyes light up like he was in paradise and is meeting his 50 virgins. After twenty minutes (hey, I got three tanks on the truck and two of the jerry cans to fill), I get back on the road.
I got a bad case of indigestion coming on. Must have been that last burger. And my shoulder is really hurting from firing the Springfield. I wish I would have spent more time at the range but that used up ammo. I liked keeping my ammo all together and wanted as much as possible when the baloon went up. Oh well.
Nothing between me and the wilderness but.. hey, the Albertsons grocery store has some activity so I pull in. Might as well grab some spare grub while the stores are still open. Too bad though. Folks are streaming in and out with full carts. The only problem is those coming out are being relieved of their goods by those outside. Time for backup plan two! I figured this out after lunch one day reading those online stories.
I pull around back and see the loading door is open. I back the Ford up and grab my Colt Python .357 with chrome finish and Pachmeyer grips, six spare speed loaders and my 4 battery Monster Maglight. In the back door and.. wonders of wonders. Several pallets of Spam, chili, beef stew, tamales and lots of Cokes and Mountain Dew are waiting just inside the door.
I pull my Cold Steel boot knife and hack into the plastic wrap on the pallets. Next I grab a dolly and start loading cases and taking them to the Ford. About ten minutes later (and a break for the old man. This is a lot of work!), I hear someone walking into the back room. Some guy with a crew cut and white apron on comes in and asks "Hey! What are you doing?".
Might be trouble so I level the Python at him and tell him he can get in the way and in the grave or turn around and act like he saw nothing. Crew Cut wets his pants right there and starts blubbering about his mom, his auntie, some guy he's pals with named Bruce and his little dog at home and a whole bunch of other stuff. I don't have time for this so I put a round into a big stack of Depends diaper cartons to get his attention. Well ironically, that makes Crew Cut take a dump in his pants and fall on the ground babbling and bawling.
I hear feet and voices coming from the store, so I make my exit. The truck is pretty loaded down with my food from home, ammo, guns and now several cases of canned food, so it's probably best. Anyway, it was starting to stink in there.
My chest is really burning with indigestion now. It feels like theres a lead weight on it. I gotta grab some Tums or something. You never read about that happening in those adventure stories.
Now, I am on the road and heading out of town, but sure enough, I hit a road block. Well, it looked like one to me. Two cars are plowed into each other and blocking most of the road. There is some lady yelling at this old guy who looks like he's drunk. It's gotta be a trap so I better be careful.
I grab my Mossberg again, but figure its time for my FAL to get in on the action instead. I shove a 30 rounder of South African surplus in my European wonder weapon and grab a bandoleer of 16 more mags from the back set and try to step out of the cab in one quick move. But my gut hits the steering wheel and I have to raise it up to get out. The bandoleer is in my left hand so I throw it on the dash when drunk guy pounds on the passenger window.
I jumped about ten feet when that happens and I break some seriously loud wind. But that wasn't loudest thing. The FAL goes off in my right hand and takes out the whole passenger window and most of Drunk Guy's face.
Sheet! I hadn't meant to do that. I can't remember if the safety was on or not. The lady in the street goes into hysterics right then and there and won't stop screeching. No time to waste. I am sweating like a pig and my heart is going a million miles an hour. I start the truck up and back up. I put it in forward and head to the right and around the wreck in front of me. I think I rolled over the drunk guy at that point but was too amped up to think about it, I just went over the curb, grass and back onto the road leaving that screaming lady in the middle of the street.
I hope she didn't get my license plate and that had me shaking bad. I wish I had a beer or something. Damn my chest hurts. But you know what? The poop has hit the fan and the cops are going to be too busy taking care of their own families to worry about me! Too bad so sad. The guy was probably some rich banker getting drunk because his house of fiat money had collapsed. I bet he was going to hitch a ride or demand my truck. Jerk. Probably deserved it.
I was about to get on the interstate when I saw that blue and white sign calling my name - Super WalMart. I knew I needed a toothbrush and maybe a few other things. I would be living on the road and in the wilderness now and there is no better place for a few last minute preps than Wally World!
Sure enough, there was a mob going in and out, but I didn't let that stop me. I pulled around back again and went in accompanied by my good buddies, Mr Mossberg and Mrs Colt and Python. I went through the double doors in the store room into the store fully intending on heading for the pharmacy and personal items when I saw the sporting goods section was right in front of me.
Someone left the cart for a second so I tossed their stuff on the floor and snagged it. I grabbed all the twelve gauge bird shot they had on the shelf and then started loading up camping gear like lanterns, a sleeping bag, a tent, a bunch of that freeze dried food and one of those camping toilets. I was about to get some fishing stuff when I saw the ammo cabinet open.
I was deciding between Federal and Core-Lokt 30.06 when some big mouth comes up and tells me to get out of his way cause needs all the .40 caliber in the cabinet. He's got a Smith and Wesson shoved in his fancy dress pants and completely ignores my Colt in the drop leg holster, my Python in the shoulder holster and my Mossie hanging over my back. I ignore them too and went for my Raven .25 in my vest pocket.
I pointed the tiny, yet lethal weapon in his face and tell him "I don't like hoarders or fancy pants like you who forgot their manners". Fancy Pants laughs at the Raven and says "Where did you get that? From the toy department?".
I was ticked and I forgot all the firearms training I had read online. I pulled the trigger and could have shot the guy, but forgot the safety was on. Fancy Pants sneers at me and goes for his .40 but was too jazzed up. The gun went off in his pants and shot his.. well you know what off or close to it.
This big blood stain appears on the guys's pants and he starts to freak. He reaches for me and grabs a hold of my vest and kind of falls on me. Well everyone's freaking cause his gun went off and I kind of fell backwards and this guy lands on top of me. He's getting all white and screeching in pain. I try and flip him off but between the Mossberg on my back and my big fat stomach, I am having a hard time sitting up.
I start freaking out myself having this dying guy on top of me so I start wiggling around on the floor like Curly in the Stooges until he falls to my right side. After that, I can't get up fast enough and get away from this place. I push my cart for the back and forget all about the ammo in the cabinet and everything else I missed including a toothbrush.
I practically run for the loading dock and throw everything into the back of the truck, which by now is riding low in the springs. I add my weight to the load and peel out for the interstate. This is not the way things are supposed to be going. What is the deal with all these other people? In the stories, everyone goes into Walmart and loads up two or three carts and makes a break for it. Sheesh. That guy's blood is on me.
I get on the interstate and for the FIRST time I catch a break. Traffic west bound is light. My plan is to head to a state park about an hour outside of town and set up a camp hidden far back in the woods off a fire road I found last year. From there I will monitor the radio and do some foraging on the interstate once things quiet down. I dig around in the console and find a Mountain Dew and slam it one big long gulp. I gotta get that sick taste out of my mouth.
I try to put that guys face out of my mind but when I do, I think about that drunk guy at the window. The window is still blown out and some of his blood and stuff is on the door frame. I gotta pull over and get this cleaned up but first let me make some tracks away from town.
Just then, Lady Luck stepped out and Murphy hopped aboard. I felt a thump under the truck and then it starts to ride slightly to the right. Great. I got a blowout. I hope its not one of the inside tires. Those are a real killer to change. In fact last time, I took it to the dealership to change it because I couldn't figure that out.
I pull to the side of the dark interstate and slowly get out. My back is killing me from all the heavy lifting and that scuffle in the Walmart. And this extra weight I packed on since my divorce can't help, but that's the ex's fault. Women, sheesh.
I stagger around the back of the truck and was relieved to see it was the outside tire. Then the fun begins, getting the spare and tools out. I have my Maglight for light, but wish I had something brighter. Oh well. This shouldn't take long.
About fifteen minutes later I managed to get the spare down from the carrier under the bed when headlights illuminated the back of my truck. Swell. Might be trouble so I go for the passenger door and retrieve an adequate response. I pulled out my Ruger Mini 14 Ranch Rifle with the nickel finish and forty round jungle magazine; FMJ on top, hollow point on bottom. Say hi to my death stick you freaks!
The car behind me is some sort of low rider Pontiac those bangers love to ride around in. Two baggy pants step out of the car and before they can lay some ebonics on me, I raise my Mini 14 and tell them to reach for the sky. Too bad, one of them goes for the handgun in the front of his low rider pants.
Pow, pow, pow! I start unloading the Mini on the driver and then swept across to the passenger side. Then something went wrong. My left arm felt sort of numb, like it was plunged in ice water or something.
It must have affected my shooting because I hit the passenger low, in his upper leg and crotch. Sure, it dropped him like any other fella, but it definately was not center mass like those online stories tell you to hit. With my arm rapidly going number, I swept the rifle one more time across the Pontiac's windshield in case another bad guy or two are hiding in the backseat.
The magazine hit empty and the bolt slid back so I tried to pull the spent mag with my right hand and hold the Mini by the upper. No such luck as my left hand couldn't hold a feather in its current state so the rifle clattered to the ground in front of me.
Maybe it was the sight of my Ruger hitting the ground with a finish marring fall that made me feel really nauseous suddenly. It didn't help that my vision was blurring and rapidly going black. I staggered towards the open Pontiac in order to check out the car and pick up the thugs guns and other goodies. I barely made it to the open door when I collapsed to my knees.
I was coherent long enough to look inside and see a small person, a kid no more than ten or eleven, clearly dead and covered with blood in the back seat. I must have hit him when I fired blindly into the car. Bummer.
But it did not matter much. I fell backwards and felt my head hit the ground with a thud. My body seemed to cease working and my bowels let go. Nasty. At that moment I realized what was happening; massive coronary. The stress, the exertion, the extra seventy five pounds I packed on with beer and junk food since the divorce finally caught up with me. Three years of sitting on my fat butt watching tv, cramming garbage in my face dreaming about the end of the world. Too bad, so sad. For me.
The last thing I remember seeing was one of the gang members pistol lying in the ground not six inches from my face. A Desert Eagle. Damn. I always wanted one of those. Then nothing.
The Suburban pulling the trailer coasted to stop next to the Ford pickup and Pontiac on the shoulder. A tall, lean man steps from the drivers side and cautiously walks around the front of the Chevy and looks over the scene. Three dead guys on the ground, one dead kid in the car. What looked like a Ruger Mini 14 lay next to the truck and at least one semi auto handgun near one of the victims.
A young man, high school age and clearly quarterback material joins the man on the side of the road.
"What happeend Dad?" the younger of the two asks.
"Looks like the fat guy had a flat and was planning on robbing these people in the car. He ended up shooting all of them but then was shot in the end. Look at all the blood on his pants and that vest."
"Check out the truck dad! Look at all those guns in there!".
"This must be the guy they were talking about on the radio a few minutes ago. Driving around shooting up the town. Things are bad enough there and now him".
"Should we just leave him here?"
"Him, yes, son. The guns and the ammo, no. Don't touch the guns he's wearing or the rifle on the ground. But the rest of them, except for that FAL, can go in the trailer. The ammo too".
"Why not the FAL, dad? And isn't that stealing?"
"There are some spent .308 rounds in the front seat, son. I bet he shot a few folks with that rifle and I don't want anything to do with it. As for the rest, tonight showed me what happens when things go south in a hurry. We can't take any chances that some other goon like this one won't take the rest of these guns and kill some other folks. I know. It doesn't make sense, but trust me on this one".
The two men quickly moved the ammo cans and guns to the trailer and locked it up. A voice called from the front seat of the Suburban.
"Honey the news is on again!"
"OK, dear".
In Washington, the Vice President was sworn in at eight o'clock local time only minutes after the President suffered what experts are calling a complete mental breakdown. At seven PM this evening, the President appeared on national television declaring economic collapse and pending military invasion by United Nations forces. Experts are speculating this might have been caused by the President's recent re-election loss and the economic problems which have plagued his administration and the country the past four years. The now former President was taken to Andrews Air Force base for observation. President elect Paul said the nation's thoughts were with the former President and his family during this trying time... In local news, police have managed to stabilize the sudden outbreaks of unrest and violence which flared briefly after the President's inflammatory announcement...
"Hey dad. Did you want to get all those canned goods from that pick up?" said the teen pointing at the huge pile of canned Spam, tamles and chili in the back of the truck.
"Are you kidding? That stuff will kill you" said the father.
The End
1. It's fiction.
2. It's my first work of fiction published here. You know the saying about if you don't like it and what you can do.
3. It was fun writing it. I came up with the idea driving home with my son and wrote the first part out loud for him to judge. He wanted to know what happened so I wrote it down.
4. Don't reprint it.
5. If you really like it, point others to the URL and share it that way. Hey, I need the traffic and it keeps me writing more.
6. If you really like it, I have a bunch more in here (points at head) and would love to write it. Leave a comment and say so.
7. Thanks for reading this far.
Do you have food insurance?
Enjoy!
IT happened about halfway through my standard Thursday night dinner - two McDonald Quarter Pounders, two large fries and a six pack of Miller's Genuine Draft. That ego maniac president came on and stated the obvious - the US was broke. There would be no more welfare, social security or food stamps. In an effort to collect outstanding debts, the UN would be landing about a half a million blue hats tonight at airports around the country. Then he said good night and good luck and he walked off the screen.
I didn't wait to hear what happened next. I turned off the set and threw the remote across the room. It was a matter of time before law and order broke down and things went crazy. Good thing I was as prepped as best as I could be. I looked around at the guns I had acquired over the past three years. They were scattered through out the living room, kitchen and dining room (as well as in my bed room) where they would be handy for just in case. Like today.
My jaw was still on the living room floor taking in all that had happened when I heard a crash outside. Looking out the window, sure enough its a couple of the the gang banger lowlife neighbors next door knocking over my trashcans on their way to pay me a visit. I guess they figure with no welfare check coming from taxpayers LIKE ME, they plan on making a withdraw direct.
Not wasting time, I choose the right tool for the job from my armory. I pick my Mossberg 590 with extended tube, elastic side saddle, sythetic stock and muzzle break. It was loaded with 6 00 bucks I had picked up online from one of the ammo sites I read about online.
After racking a fresh shell in the pipe, I stepped out on the porch in a move I had rehearsed in my mind a dozen times "Come and get it you pieces of scum!" I yelled and let Gang Banger number one have it front and center. GB number two behind him reaches for something in his baggy pants and that give me time to rack shell two into place with his name on it. "Kaboom!", the Mossberg does it's job and makes me a happy customer.
I hustled down to the waiting bodies and turn them over looking for "war booty". Sure enough, number one has a Glock 21 in his pants along with a half dozen spare mags (no wonder his pants were failing down!). Banger two has a matching Glock with four mags and surprise - a wad of twenties and fifties. Drug money no doubt. It's mine for now and will go a long way on some last minute preps.
This was just like those end of the world stories online. I discovered them a few years back and read them every chance I get. I never bothered with buying a computer not when I could use the one in the break room at work for free. I just sneak out a few minutes early for lunch and hog it for the whole hour before anyone else can get claim it. Too bad, so sad for them.
I take my spoils and decide its time to bug out of dodge! I head for the house and grab my left over Quarter Pounder and cram half in my mouth. Gonna need some fuel to get this job done!
I start with my guns and ammo. I have more than a dozen choice pieces and thousands of rounds for each stored in .50 caliber ammo cans. The cans line my living room wall and I frequently like to get all my guns out and line them up in front of the ammo cans and just look at them. Its really cool.
Forty five minutes later and I have only managed to get the ammo into the bed of my Ford Extended Crew Cab Four by Four. I had to take two breaks and the same number of Cokes to keep the ole engine running.
By the way, who am I? My name is Bob Kirgus. I am 45, divorced and living the life on my own in a two bedroom house in a town not much different than yours. I work as foreman down at United Mail Service, you know, the guys in the red and yellow trucks. I am the local trouble maker on the job and have a great time being the "difficult one" my boss refers to at our team meetings. Ha ha! Wonder how HE'S doing with all this? Bet he has his head in some three ring manual trying to figure out the answer to S-H-T-F. Ha!
Right now, I got to get the truck loaded with food and ammo and head for the hills. I imagine this place is going to go up like a road flare once the "Don't Haves" realize there's no more free lunch.
I start on the guns and try to decide the best choices for the ride. The Mossberg for sure. And my Colt 1911A, parkerized, with laser sites and extended custom made Beaver mags and 185gr rounds. But should I include my loaded McMillian TAC-50 (cashed out my 401K for that one!) with flash suppresor in the front seat as well? What if I run across a road block like in those stories? What about my Main Battle Rifle? My loaded Springfield M1A1 Match with synthetic stock and 32 twenty round magazines loaded with Lake City (purchased after the divorce, thank you very much, from my share of the sale of the former Miss Cheapskate Ball and Chain and my home!).
By now, its been two hours since the Big Mouth's announcement and its getting late. I end up throwing all the guns in the front and back seat of the Ford and decide to play it by ear. Then I load up all the canned goods, (good stuff like Hormel chili, Spam, canned tamales, and so on) from the kitchen and grab the rest of my Cokes and Mountain Dew from the pantry. I can't decide whether to take the buckets of sugar, flour and baking stuff I planned on learning to use. In the end I just leave them and the pots and pans and whatever for the looters.
After putting the food in the truck bed, I change into my bug out clothes. A pair of jeans. t-shirt, suspenders (damn gut!), my favorite team's ball cap, photographer vest and fanny pack. I lace up my boots (with a break to catch my breath between each boot).
If you are wondering, my vest is loaded with spare mags for my Raven .25 back up gun, a dozen protein bars, two bic lighters, a compass, notebook, pen, 50" of paracord, my Streamlight tactical flashlight, spare batteries, a half dozen 12 guage slugs and buckshot, p38 can opener, rain poncho and a Cold Steel folder).
Yeah, the vest is heavy, but I got enough stuff here to save my backside in ANY situation. My fanny pack has some of the same stuff plus a roll of Charmin, flattened and stored in a two gallon Ziploc bag and some contractor trash bags.
I stuff my big blue Samsonite suitcase with jeans, t-shits and underwear and haul out for the front of the house. Damn! I forgot my toothbrush, razor and bathroom stuff. Oh well, I can get a tooth brush on the road and I might as well grow a beard. In a few weeks the thin veneer of civilization with its shaving, alimony and red and yellow United Mail Service uniforms will be HISTORY, baby!
I head out the door, but not before throwing the house keys on the couch. I won't need this place anymore! Take that fat cat Mr. Banker!
I snag my four NATO jerry cans from the garage and heave them into the back of the truck bed. Two are empty so I better grab some more fuel before I leave town. I crank up that bad boy and squeal out of the driveway and down the street.
But that has to wait because no sooner had I get around the corner when I run into trouble. Again.
A fruity looking Volvo with a "Hug the Planet" sticker on the bumper is stopped in the middle of the street. Two more gang bangers have pulled the occupants (Mr and Mrs Flower Power) out and are giving them the going over. I slam on the brakes, step out and introduce them to Mr. Springfield M1A. Bam bam bam! The bangers go down and unfortunately, Mr Flower Power took one to the head in the rush. Adrenaline I guess. Not my fault.
Mrs Flower Power, is stunned. Probably the new found respect and admiration she has for a REAL MAN like me. But its not for long. Banger on the ground is still alive and puts a nine into her back. I snap off three shots into the ground from my Springfield before number four finds the mark. No more outings for that upstanding youth as the missed rounds whine off into the night air.
Again, I help myself the leftovers. This time I end up with a Taurus nine millimeter Barretta clone and a Smith and Wesson .38 with a five inch barrel. I didn't know bangers went for classics! Some more ammo and spending money came with the deal as well. Too bad for the Flower Powers, but the tough new world probably won't come with lattes. Ha! Too bad, so sad.
I get back on the road and head for the gas station and get another dose of bad news. There is a line around the block for the four pumps. No surprise, but I don't have time to wait.
I nose the Ford in between two cars already at the pumps, a Honda and a Toyota Prius, and get out with my 1911A. I fire a round into the air and shout "We can do things my way or the hard way! What's it going to be?". Some gal screams and a guy tears away from his car for the safety of the ladies room, so I start filling my truck up.
Aboo or Habib who runs the place comes out and demands cash or no gas. No problem and I start peeling Jacksons and Grants off the bangers flash wad and Mr MidEast's eyes light up like he was in paradise and is meeting his 50 virgins. After twenty minutes (hey, I got three tanks on the truck and two of the jerry cans to fill), I get back on the road.
I got a bad case of indigestion coming on. Must have been that last burger. And my shoulder is really hurting from firing the Springfield. I wish I would have spent more time at the range but that used up ammo. I liked keeping my ammo all together and wanted as much as possible when the baloon went up. Oh well.
Nothing between me and the wilderness but.. hey, the Albertsons grocery store has some activity so I pull in. Might as well grab some spare grub while the stores are still open. Too bad though. Folks are streaming in and out with full carts. The only problem is those coming out are being relieved of their goods by those outside. Time for backup plan two! I figured this out after lunch one day reading those online stories.
I pull around back and see the loading door is open. I back the Ford up and grab my Colt Python .357 with chrome finish and Pachmeyer grips, six spare speed loaders and my 4 battery Monster Maglight. In the back door and.. wonders of wonders. Several pallets of Spam, chili, beef stew, tamales and lots of Cokes and Mountain Dew are waiting just inside the door.
I pull my Cold Steel boot knife and hack into the plastic wrap on the pallets. Next I grab a dolly and start loading cases and taking them to the Ford. About ten minutes later (and a break for the old man. This is a lot of work!), I hear someone walking into the back room. Some guy with a crew cut and white apron on comes in and asks "Hey! What are you doing?".
Might be trouble so I level the Python at him and tell him he can get in the way and in the grave or turn around and act like he saw nothing. Crew Cut wets his pants right there and starts blubbering about his mom, his auntie, some guy he's pals with named Bruce and his little dog at home and a whole bunch of other stuff. I don't have time for this so I put a round into a big stack of Depends diaper cartons to get his attention. Well ironically, that makes Crew Cut take a dump in his pants and fall on the ground babbling and bawling.
I hear feet and voices coming from the store, so I make my exit. The truck is pretty loaded down with my food from home, ammo, guns and now several cases of canned food, so it's probably best. Anyway, it was starting to stink in there.
My chest is really burning with indigestion now. It feels like theres a lead weight on it. I gotta grab some Tums or something. You never read about that happening in those adventure stories.
Now, I am on the road and heading out of town, but sure enough, I hit a road block. Well, it looked like one to me. Two cars are plowed into each other and blocking most of the road. There is some lady yelling at this old guy who looks like he's drunk. It's gotta be a trap so I better be careful.
I grab my Mossberg again, but figure its time for my FAL to get in on the action instead. I shove a 30 rounder of South African surplus in my European wonder weapon and grab a bandoleer of 16 more mags from the back set and try to step out of the cab in one quick move. But my gut hits the steering wheel and I have to raise it up to get out. The bandoleer is in my left hand so I throw it on the dash when drunk guy pounds on the passenger window.
I jumped about ten feet when that happens and I break some seriously loud wind. But that wasn't loudest thing. The FAL goes off in my right hand and takes out the whole passenger window and most of Drunk Guy's face.
Sheet! I hadn't meant to do that. I can't remember if the safety was on or not. The lady in the street goes into hysterics right then and there and won't stop screeching. No time to waste. I am sweating like a pig and my heart is going a million miles an hour. I start the truck up and back up. I put it in forward and head to the right and around the wreck in front of me. I think I rolled over the drunk guy at that point but was too amped up to think about it, I just went over the curb, grass and back onto the road leaving that screaming lady in the middle of the street.
I hope she didn't get my license plate and that had me shaking bad. I wish I had a beer or something. Damn my chest hurts. But you know what? The poop has hit the fan and the cops are going to be too busy taking care of their own families to worry about me! Too bad so sad. The guy was probably some rich banker getting drunk because his house of fiat money had collapsed. I bet he was going to hitch a ride or demand my truck. Jerk. Probably deserved it.
I was about to get on the interstate when I saw that blue and white sign calling my name - Super WalMart. I knew I needed a toothbrush and maybe a few other things. I would be living on the road and in the wilderness now and there is no better place for a few last minute preps than Wally World!
Sure enough, there was a mob going in and out, but I didn't let that stop me. I pulled around back again and went in accompanied by my good buddies, Mr Mossberg and Mrs Colt and Python. I went through the double doors in the store room into the store fully intending on heading for the pharmacy and personal items when I saw the sporting goods section was right in front of me.
Someone left the cart for a second so I tossed their stuff on the floor and snagged it. I grabbed all the twelve gauge bird shot they had on the shelf and then started loading up camping gear like lanterns, a sleeping bag, a tent, a bunch of that freeze dried food and one of those camping toilets. I was about to get some fishing stuff when I saw the ammo cabinet open.
I was deciding between Federal and Core-Lokt 30.06 when some big mouth comes up and tells me to get out of his way cause needs all the .40 caliber in the cabinet. He's got a Smith and Wesson shoved in his fancy dress pants and completely ignores my Colt in the drop leg holster, my Python in the shoulder holster and my Mossie hanging over my back. I ignore them too and went for my Raven .25 in my vest pocket.
I pointed the tiny, yet lethal weapon in his face and tell him "I don't like hoarders or fancy pants like you who forgot their manners". Fancy Pants laughs at the Raven and says "Where did you get that? From the toy department?".
I was ticked and I forgot all the firearms training I had read online. I pulled the trigger and could have shot the guy, but forgot the safety was on. Fancy Pants sneers at me and goes for his .40 but was too jazzed up. The gun went off in his pants and shot his.. well you know what off or close to it.
This big blood stain appears on the guys's pants and he starts to freak. He reaches for me and grabs a hold of my vest and kind of falls on me. Well everyone's freaking cause his gun went off and I kind of fell backwards and this guy lands on top of me. He's getting all white and screeching in pain. I try and flip him off but between the Mossberg on my back and my big fat stomach, I am having a hard time sitting up.
I start freaking out myself having this dying guy on top of me so I start wiggling around on the floor like Curly in the Stooges until he falls to my right side. After that, I can't get up fast enough and get away from this place. I push my cart for the back and forget all about the ammo in the cabinet and everything else I missed including a toothbrush.
I practically run for the loading dock and throw everything into the back of the truck, which by now is riding low in the springs. I add my weight to the load and peel out for the interstate. This is not the way things are supposed to be going. What is the deal with all these other people? In the stories, everyone goes into Walmart and loads up two or three carts and makes a break for it. Sheesh. That guy's blood is on me.
I get on the interstate and for the FIRST time I catch a break. Traffic west bound is light. My plan is to head to a state park about an hour outside of town and set up a camp hidden far back in the woods off a fire road I found last year. From there I will monitor the radio and do some foraging on the interstate once things quiet down. I dig around in the console and find a Mountain Dew and slam it one big long gulp. I gotta get that sick taste out of my mouth.
I try to put that guys face out of my mind but when I do, I think about that drunk guy at the window. The window is still blown out and some of his blood and stuff is on the door frame. I gotta pull over and get this cleaned up but first let me make some tracks away from town.
Just then, Lady Luck stepped out and Murphy hopped aboard. I felt a thump under the truck and then it starts to ride slightly to the right. Great. I got a blowout. I hope its not one of the inside tires. Those are a real killer to change. In fact last time, I took it to the dealership to change it because I couldn't figure that out.
I pull to the side of the dark interstate and slowly get out. My back is killing me from all the heavy lifting and that scuffle in the Walmart. And this extra weight I packed on since my divorce can't help, but that's the ex's fault. Women, sheesh.
I stagger around the back of the truck and was relieved to see it was the outside tire. Then the fun begins, getting the spare and tools out. I have my Maglight for light, but wish I had something brighter. Oh well. This shouldn't take long.
About fifteen minutes later I managed to get the spare down from the carrier under the bed when headlights illuminated the back of my truck. Swell. Might be trouble so I go for the passenger door and retrieve an adequate response. I pulled out my Ruger Mini 14 Ranch Rifle with the nickel finish and forty round jungle magazine; FMJ on top, hollow point on bottom. Say hi to my death stick you freaks!
The car behind me is some sort of low rider Pontiac those bangers love to ride around in. Two baggy pants step out of the car and before they can lay some ebonics on me, I raise my Mini 14 and tell them to reach for the sky. Too bad, one of them goes for the handgun in the front of his low rider pants.
Pow, pow, pow! I start unloading the Mini on the driver and then swept across to the passenger side. Then something went wrong. My left arm felt sort of numb, like it was plunged in ice water or something.
It must have affected my shooting because I hit the passenger low, in his upper leg and crotch. Sure, it dropped him like any other fella, but it definately was not center mass like those online stories tell you to hit. With my arm rapidly going number, I swept the rifle one more time across the Pontiac's windshield in case another bad guy or two are hiding in the backseat.
The magazine hit empty and the bolt slid back so I tried to pull the spent mag with my right hand and hold the Mini by the upper. No such luck as my left hand couldn't hold a feather in its current state so the rifle clattered to the ground in front of me.
Maybe it was the sight of my Ruger hitting the ground with a finish marring fall that made me feel really nauseous suddenly. It didn't help that my vision was blurring and rapidly going black. I staggered towards the open Pontiac in order to check out the car and pick up the thugs guns and other goodies. I barely made it to the open door when I collapsed to my knees.
I was coherent long enough to look inside and see a small person, a kid no more than ten or eleven, clearly dead and covered with blood in the back seat. I must have hit him when I fired blindly into the car. Bummer.
But it did not matter much. I fell backwards and felt my head hit the ground with a thud. My body seemed to cease working and my bowels let go. Nasty. At that moment I realized what was happening; massive coronary. The stress, the exertion, the extra seventy five pounds I packed on with beer and junk food since the divorce finally caught up with me. Three years of sitting on my fat butt watching tv, cramming garbage in my face dreaming about the end of the world. Too bad, so sad. For me.
The last thing I remember seeing was one of the gang members pistol lying in the ground not six inches from my face. A Desert Eagle. Damn. I always wanted one of those. Then nothing.
The Suburban pulling the trailer coasted to stop next to the Ford pickup and Pontiac on the shoulder. A tall, lean man steps from the drivers side and cautiously walks around the front of the Chevy and looks over the scene. Three dead guys on the ground, one dead kid in the car. What looked like a Ruger Mini 14 lay next to the truck and at least one semi auto handgun near one of the victims.
A young man, high school age and clearly quarterback material joins the man on the side of the road.
"What happeend Dad?" the younger of the two asks.
"Looks like the fat guy had a flat and was planning on robbing these people in the car. He ended up shooting all of them but then was shot in the end. Look at all the blood on his pants and that vest."
"Check out the truck dad! Look at all those guns in there!".
"This must be the guy they were talking about on the radio a few minutes ago. Driving around shooting up the town. Things are bad enough there and now him".
"Should we just leave him here?"
"Him, yes, son. The guns and the ammo, no. Don't touch the guns he's wearing or the rifle on the ground. But the rest of them, except for that FAL, can go in the trailer. The ammo too".
"Why not the FAL, dad? And isn't that stealing?"
"There are some spent .308 rounds in the front seat, son. I bet he shot a few folks with that rifle and I don't want anything to do with it. As for the rest, tonight showed me what happens when things go south in a hurry. We can't take any chances that some other goon like this one won't take the rest of these guns and kill some other folks. I know. It doesn't make sense, but trust me on this one".
The two men quickly moved the ammo cans and guns to the trailer and locked it up. A voice called from the front seat of the Suburban.
"Honey the news is on again!"
"OK, dear".
In Washington, the Vice President was sworn in at eight o'clock local time only minutes after the President suffered what experts are calling a complete mental breakdown. At seven PM this evening, the President appeared on national television declaring economic collapse and pending military invasion by United Nations forces. Experts are speculating this might have been caused by the President's recent re-election loss and the economic problems which have plagued his administration and the country the past four years. The now former President was taken to Andrews Air Force base for observation. President elect Paul said the nation's thoughts were with the former President and his family during this trying time... In local news, police have managed to stabilize the sudden outbreaks of unrest and violence which flared briefly after the President's inflammatory announcement...
"Hey dad. Did you want to get all those canned goods from that pick up?" said the teen pointing at the huge pile of canned Spam, tamles and chili in the back of the truck.
"Are you kidding? That stuff will kill you" said the father.
The End
1. It's fiction.
2. It's my first work of fiction published here. You know the saying about if you don't like it and what you can do.
3. It was fun writing it. I came up with the idea driving home with my son and wrote the first part out loud for him to judge. He wanted to know what happened so I wrote it down.
4. Don't reprint it.
5. If you really like it, point others to the URL and share it that way. Hey, I need the traffic and it keeps me writing more.
6. If you really like it, I have a bunch more in here (points at head) and would love to write it. Leave a comment and say so.
7. Thanks for reading this far.
Do you have food insurance?
Friday, February 19, 2010
SHTF:Bad News For Long Term Scavengers
I have been on a tear lately about things running out, breaking, wearing down, etc. Guns, food, machinery, etc. I think what caused this was going back and watching the Discovery Channel's series about the world without people. It showed hypothetical scenarios of how quickly man made structures and creations would fall apart and revert back to nature.
What also brought this about was the rash of recent winter storms across the country. Trees heavy with snow began collapsing on to cars and houses causing more damage. Who would have thought snow could take down a tree? But it happened all over the country and without an army of city workers, contractors and handy men, most of those homes would be unihabitable in short order. Add to that the floods, earthquakes and tsumamis on television every single night and the damage they do to our infrastructure.
Pile on top of that the glut of doomer fiction, in movies and online, which often include the protagonist's ability to locate long abandoned treasure troves of supplies like ammo, canned food and toilet paper and all of it ready and safe to use. For some reason, finding a bomb shelter or untouched Walmart warehouse is the popular choice for fiction writers.
Put all this together and we have the clash of reality versus happy thoughts.
Take a real, widespread disaster. Asteroid hit, nuclear war, pole shift. There's a bunch of people who have survived. They are hungry, cold, desperate. Every building, house, store, office and structure is going to be overwhelmed with hoards of mobile survivors tearing apart anything they can get their hands on. Not going to be much left in any warehouses or stores after that day. That's part one.
Part two. As soon as the infrastructure breaks down, so does the constant human care and feeding our our fragile systems. Just leaving doors and windows open (or broken) will result in the elements ruining everything left inside. Fires will run unabated. Broken sewer and water mains will send water in every direction. Animals will move into homes and buildings. It gets better.
Part three. Time. Food in cans will begin to turn. Paper will mold, mildew and rot. Leather will break down. Fabrics will be overrun with moths and insects. Water will damage everything stored carefully in cardboard and paper containers. Nails rusting in boxes. Ammunition corroding in those plastic dividers. Even plastic buckets will eventually crack, leak and become infested. There won't be much of any value in those warehouses or basements ten years after.
Here's where it gets bad..
The long term scavenger will be forced to move to the most hospitable areas left and search out new food crops, domesticated animals and clean water supplies. They will search out communities that are making and repairing clothing, tools, and other necessities. They will end up taking them from those who had the foresight or luck to be better positioned after the fall. If that's you, don't think the scavengers will be satisfied wandering around the cities looking for a leftover Happy Meal. They will be coming your direction.
At the same time, the community which believes there is still "good stuff" in the cities or hidden away in some warehouse will be disappointed. Everything not destroyed by man will be ruined by time and the elements.
The solution: the old rule, one is none and two is one. Except times 100. Stockpile those things which can help make new things. Seeds for food. Tools, nails, metal, concrete, lumber, a power source (if you can get it) and so on. Remember that on the day of the end, the clock starts to tick for everything manufactured and man made. The deterioration has begun and time is the enemy. If you have the chance to "allocate and distribute" (loot) that which has been left behind, do it fast, before it falls prey to time and the elements.
The survivor living off the carcass of the old world is fiction. Don't make long term plans based upon that which will be gone.
Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food
What also brought this about was the rash of recent winter storms across the country. Trees heavy with snow began collapsing on to cars and houses causing more damage. Who would have thought snow could take down a tree? But it happened all over the country and without an army of city workers, contractors and handy men, most of those homes would be unihabitable in short order. Add to that the floods, earthquakes and tsumamis on television every single night and the damage they do to our infrastructure.
Pile on top of that the glut of doomer fiction, in movies and online, which often include the protagonist's ability to locate long abandoned treasure troves of supplies like ammo, canned food and toilet paper and all of it ready and safe to use. For some reason, finding a bomb shelter or untouched Walmart warehouse is the popular choice for fiction writers.
Put all this together and we have the clash of reality versus happy thoughts.
Take a real, widespread disaster. Asteroid hit, nuclear war, pole shift. There's a bunch of people who have survived. They are hungry, cold, desperate. Every building, house, store, office and structure is going to be overwhelmed with hoards of mobile survivors tearing apart anything they can get their hands on. Not going to be much left in any warehouses or stores after that day. That's part one.
Part two. As soon as the infrastructure breaks down, so does the constant human care and feeding our our fragile systems. Just leaving doors and windows open (or broken) will result in the elements ruining everything left inside. Fires will run unabated. Broken sewer and water mains will send water in every direction. Animals will move into homes and buildings. It gets better.
Part three. Time. Food in cans will begin to turn. Paper will mold, mildew and rot. Leather will break down. Fabrics will be overrun with moths and insects. Water will damage everything stored carefully in cardboard and paper containers. Nails rusting in boxes. Ammunition corroding in those plastic dividers. Even plastic buckets will eventually crack, leak and become infested. There won't be much of any value in those warehouses or basements ten years after.
Here's where it gets bad..
The long term scavenger will be forced to move to the most hospitable areas left and search out new food crops, domesticated animals and clean water supplies. They will search out communities that are making and repairing clothing, tools, and other necessities. They will end up taking them from those who had the foresight or luck to be better positioned after the fall. If that's you, don't think the scavengers will be satisfied wandering around the cities looking for a leftover Happy Meal. They will be coming your direction.
At the same time, the community which believes there is still "good stuff" in the cities or hidden away in some warehouse will be disappointed. Everything not destroyed by man will be ruined by time and the elements.
The solution: the old rule, one is none and two is one. Except times 100. Stockpile those things which can help make new things. Seeds for food. Tools, nails, metal, concrete, lumber, a power source (if you can get it) and so on. Remember that on the day of the end, the clock starts to tick for everything manufactured and man made. The deterioration has begun and time is the enemy. If you have the chance to "allocate and distribute" (loot) that which has been left behind, do it fast, before it falls prey to time and the elements.
The survivor living off the carcass of the old world is fiction. Don't make long term plans based upon that which will be gone.
Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Prepare: Things fall apart
We stock and store extras for a rainy day. We have plenty of food and seeds to grow more. We have guns and ammunition. We have batteries and toilet paper. But things don't last forever. Things fall apart.
Improperly stored ammunition will bulge, corrode, mold and could lose its potency.
Rechargeable batteries can be recharged only so long before they stop holding their charge. This includes car batteries and deep cycle batteries.
Springs fail. The springs in your magazines are most at risk. Even keeping spares unloaded is no guarantee the springs will last for ever.
Toilet paper, tissue, firewood, lamp wicks and petroleum products can only be used once. They can never be recycled and used again.
Bagged fertilizer only lasts so long in sitting in the garage.
Medications have a shelf life. Afterward, some go bad quickly, but most lose their effectiveness slowly over time. First by half, then another third and downward from there.
Some canned foods last five or more years, but most will be inedible in three years.
Only sugar and salt and a few other dry, processed foods last a long time. Most go rancid in a year or two.
Light bulbs break or burn out, fuses burn out, wiring corrodes, switches break. Most basic electrical equipment will cease functioning in a few years without replacement parts.
House foundations crack, sag and fail. Roof shingles need replacing every ten years or so. Once a window breaks, a new one cannot be made from the old. The average home has to have constant maintenance or it will rapidly fall apart.
Once the SHTF, things will start to age and if infrastructure is down or destroyed, then replacements are not coming. The clock will start to tick on everything and if ignored, will never function again.
That goes for people too. When that trained mechanic, or doctor or farmer dies, then all that knowledge goes with them and there will be no schools producing another to take their place.
For the long emergency, be prepared to do without sooner or later. Figure out what to do when gasoline is gone and batteries lose their charge. What will you power the home with? How will get from one place to another? What will you put on your feet?
It's mind boggling and troubling at the same time.
Improperly stored ammunition will bulge, corrode, mold and could lose its potency.
Rechargeable batteries can be recharged only so long before they stop holding their charge. This includes car batteries and deep cycle batteries.
Springs fail. The springs in your magazines are most at risk. Even keeping spares unloaded is no guarantee the springs will last for ever.
Toilet paper, tissue, firewood, lamp wicks and petroleum products can only be used once. They can never be recycled and used again.
Bagged fertilizer only lasts so long in sitting in the garage.
Medications have a shelf life. Afterward, some go bad quickly, but most lose their effectiveness slowly over time. First by half, then another third and downward from there.
Some canned foods last five or more years, but most will be inedible in three years.
Only sugar and salt and a few other dry, processed foods last a long time. Most go rancid in a year or two.
Light bulbs break or burn out, fuses burn out, wiring corrodes, switches break. Most basic electrical equipment will cease functioning in a few years without replacement parts.
House foundations crack, sag and fail. Roof shingles need replacing every ten years or so. Once a window breaks, a new one cannot be made from the old. The average home has to have constant maintenance or it will rapidly fall apart.
Once the SHTF, things will start to age and if infrastructure is down or destroyed, then replacements are not coming. The clock will start to tick on everything and if ignored, will never function again.
That goes for people too. When that trained mechanic, or doctor or farmer dies, then all that knowledge goes with them and there will be no schools producing another to take their place.
For the long emergency, be prepared to do without sooner or later. Figure out what to do when gasoline is gone and batteries lose their charge. What will you power the home with? How will get from one place to another? What will you put on your feet?
It's mind boggling and troubling at the same time.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Prepare: The next big disaster
We are all watching the disaster unfold in Haiti and the response of the world, namely from the United States.
Take a step back and look at the larger picture. The Haitian earthquake demonstrates the limitations of any response to a large scale disaster. Here we have what seems like most of the world desparately trying to get supplies and aid to a tiny, ravaged region and look at the results.
Most of the affected have still not received food, water or medical aid. Thousands are trapped and dying under collapsed buildings. Bodies are stacked in the streets. Looters have rabid and law and order have collapsed.
Imagine now if New York was hit by a massive tidal wave or San Francisco by a 9.0 earthquake. Imagine if the main airports were heavily damaged and also the connecting tunnels, bridges and ports. Despite the resources of the rest of the nation, it would be days before any significant aid could be brought in.
Now imagine if the disaster was in several cities and widespread. Say a nuclear attack or multiple natural disasters. Aid would be prioritized based upon proximity, expediency or worse, political connection. Planeloads of supplies and doctors might be diverted from North Carolina and sent to Colorado because the president is from there. It can and does happen.
Now, imagine if the rest of the world was dealing with their own simultandous disasters. And what if they said they could only offer limited aid to the US. Or worse, were more than willing to help, but only certain lucrative regions? Like if China said they would only help (themselves to) Hawaii or Europe would only assist Washington DC?
So what's your plan? There is not much one can do if they live in San Francisco and the Big One happens. Other than move. But in the case of most disasters, what you can do happens NOW before the big disaster strikes.
That means while there is still food in the neighborhood store, still water in the tap, still aspirin at the drug store and gasoline at the filling station.
If it were me, I would lay in supplies and backups so I would not have to depend upon help which may or may not be on the way. But that's me. If Haiti has to wait a week for a simple bottle of water, how long would you have to wait in your suburb or neighborhood? Remember Katrina? Some of those people waited for days to be pulled from a submerged home in the middle of alligator and snake infested water.
Regardless, I hope this tragedy in Haiti is a wakeup call to all those who think FEMA will be on the scene in a few hours to hand out food, chase off looters and move debris. You may be on your own for days, weeks or maybe even years. The best bet is to start with a plan and supply yourself accordingly for a disaster in your local area.
Take a step back and look at the larger picture. The Haitian earthquake demonstrates the limitations of any response to a large scale disaster. Here we have what seems like most of the world desparately trying to get supplies and aid to a tiny, ravaged region and look at the results.
Most of the affected have still not received food, water or medical aid. Thousands are trapped and dying under collapsed buildings. Bodies are stacked in the streets. Looters have rabid and law and order have collapsed.
Imagine now if New York was hit by a massive tidal wave or San Francisco by a 9.0 earthquake. Imagine if the main airports were heavily damaged and also the connecting tunnels, bridges and ports. Despite the resources of the rest of the nation, it would be days before any significant aid could be brought in.
Now imagine if the disaster was in several cities and widespread. Say a nuclear attack or multiple natural disasters. Aid would be prioritized based upon proximity, expediency or worse, political connection. Planeloads of supplies and doctors might be diverted from North Carolina and sent to Colorado because the president is from there. It can and does happen.
Now, imagine if the rest of the world was dealing with their own simultandous disasters. And what if they said they could only offer limited aid to the US. Or worse, were more than willing to help, but only certain lucrative regions? Like if China said they would only help (themselves to) Hawaii or Europe would only assist Washington DC?
So what's your plan? There is not much one can do if they live in San Francisco and the Big One happens. Other than move. But in the case of most disasters, what you can do happens NOW before the big disaster strikes.
That means while there is still food in the neighborhood store, still water in the tap, still aspirin at the drug store and gasoline at the filling station.
If it were me, I would lay in supplies and backups so I would not have to depend upon help which may or may not be on the way. But that's me. If Haiti has to wait a week for a simple bottle of water, how long would you have to wait in your suburb or neighborhood? Remember Katrina? Some of those people waited for days to be pulled from a submerged home in the middle of alligator and snake infested water.
Regardless, I hope this tragedy in Haiti is a wakeup call to all those who think FEMA will be on the scene in a few hours to hand out food, chase off looters and move debris. You may be on your own for days, weeks or maybe even years. The best bet is to start with a plan and supply yourself accordingly for a disaster in your local area.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Prepare: What to do when unexpected guests arrive?
OK, so the world is coming to an end. Pick your poison. Plague, nuclear war, earth shift, civil disorder, etc.
You and yours have holed up in the country. Or in your cleverly disguised suburban home. Or maybe in the city, in an old warehouse or brownstone camouflaged to look dilapidated and uninviting.
Well, not inviting enough. The best friend, ex-brother in law, guy at work with family, or whoever, has shown up at the door. They may have a truck full of food or in a nearly empty car or on foot with only the clothes on their back. So what do you do?
First, the gig is up. Maybe you bragged about your lair, supplies and plans too many times at the dinner table, reunion or around the water cooler. Too many preppers do. After all, this is what we do 24/7 and when the other folks talk about their latest vacation or golf outing, we feel kind of stupid with nothing to say. So you let slip that "Well, this weekend, we added another 400 square feet to the garden and I picked up a new Remington at the gun show".
They know and here you are with unplanned visitors at the door.
Some of you will write in the forums, "I will have gun in hand and let them know there is no room and to go back to looking. I might give them some food or water, especially if they have kids, but that's it".
Sounds great. Unless it's your wife's family of course. You'll also have to watch your back all the time when that disgruntled friend comes back to take what he wants.
So what to do?
First, really look at your situation and theirs. Do the newcomers pose a threat to you and your family and the others at your place? Are they dangerous, mental or sick? Is there an immediate threat which could compromise your security right now?
Second, if the new arrivals do not constitute a threat, could you take them in? Be honest. Maybe you have a 3 month supply of packaged and canned food and a one year supply of long term storage food and you have enough for 8 people. The newcomers represent 4 more mouths. If they are empty handed, will their contribution be enough to reduce your food stocks by one third?
Next, where does your reluctance lie? Is it because the newcomer did not prepare like you did, laughed at your efforts and now you have the upper hand? Or are they a real threat to the security and well being of your existing group? This is a big one so be honest. Are you thinking about the greater good or revenge?
Here are some positive points about newcomers and the unexpected guest:
Another set of hands, ears and eyes. In a survival situation, numbers rule. If there are four adults, two are always on duty for security. The other two are resting and working if possible. Adding just two more adults increases the labor pool by one third and means that two more can be working while two patrol/watch and two rest.
More people brings more skills. Maybe "Bob" has never handled a gun, but what if Bob is a decent mechanic, doctor or gardener? Suddenly, your skill set just went up a notch. Further, you may have overlooked a skill you never imagined. Now you have an answer.
The newcomer increases your stock. Hate to sound "animal" but another family means possible mates for your family down the line. The kids have to get married some day and have more children. If there are not enough people where you are, you will have to go looking anyway. Might as well take care of that project now.
But there are some negatives as well all know...
The newcomer may be lazy, drunk, a thief, argumentative, short sighted, or ambitious enough to take over. Can't have that.
You may have to offer to take the children and tell Mom or Dad, sorry, but that it is best for the kids. Some may take you up on it for the sake of children.
You may be in a situation where Mom and kids are welcome, but drunk and disorderly boyfriend has no place. It can get ugly.
So what to do if the newcomer or guest is not wanted?
While the rare person may accept their fate and lack of space with you, don't count on it. It is human nature, especially in life and death situations, to bear a grudge if forced out. And in survival, that means forever watching your back.
Suppose brother in law, always a drunk and layabout, shows up. After discussion with your group, it is decide that BIL will get a week's supply of food and water and sent packing.
Now what? You just increased BIL range to find another group who may "persuade" him to reveal where he got his last meal from. And then they will come calling.
It may be best in these situations to take Brother in Law for a ride. A long one.
I am the kind who will take in almost anyone who is family, a good friend or is truly needy. I don't think I could turn a child away in any situation.
So the best course is -
1) Shut up. Don't tell anyone what your plans are unless you are ready to provide for them.
2) Have extra. There will be unplanned for visitors whether they find you or you find them.
3) Be ready to accept partials; that means kids, or single mom or injured skilled person.
4) Be ready to make hard and final decisions about unwanted guests.
5) Be realistic. You can't watch the bug out location all alone. Forgo three years worth of stored food for only one year if it means increasing your odds of survival.
Hard decisions, but better to be ready than not at all and have it happen.
You and yours have holed up in the country. Or in your cleverly disguised suburban home. Or maybe in the city, in an old warehouse or brownstone camouflaged to look dilapidated and uninviting.
Well, not inviting enough. The best friend, ex-brother in law, guy at work with family, or whoever, has shown up at the door. They may have a truck full of food or in a nearly empty car or on foot with only the clothes on their back. So what do you do?
First, the gig is up. Maybe you bragged about your lair, supplies and plans too many times at the dinner table, reunion or around the water cooler. Too many preppers do. After all, this is what we do 24/7 and when the other folks talk about their latest vacation or golf outing, we feel kind of stupid with nothing to say. So you let slip that "Well, this weekend, we added another 400 square feet to the garden and I picked up a new Remington at the gun show".
They know and here you are with unplanned visitors at the door.
Some of you will write in the forums, "I will have gun in hand and let them know there is no room and to go back to looking. I might give them some food or water, especially if they have kids, but that's it".
Sounds great. Unless it's your wife's family of course. You'll also have to watch your back all the time when that disgruntled friend comes back to take what he wants.
So what to do?
First, really look at your situation and theirs. Do the newcomers pose a threat to you and your family and the others at your place? Are they dangerous, mental or sick? Is there an immediate threat which could compromise your security right now?
Second, if the new arrivals do not constitute a threat, could you take them in? Be honest. Maybe you have a 3 month supply of packaged and canned food and a one year supply of long term storage food and you have enough for 8 people. The newcomers represent 4 more mouths. If they are empty handed, will their contribution be enough to reduce your food stocks by one third?
Next, where does your reluctance lie? Is it because the newcomer did not prepare like you did, laughed at your efforts and now you have the upper hand? Or are they a real threat to the security and well being of your existing group? This is a big one so be honest. Are you thinking about the greater good or revenge?
Here are some positive points about newcomers and the unexpected guest:
Another set of hands, ears and eyes. In a survival situation, numbers rule. If there are four adults, two are always on duty for security. The other two are resting and working if possible. Adding just two more adults increases the labor pool by one third and means that two more can be working while two patrol/watch and two rest.
More people brings more skills. Maybe "Bob" has never handled a gun, but what if Bob is a decent mechanic, doctor or gardener? Suddenly, your skill set just went up a notch. Further, you may have overlooked a skill you never imagined. Now you have an answer.
The newcomer increases your stock. Hate to sound "animal" but another family means possible mates for your family down the line. The kids have to get married some day and have more children. If there are not enough people where you are, you will have to go looking anyway. Might as well take care of that project now.
But there are some negatives as well all know...
The newcomer may be lazy, drunk, a thief, argumentative, short sighted, or ambitious enough to take over. Can't have that.
You may have to offer to take the children and tell Mom or Dad, sorry, but that it is best for the kids. Some may take you up on it for the sake of children.
You may be in a situation where Mom and kids are welcome, but drunk and disorderly boyfriend has no place. It can get ugly.
So what to do if the newcomer or guest is not wanted?
While the rare person may accept their fate and lack of space with you, don't count on it. It is human nature, especially in life and death situations, to bear a grudge if forced out. And in survival, that means forever watching your back.
Suppose brother in law, always a drunk and layabout, shows up. After discussion with your group, it is decide that BIL will get a week's supply of food and water and sent packing.
Now what? You just increased BIL range to find another group who may "persuade" him to reveal where he got his last meal from. And then they will come calling.
It may be best in these situations to take Brother in Law for a ride. A long one.
I am the kind who will take in almost anyone who is family, a good friend or is truly needy. I don't think I could turn a child away in any situation.
So the best course is -
1) Shut up. Don't tell anyone what your plans are unless you are ready to provide for them.
2) Have extra. There will be unplanned for visitors whether they find you or you find them.
3) Be ready to accept partials; that means kids, or single mom or injured skilled person.
4) Be ready to make hard and final decisions about unwanted guests.
5) Be realistic. You can't watch the bug out location all alone. Forgo three years worth of stored food for only one year if it means increasing your odds of survival.
Hard decisions, but better to be ready than not at all and have it happen.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
SHTF: EMP Attack
Last month, everyone was talking about the new book, "One Second After" and for good reason. It is a mainstream publication (not a story on a survivalist forum), was written by an established author with several other respected works and has been touted by famous authority figures (Newt Gingrich, for instance).
"One Second After" follows a single father of two daughters who has to deal with a sudden Electro Magenetic Pulse (EMP) attack on the United States which leaves anything and everything connected to the electrical grid or dependent upon modern electronics dead in the water.
If this were to happen here and now and if you have not researched EMP and its effects, let's take a walk through what might happen.
First, an EMP attack involves a high altitude nuclear detonation over the continental United States, maybe even a number of them. Within seconds, theoretically (we do not know the full potential damages or limitations, it has never happened outside of a test zone), all electronic and printed circuit boards would overload unless they were shielded and grounded.
That means all cars not running, all aircraft, all modern powered systems, all forms of transportation would cease to operate. There are some who believe that an automobile already running may continue to run until the fuel systems ceased delivering fuel correctly - maybe for a few minutes, maybe until the car ran out of gas.
Aircraft without proper shielding would lose power and would fall from the skies or crash at take off/landing. This is the most chilling ituation as thousands of aircraft fall from the skies. Older aircraft would still be airborne, BUT, would not be able to use the air traffic control system. They would quickly have to land wherever it is safe to do so.
Cars would not start. Some older models might be able to (pre-1970's to make it easy for shoppers checking online for an EMP safe vehicle). But those vehicles would find roads and parking lots grid locked. A case where the car runs, but there is no way to go anywhere may quickly develop.
Those cars that are running and shut down would create slow moving catastrophic chain reaction car wrecks in every major city and interstate.
Power would shut down almost immediately. Power stations, transformers and relays would all die and power generation stations would have to shutdown, if they are still running, to avoid power feedback.
Loss of power would mean a lot of things would have no lights and power. But here are some serious implications: incubators, respirators, operating rooms, and other medical equipment. Those on the table may die; those in ICU may as well.
Loss of power means all hospital and health care functions, short of administering medicine would come to an end. Generators may come on with manual assistance, but they will not kick in automatically. Those systems would also go down.
So would traffic lights, air conditioners, the 911 system, computer call centers, credit card processing, automatic doors, scooters, call boxes, and every other electronic based device in the path of the EMP burst.
What would happen first?
A lot of confusion. Most people will stand around and wait for something or someone to do something.. Those with children, older relatives and pets will go at once to their charges. Some will take advantage of the situation. Looting, theft and random acts of crime.
There will be panic, especially as airplanes and cars crash. There will be fear as many will rightfully believe this is terrorist attack and will expect worse soon after.
Most of all, there will be little if any communication. There will be no radio, satellite television, cable or internet. No instant communication which we are accustomed to. If the government, local or federal, manages to put together a broadcast, most of us will never hear it nor know where to tune in as we will have no notice or system of communication.
The government brings up another issue. Much of the military has "hardened" hardware in the event of an EMP burst. There is a good chance different chains of command could be organized and put to use. However, the U.S. military is limited in size and much of it is overseas. There would not be an organized effort directed at every city in the country. Don't expect to see National Guard troops in your neighborhood handing out MRE and water bottles.
Here is something more. With no communications, don't wait wait for some sort of organized plan regarding food and medicine distribution. Many will get emergency supplies (small amounts from under prepared and overwhelmed adhoc efforts) simply because they were in the right place at the right time.
But wait, it gets better. What will happen to the two million prisoners in our city, county, state and federal prisons? With no power or food deliveries, expect them to be released en masse by who ever is left guarding them. Or perhaps they will have already broken out within a few days anyway.
What about law enforcement? There are no working radios or police cars. No dispatch. No 911. Other than randomly walking around (or riding horses or commandeered working vehicles), police will be limited to what they see and hear. And most law enforcement, unable to contact the family, will simply find a way to head home to protect their own.
Within one day, expect chaos in most urban areas simply because nobody in our information driven society will know what is going on.
Within three days expect the deaths and injuries from the initial attack start to overwhelm survivors.
Within a week expect the point of no return, that is, unless some miracle takes place and power is restored. By this time, there will be no running water in the cities. There will be widespread crime and looting. There will be no force sufficient enough to organize any sort of reconstruction or rebuilding.
At this point, the only fortunate ones left will be those who are far enough from large groups of the hungry, sick and dangerous who will begin moving out from their current location to new parts where supplies may be found.
The fortunate will be those who have either sufficient medications for their illnesses and conditions to see them through the crisis or simply are healthy enough to not need regular medications.
The fortunate will be those who have a supply of food, clean drinking water, means of protection (both from bad guys and disaster) and the ability to grow more food in the future.
An EMP attack is probably one of the worse scenarios imaginable. 300 million otherwise healthy twenty-first century people, completely unprepared for life "on their own" cast into the equivalent of the 1800's without warning. Ugly.
You see who will be prepared. An EMP attack could happen tomorrow. Most of us will be caught with our pants down. However, we can make plans to get ready for this sort of disaster along with our normal emergency preparedness plans.
- Store food
- Store water and have a way to get more, clean water.
- Can you grow food? Raise meat?
- Do you have all the normal medicines you need? Do you have extra?
- Do you have a running pre-electronic ignition vehicle? How about a horse or bike?
- Do you have a working tube radio? How about a working short wave radio?
- Do you have at least one firearm and no how to use it? What about ammo?
- Do you trust your neighbors? Do you know them?
Lots to think about.
An EMP attack can happen. The technology is here and those with the motivation are legion on this planet.
Be Prepared For Anything Survival Guide
"One Second After" follows a single father of two daughters who has to deal with a sudden Electro Magenetic Pulse (EMP) attack on the United States which leaves anything and everything connected to the electrical grid or dependent upon modern electronics dead in the water.
If this were to happen here and now and if you have not researched EMP and its effects, let's take a walk through what might happen.
First, an EMP attack involves a high altitude nuclear detonation over the continental United States, maybe even a number of them. Within seconds, theoretically (we do not know the full potential damages or limitations, it has never happened outside of a test zone), all electronic and printed circuit boards would overload unless they were shielded and grounded.
That means all cars not running, all aircraft, all modern powered systems, all forms of transportation would cease to operate. There are some who believe that an automobile already running may continue to run until the fuel systems ceased delivering fuel correctly - maybe for a few minutes, maybe until the car ran out of gas.
Aircraft without proper shielding would lose power and would fall from the skies or crash at take off/landing. This is the most chilling ituation as thousands of aircraft fall from the skies. Older aircraft would still be airborne, BUT, would not be able to use the air traffic control system. They would quickly have to land wherever it is safe to do so.
Cars would not start. Some older models might be able to (pre-1970's to make it easy for shoppers checking online for an EMP safe vehicle). But those vehicles would find roads and parking lots grid locked. A case where the car runs, but there is no way to go anywhere may quickly develop.
Those cars that are running and shut down would create slow moving catastrophic chain reaction car wrecks in every major city and interstate.
Power would shut down almost immediately. Power stations, transformers and relays would all die and power generation stations would have to shutdown, if they are still running, to avoid power feedback.
Loss of power would mean a lot of things would have no lights and power. But here are some serious implications: incubators, respirators, operating rooms, and other medical equipment. Those on the table may die; those in ICU may as well.
Loss of power means all hospital and health care functions, short of administering medicine would come to an end. Generators may come on with manual assistance, but they will not kick in automatically. Those systems would also go down.
So would traffic lights, air conditioners, the 911 system, computer call centers, credit card processing, automatic doors, scooters, call boxes, and every other electronic based device in the path of the EMP burst.
What would happen first?
A lot of confusion. Most people will stand around and wait for something or someone to do something.. Those with children, older relatives and pets will go at once to their charges. Some will take advantage of the situation. Looting, theft and random acts of crime.
There will be panic, especially as airplanes and cars crash. There will be fear as many will rightfully believe this is terrorist attack and will expect worse soon after.
Most of all, there will be little if any communication. There will be no radio, satellite television, cable or internet. No instant communication which we are accustomed to. If the government, local or federal, manages to put together a broadcast, most of us will never hear it nor know where to tune in as we will have no notice or system of communication.
The government brings up another issue. Much of the military has "hardened" hardware in the event of an EMP burst. There is a good chance different chains of command could be organized and put to use. However, the U.S. military is limited in size and much of it is overseas. There would not be an organized effort directed at every city in the country. Don't expect to see National Guard troops in your neighborhood handing out MRE and water bottles.
Here is something more. With no communications, don't wait wait for some sort of organized plan regarding food and medicine distribution. Many will get emergency supplies (small amounts from under prepared and overwhelmed adhoc efforts) simply because they were in the right place at the right time.
But wait, it gets better. What will happen to the two million prisoners in our city, county, state and federal prisons? With no power or food deliveries, expect them to be released en masse by who ever is left guarding them. Or perhaps they will have already broken out within a few days anyway.
What about law enforcement? There are no working radios or police cars. No dispatch. No 911. Other than randomly walking around (or riding horses or commandeered working vehicles), police will be limited to what they see and hear. And most law enforcement, unable to contact the family, will simply find a way to head home to protect their own.
Within one day, expect chaos in most urban areas simply because nobody in our information driven society will know what is going on.
Within three days expect the deaths and injuries from the initial attack start to overwhelm survivors.
Within a week expect the point of no return, that is, unless some miracle takes place and power is restored. By this time, there will be no running water in the cities. There will be widespread crime and looting. There will be no force sufficient enough to organize any sort of reconstruction or rebuilding.
At this point, the only fortunate ones left will be those who are far enough from large groups of the hungry, sick and dangerous who will begin moving out from their current location to new parts where supplies may be found.
The fortunate will be those who have either sufficient medications for their illnesses and conditions to see them through the crisis or simply are healthy enough to not need regular medications.
The fortunate will be those who have a supply of food, clean drinking water, means of protection (both from bad guys and disaster) and the ability to grow more food in the future.
An EMP attack is probably one of the worse scenarios imaginable. 300 million otherwise healthy twenty-first century people, completely unprepared for life "on their own" cast into the equivalent of the 1800's without warning. Ugly.
You see who will be prepared. An EMP attack could happen tomorrow. Most of us will be caught with our pants down. However, we can make plans to get ready for this sort of disaster along with our normal emergency preparedness plans.
- Store food
- Store water and have a way to get more, clean water.
- Can you grow food? Raise meat?
- Do you have all the normal medicines you need? Do you have extra?
- Do you have a running pre-electronic ignition vehicle? How about a horse or bike?
- Do you have a working tube radio? How about a working short wave radio?
- Do you have at least one firearm and no how to use it? What about ammo?
- Do you trust your neighbors? Do you know them?
Lots to think about.
An EMP attack can happen. The technology is here and those with the motivation are legion on this planet.
Be Prepared For Anything Survival Guide
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
SHTF: Worse Case Scenarios
Let's start this off with a bang..
Best Case Scenario SHTF -
You are at your remote retreat. You have over 200 acres of high producing tillable land currently growing a mixture of grain crops, vegetables, fruit trees and small scale livestock. You can grow and produce enough food to support you, your group and more than 100 other people should you decide too.
You have several large, fortified buildings for storing grain, hay and sheltering the animals. All are connected by an underground series of tunnels which can also provide protection from fallout and weather for the animals as well.
Your primary residence is a completely off the grid super house which can comfortably shelter up to forty people. Half of the structure is underground, has several hidden exit and escape routes and massive amounts of storage.
Inside is enough LTS (long term storage food), medicine, toilet paper and booze for five years without having to grow a thing or run down to 7-11. The home runs entirely off of solar and wind power, but you have a number of diesel generators with enough fuel to power them for twenty years. Water comes from wells drilled within the house and around the property.
Protection is handled with your enormous armory, some legal but most obtained through back channels. Of course you are former military and are well trained on numerous small arms weapons systems as is many of the members of your retreat; they were your core unit when you were with Delta Force. Your wife is also former Special Forces (combat doctor), can cook beef stew under fire and still looks great in camo.
Most of the rest of the world is dead from some strange illness that killed everyone within seconds and decomposed their bodies minutes afterward into a harmless dust which blows away with the first wind. Fortunately, the disease disappeared before it reached you and your group.
Since everyone else in the world died in just a few minutes, all the stuff left is in pristine condition at Walmart and all the other retail outlets waiting for you and your group to come get it. For some reason, this strange virus also preserved gasoline and diesel fuel in storage, kept all canned and packaged food from going bad and left all animals in perfect health.
In short, the entire world is waiting for you and yours to show up and claim it.
Back to reality...
Worse case scenario - SHTF
The President comes on the radio and announces that global thermonuclear war is about to break out and diplomacy has failed. You would have known problems were coming to a head, but you had not kept up on the news lately. Since nuclear war is inevitable, everyone begins to panic.
You try and phone your wife but you keep getting the "all circuits are busy" message on your phone. Thinking it may be your office phone, you try your cell but get the same message. "I am sure my wife knows what to do" you think and head out to your car.
Too late. The parking garage is backed up as everyone tries to leave at the same time. There are no fewer than a half dozen fender benders and that is in the garage. Imagine what the streets look like.
You think you will try that mass transportation everyone is talking about and head to street level and look for a bus. Too late again. The only bus driving by is packed to the rafters and doesn't even slow down in front of your office.
It is early afternoon and you are twenty plus miles from your home in downtown. Surely your city is a grade A target for a bomb, so you start hoofing it home. Maybe you can catch a cab along the way.
About twenty minutes into your walk you mentally kick yourself for not grabbing at least a bottle of water from the office. Maybe you can grab something from the mini-mart at the corner.
Big mistake there. The owner and his wife have barricaded themselves in the store and are trying to preserve their stock for themselves. Already a mob is out front trying to get gasoline and what snack foods and water are available inside. You play it safe and go the other direction towards home. Now you are thirsty and your feet are beginning to hurt. Should have packed some other shoes in that Bug Out Bag you also never got around to putting together.
Two hours later and several phone calls, you finally reach your wife. She was at work as well and has been stuck in traffic since hearing the news as well. Unfortunately, she works in the other direction that you do and cannot swing by and get you. Besides, she is mad you left the other car at the office.
Your wife wants to get the kids from their school which is about to let out around now. Sadly, she is five or more miles away, stuck in traffic and about to run out of gas. You meant to fill up her car last night, but your favorite program was on. Besides, the quarter of a tank she had in her car should have been enough.
The kids are still at their school and have been placed in the gymnasium with all the other children whose parents had not picked them up yet. Only a few nervous teachers are left at the school. Most left when the news alerts went out. No idea how much longer they are planning on staying and watching your kids when their own families may need them right now.
Your kids have no idea where their parents are nor how to reach you. There was never a plan put in place so they have no idea what to do. Your oldest daughter has suggested that to her little brother that they sneak out and try and walk home. After all, it is only a few miles and they think they know the way home. Too bad another parent was not notified to get them in an emergency.
By the time darkness begins to fall, you are only three quarters of the way home. Your wife's car ran out of gas and she is walking to the children's school. The kids, now left unsupervised, have left the school on their own and are trying to remember the way home on foot in the dark.
Overhead, a couple of dull metal objects break apart over your city and being their slow decent of death...
Best case and worse case scenarios. Where do you want to be? Sure the first is over the top extreme, but the second scenario probably covers 90% of America right now. I think I know what my plan is. Do you?
Best Case Scenario SHTF -
You are at your remote retreat. You have over 200 acres of high producing tillable land currently growing a mixture of grain crops, vegetables, fruit trees and small scale livestock. You can grow and produce enough food to support you, your group and more than 100 other people should you decide too.
You have several large, fortified buildings for storing grain, hay and sheltering the animals. All are connected by an underground series of tunnels which can also provide protection from fallout and weather for the animals as well.
Your primary residence is a completely off the grid super house which can comfortably shelter up to forty people. Half of the structure is underground, has several hidden exit and escape routes and massive amounts of storage.
Inside is enough LTS (long term storage food), medicine, toilet paper and booze for five years without having to grow a thing or run down to 7-11. The home runs entirely off of solar and wind power, but you have a number of diesel generators with enough fuel to power them for twenty years. Water comes from wells drilled within the house and around the property.
Protection is handled with your enormous armory, some legal but most obtained through back channels. Of course you are former military and are well trained on numerous small arms weapons systems as is many of the members of your retreat; they were your core unit when you were with Delta Force. Your wife is also former Special Forces (combat doctor), can cook beef stew under fire and still looks great in camo.
Most of the rest of the world is dead from some strange illness that killed everyone within seconds and decomposed their bodies minutes afterward into a harmless dust which blows away with the first wind. Fortunately, the disease disappeared before it reached you and your group.
Since everyone else in the world died in just a few minutes, all the stuff left is in pristine condition at Walmart and all the other retail outlets waiting for you and your group to come get it. For some reason, this strange virus also preserved gasoline and diesel fuel in storage, kept all canned and packaged food from going bad and left all animals in perfect health.
In short, the entire world is waiting for you and yours to show up and claim it.
Back to reality...
Worse case scenario - SHTF
The President comes on the radio and announces that global thermonuclear war is about to break out and diplomacy has failed. You would have known problems were coming to a head, but you had not kept up on the news lately. Since nuclear war is inevitable, everyone begins to panic.
You try and phone your wife but you keep getting the "all circuits are busy" message on your phone. Thinking it may be your office phone, you try your cell but get the same message. "I am sure my wife knows what to do" you think and head out to your car.
Too late. The parking garage is backed up as everyone tries to leave at the same time. There are no fewer than a half dozen fender benders and that is in the garage. Imagine what the streets look like.
You think you will try that mass transportation everyone is talking about and head to street level and look for a bus. Too late again. The only bus driving by is packed to the rafters and doesn't even slow down in front of your office.
It is early afternoon and you are twenty plus miles from your home in downtown. Surely your city is a grade A target for a bomb, so you start hoofing it home. Maybe you can catch a cab along the way.
About twenty minutes into your walk you mentally kick yourself for not grabbing at least a bottle of water from the office. Maybe you can grab something from the mini-mart at the corner.
Big mistake there. The owner and his wife have barricaded themselves in the store and are trying to preserve their stock for themselves. Already a mob is out front trying to get gasoline and what snack foods and water are available inside. You play it safe and go the other direction towards home. Now you are thirsty and your feet are beginning to hurt. Should have packed some other shoes in that Bug Out Bag you also never got around to putting together.
Two hours later and several phone calls, you finally reach your wife. She was at work as well and has been stuck in traffic since hearing the news as well. Unfortunately, she works in the other direction that you do and cannot swing by and get you. Besides, she is mad you left the other car at the office.
Your wife wants to get the kids from their school which is about to let out around now. Sadly, she is five or more miles away, stuck in traffic and about to run out of gas. You meant to fill up her car last night, but your favorite program was on. Besides, the quarter of a tank she had in her car should have been enough.
The kids are still at their school and have been placed in the gymnasium with all the other children whose parents had not picked them up yet. Only a few nervous teachers are left at the school. Most left when the news alerts went out. No idea how much longer they are planning on staying and watching your kids when their own families may need them right now.
Your kids have no idea where their parents are nor how to reach you. There was never a plan put in place so they have no idea what to do. Your oldest daughter has suggested that to her little brother that they sneak out and try and walk home. After all, it is only a few miles and they think they know the way home. Too bad another parent was not notified to get them in an emergency.
By the time darkness begins to fall, you are only three quarters of the way home. Your wife's car ran out of gas and she is walking to the children's school. The kids, now left unsupervised, have left the school on their own and are trying to remember the way home on foot in the dark.
Overhead, a couple of dull metal objects break apart over your city and being their slow decent of death...
Best case and worse case scenarios. Where do you want to be? Sure the first is over the top extreme, but the second scenario probably covers 90% of America right now. I think I know what my plan is. Do you?
Friday, May 01, 2009
Prepare: How To Prepare and Survive The End Of the World
First up, if you are serious about preparing for the end of the world and need a good reference to get started with check this book out.
Friday question round up. Nearly everything and anything will be answered here.
How do I prepare for swine flu?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2009/04/prepare-how-to-prepare-for-swine-flu.html
How do I stock food on a budget?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2009/03/prepare-budget-survival-food-list.html
How do I prepare for the end of the world?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2008/10/tips-to-survive-end-of-world.html
What vitamins are good to fight the swine flu?
Or the common cold or bird flu. I take lots of vitamin A,C,E, selenium, zinc, elderberry extract, echinacea and golden seal. Also, drink lots of clean water, green tea and orange juice.
How much food should I store?
A good rule of thumb is at least three months worth of food (and water) and it gets better with the more you store. Most people who "prep" have one to three months of "normal food" (what they eat daily) backed by several months of survival food - rice, dried beans, honey, sugar, flour, yeast, cooking oil, wheat, dried corn, etc. Further, they augment their stored food with a garden, fruit trees, domestic animals and local game.
Which gun is best post-SHTF?
The gun you have and know how to use. With lots of ammunition and plenty of ongoing practice. If you are new to guns or have not fired one in a while, talk to a gun shop or sporting goods store as well as regular shooters before you buy a firearm of any type. My personal opinion and that of others is the following in order of importance:
1) Shotgun
2) .22 rifle
3) Bolt action medium to large caliber (.243 to 308) rifle
4) Revolver in medium caliber (.38, .357)
5) Common sporter semi auto rifle (.223 caliber) i.e. AR15 or Mini 14
Remember, lots of ammunition and practice.
I need a list of survival foods. What should I get?
- Rice
- Dried beans
- Powdered milk
- oil and cooking lard
- canned vegetables and fruit
- canned meats like tuna and salmon.
- Sugar, syrup and honey.
- spices
- salt
- canned soups
- flour, baking powder and baking soda
- pasta
- dried meats, fruits and vegetables
- peanut butter
Where and how should I build a survival retreat? How do I start?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2008/07/shtf-where-is-your-survival-retreat.html
I just read "One Second After", how can I prepare for an EMP attack?
An EMP attack will take out modern electronics. To what size and scope, nobody knows but if something depends upon electricity or electronics to operate, you can be rest assured it will probably have problems. So that means have all important papers reading material (like those how guides on the internet) printed on paper. Get a tube radio such as the kinds everyone had in the 1940's. If you can afford it, a running pre-electronic ignition vehicle (pre-1970 to make it easy) will make you the king of the neighborhood (and the target of thieves and government goons). Have something to heat water and food on which runs on wood, coal, charcoal, or gas. And if you really want to hang on to that laptop, cell phone or modern radio, build a Farraday cage which may protect at risk electronics.
Can anyone survive a nuclear war?
They did in Japan and that is the only one we have to research. However, after the atomic bomb as invented, several countries including the U.S. spent lots of time and money to figure out the answer to the same questions: How to survive a nuclear bomb?
It can be done; check out Nuclear War Survival Skills for more in depth information. The real trick is after all is over: Having enough food and the ability to produce more.
Why would you want to survive the end of the world?
The world will not truly end short of a major astronomical event such as Earth being obliterated by another object in space or the atmosphere being completely ripped away from the planet. Otherwise, what we are really talking about is the end of our society as we know it. It may mean a total global war, financial or government collapse, or a pandemic. All have happened before and will happen again unfortunately.
Why do it? I take a look at my children and think what an irresponsible parent I would be to not provide for them in any way possible and that includes being prepared for worse case scenarios.
Swine Flu Guide Available Online
Friday question round up. Nearly everything and anything will be answered here.
How do I prepare for swine flu?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2009/04/prepare-how-to-prepare-for-swine-flu.html
How do I stock food on a budget?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2009/03/prepare-budget-survival-food-list.html
How do I prepare for the end of the world?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2008/10/tips-to-survive-end-of-world.html
What vitamins are good to fight the swine flu?
Or the common cold or bird flu. I take lots of vitamin A,C,E, selenium, zinc, elderberry extract, echinacea and golden seal. Also, drink lots of clean water, green tea and orange juice.
How much food should I store?
A good rule of thumb is at least three months worth of food (and water) and it gets better with the more you store. Most people who "prep" have one to three months of "normal food" (what they eat daily) backed by several months of survival food - rice, dried beans, honey, sugar, flour, yeast, cooking oil, wheat, dried corn, etc. Further, they augment their stored food with a garden, fruit trees, domestic animals and local game.
Which gun is best post-SHTF?
The gun you have and know how to use. With lots of ammunition and plenty of ongoing practice. If you are new to guns or have not fired one in a while, talk to a gun shop or sporting goods store as well as regular shooters before you buy a firearm of any type. My personal opinion and that of others is the following in order of importance:
1) Shotgun
2) .22 rifle
3) Bolt action medium to large caliber (.243 to 308) rifle
4) Revolver in medium caliber (.38, .357)
5) Common sporter semi auto rifle (.223 caliber) i.e. AR15 or Mini 14
Remember, lots of ammunition and practice.
I need a list of survival foods. What should I get?
- Rice
- Dried beans
- Powdered milk
- oil and cooking lard
- canned vegetables and fruit
- canned meats like tuna and salmon.
- Sugar, syrup and honey.
- spices
- salt
- canned soups
- flour, baking powder and baking soda
- pasta
- dried meats, fruits and vegetables
- peanut butter
Where and how should I build a survival retreat? How do I start?
http://survivalism.blogspot.com/2008/07/shtf-where-is-your-survival-retreat.html
I just read "One Second After", how can I prepare for an EMP attack?
An EMP attack will take out modern electronics. To what size and scope, nobody knows but if something depends upon electricity or electronics to operate, you can be rest assured it will probably have problems. So that means have all important papers reading material (like those how guides on the internet) printed on paper. Get a tube radio such as the kinds everyone had in the 1940's. If you can afford it, a running pre-electronic ignition vehicle (pre-1970 to make it easy) will make you the king of the neighborhood (and the target of thieves and government goons). Have something to heat water and food on which runs on wood, coal, charcoal, or gas. And if you really want to hang on to that laptop, cell phone or modern radio, build a Farraday cage which may protect at risk electronics.
Can anyone survive a nuclear war?
They did in Japan and that is the only one we have to research. However, after the atomic bomb as invented, several countries including the U.S. spent lots of time and money to figure out the answer to the same questions: How to survive a nuclear bomb?
It can be done; check out Nuclear War Survival Skills for more in depth information. The real trick is after all is over: Having enough food and the ability to produce more.
Why would you want to survive the end of the world?
The world will not truly end short of a major astronomical event such as Earth being obliterated by another object in space or the atmosphere being completely ripped away from the planet. Otherwise, what we are really talking about is the end of our society as we know it. It may mean a total global war, financial or government collapse, or a pandemic. All have happened before and will happen again unfortunately.
Why do it? I take a look at my children and think what an irresponsible parent I would be to not provide for them in any way possible and that includes being prepared for worse case scenarios.
Swine Flu Guide Available Online
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Prepare: Nuclear War
I watched this clip on You Tube this morning. There are several others related and like it on their so there is plenty of depressing footage available if you are so inclined.
What struck me are the people either standing around with their mouths open or panicking like morons. Yes, I have never been in a nuclear war, but these are actors and the directors/producers obviously wanted to create an image of how people would react in this scenario.
I know a bunch of people who would go into "ready mode"; that never gets portrayed in films though.
For instance, I have my computer up most of the time. The TV is almost always on and I carry a Blackberry 20 hours a day. If something happens news wise, I am usually on it. Example: During Sunday's Easter Egg hunt, I was the one who informed the other party goers of the rescue of the Maersk Alabama's captain moments after it was announced.
So, I find out that nuclear missiles are being launched. The internal clock in my head says "twenty minutes max" until something lands nearby. Let's get started!
Where is everyone?
Locate the wife and kids. If kids are at school, my butt is on the way to get them now. School is on speed dial. Call school, get my kids into the front office now.
Kids at home? Good. Get them in the house and get ready to go.
Wife not at home? Call her cell, tell her to get her butt home now.
Start loading water
Water is the most important product we will need. Start filling the bathtubs after throwing a splash of bleach in the bottom. Two tubs in the house, both will get filled.
Next, grab the jugs and bottles kept in the kitchen and put the kids to filling them up. Do the same with any and all tupperware and other type containers in the cabinets as well.
Start getting the food together
We keep food all over the house. Canned goods, pasta, buckets, you know like the rest of you. I am going to be stock piling all of it in my shelter in place (we will address that in a second).
Most will come as it is in plastic covered cartons, but loose cans and other stuff will be thrown into laundry baskets and storage containers.
And the contents of the fridge will be put into that giant ice chest sitting under the shelf in the kitchen along with all the ice and some of the frozen foods too.
Get the cars into the garage
And disconnect the batteries and ground the vehicle. I want this thing to start afterward if possible.
Close the windows and shutters. Lock up the house.
Get the family into the home shelter. Pile as much additional stuff around us as possible for mass. You can never have enough mass protection from fallout.
Get radios, gloves, masks, tools and other stuff. Most of it is already pre-positioned inside the home shelter, but I have a tendency to borrow stuff and use elsewhere.
Bring in the phone. Call anyone one last time.
This is crucial. Let's say you have friends or family away from the zone of damage, but close enough to drive too. If they know you are prepared and sheltered, they may be in a position to come to you afterward or expect you once the radiation levels have tapered off.
Now, what is the home shelter and shelter in place? It would be swell if we all had a swanky underground shelter with twelve months of supplies, blast door, filtration systems and multi entrance/exit hatches and room for forty. But let's face it - who has a couple of million around to buy one of those?
However, any of us can build an expedient fallout shelter in our home with enough time. The best bet is to have it laid out now and have the necessary materials on hand. First, google Nuclear War Survival Skills. Second, go to RadMeters4U and read this whole piece on What To When Nuclear War Is Imminent.
Our home shelter is in the center of the house where the most mass is located (We do not have a basement). The attic above the space has several large full storage containers. The surrounding walls comprise with bathrooms, closets or other inner walls.
Heavy materials such as storage containers, full drawers, boxes and other stuff will be put along the walls. I have several doors and pieces of plywood for the over head. These will be layered with additional storage containers, clothing and other stuff for mass protection.
The hallway has a right angle which will serve as the air flow port. Another is designed on one side.
I have already purchased dosimeters and KI for additional protection and detection. After the radiation levels have dropped off a couple of things will happen. We will leave and go to friend away from here or we will try and make a go of it here.
Is this plan fool proof? Of course not. If it were up to me I would have 15 acres one hundred miles from the nearest 7-11 complete with an underground shelter and storeroom. I would also have wings, could read minds and could shoot like Alvin York. Wishes and fishes. I have to work with what I have and where I am. Adapt and overcome.
A few more things...
The chances of an onslaught of nuclear warheads raining down from Russia are far slimmer than they were in 1982. Times have changed. So have our adversaries. Those nuclear weapons may arrive in rented u-Hauls or shipping containers today.
Why did I not mention running to the grocery store? You have to do that now. All of us should have food and water stored. Last minute water can and should be obtained because you can never have enough.
What will the world look like after a nuclear attack? Who knows. It will stink come to think of it. But I would rather prepare for my kids than sit at home watching them starve and wishing I had done something now.
Good luck and get off your computer and get some fresh air.
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