Prepare: Why People Hate "The Road"

Up front, "The Road" is a best seller fiction title by Cormac McCarthy which describes the harrowing journey of an unnamed man and his son across a post-apocalyptic America. The world is cold, dying (even plant life), and there is very little left to eat other than salvage.  The beginning and end of "The Road" are vague, depressing and cruel and leave most readers feeling depressed and despondent after reading.

"The Road" was eventually adapted for the big screen and was released in 2009 in limited release. It is available now on NetFlix, pay per view or the video rental box.

Reading any of the numerous preparedness and survival themed boards, the subject of the movie or book comes up frequently. As it is a survival themed, futuristic story and very well publicized, most of us have been exposed to "The Road" in some way.

The verdict from many SHTF fiction fans is unanimous: They hate "The Road". Not just your garden variety, "thought is was boring or preposterous", but "want to burn the book and have the movie banned" type of hate.

I thnk the reasons for this are many.

Preparedness and survival mindsets are all about avoidance. Avoiding starvation, violence, deprivation, slavery, or homelessness. "The Road" tosses that out the window as the protagonsists spend the entire story in constant confrontation with hunger and violence.

Your run of the mill survivor likes to think that he has most scenarios covered and in a real "SHTF situation", would be able to assemble or join a group of like minded survivors. T"The Road" has the heroes alone and out of options most of the book.

Some survivalist minded folk gravitate towards firearms aspects of stories and enjoy reading about the capabilities and capacities of the story subjects armory and choice of weapons. "The Road" has one gun with two rounds of ammunition. And there are no piles of weapons recovered after battles or located in forgotten National Guard armories. Gun wise, "The Road" is boring.

"The Road" has a hero with no list of preps, no long winded explainations on how he assembled, purchased or obtained numerous doohickeys and wonder devices. There are no laborious descriptions and advice for highlighting prep readers.

The book is a let down for these people as it is missing all the standard elements they deem necessary in a good survival themed story. 

It seems many survivalist fiction fans need stories with some or most of the following elements:

- The hero has his bases covered; a strategically located retreat, stored food, several different firearms, a vehicle, fuel, heat and energy sources.

- The hero has compatriots. A supportive and like minded spouse, friends with the same mindset, the companionship and respect of someone with authority such as a local sheriff or military commander. Everyone seems to enjoy working together to raise food, build fortifications and repel bad guys. And there's a back slap or big grin around every corner in the post-apocalyptic world as every conflict is resolved in one chapter or less.

- The hero has a somewhat functioning world: Food can be grown, supplies can still be located or salvaged, there is a tidy method to deal with enemies, characters can travel from one location to another.

- Antagonists are predictable; they have names like Scrag or Greasey, have clear cut criminal motives, will attack at convenient times and are eventually defeated.

- Death is acceptable and surmountable; deaths of enemies or compatriots is quickly dealt with and dismissed, there is no mental anguish or grief, civilized people quickly accept the current scenario and deal death without remorse or question.

"The Road" did not adhere to what fans expected and wanted. Moreover, "The Road" did not fulfill the desire to see success in a post-apocalyptic world and so, it could not be considered a worthy title or film.

As for myself, I take a different tact. I enjoyed the book as a work of literature and fiction, (I thought the movie was so-so). From a preparedness scenario, it opened my eyes to a completely worse case world that some sort of mental preparedness is needed.

As they say, your mileage may vary on "The Road".

Prepare: The Road - Supply List and Shopping Spree

I was just rereading over Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" the other day after seeing that the movie is now available on pay per view. I also watched the preview trailer for the film last night.

I have not brought myself to watch the film for a couple of reasons though.
First, I know the movie embellishes some scenes, leaves out others and includes a bunch of stuff not actually in the book.
Secondly, I have having a movie ruin a good book. I liked reading "The Road" and I don't want some Hollyweird people messing it up.

Here's an imaginary excersize to play: Suppose the Father in The Road was given a thirty minute shopping spree in a present day Walmart. What would he take?

So in the door he goes with his trusty shopping cart. He can only take what fits in the one cart but he can keep the cart when he's done.

You know and I know he is going for the ammo counter first. Having a pistol with one cartridge is pretty frustrating. Bad news though. Walmart is notoriously short on pistol ammo, especially .38. But I think if dad found a single box of 50 shells he would be estatic. Nope - I don't think he would feel compelled to snag a Ruger Mini 14 or Remington 870 while he is there. Too much stuff to carry.

Next up, shoes. Since dad and son spend all their time walking the road, their shoes are falling apart and replacements are needed. I can see dad grabbing at least two pairs for each of them as well as a half dozen pairs of socks.

Then, it's on to the grocery section. All the food looks great after a decade or so of deprivation, but dad is an analytical guy. So he goes for lots of small cans - beans, sausages, vegetables. Most of all, several cans of pork and beans as it is the son's favorite. Then dry lightweight foods like nuts, raisins, oatmeal, and beans. He would probably grab canned tuna and more crackers as he and the son like them. As a treat, he would stuff his pockets with chocolate bars and packets of cocoa. Finally, I think he would probably take some fresh fruit - bananas, oranges, lemons. Things the boy probably had never had.

The camping section would be next. I think dad would want a warm sleeping bag for each of them as well as some other basic camping equipment. I don't think dad would want to haul along a stove though and a flashlight or lantern would be a bad idea.

Clothing. More pants and shirts for both of them as well as sweaters and long underwear. New gloves would be nice as well as coats if they were available.

Finally, over the pharmacy. Something for dad's cough which might prevent its spread and possibly reverse the damage. Also, a bottle of aspirin would have been a life saver as well as some antibiotics.

Although Dad would probably want to stay in Walmart with son forever and avoid the hell of the road, but rules are rules and after 30 minutes its back to his own world. Hopefully, better off than before and maybe, it might result in a happier ending.

If you have not read The Road or seen the movie, both are available now. Check it out. Not for the faint hearted though.

SHTF: The Road Novel

I posted not too long ago about The Road by Cormac McCarthy and how to survive the conditions described. What I did not do was give my opinion and review of the book.

The Road has generated some heated discussions on most of the survivalist forums and boards. The reactions take two courses and are polar opposites;

"I hated The Road. Worse piece of writing I ever read".

"The best book I have read recently. Haunting. Incredible story of love in a horrible world".

I will warn you now. I am in the second camp. Is The Road the best book I have ever read? No, but it is a very good book.

If you have not read The Road yet, here is the synopsis. Later, there will be some spoilers, but none that you could not have read elsewhere on the internet.

The Road takes place in some unamed time years after a apocalyptic event has take place. The story follows a man (identified only as the Man) and his son (the Boy) as they travel by foot southward in an attempt to avoid the bitterly cold winters set upon the land of their time.

The world has grown cold, dark and devoid of most life. The air is constantly filled with ash from burning dead trees and other plant life. Ash filled snow and rain fall and the sun is obscured by the cloud cover.

People are few and far between. Most have survived by resorting to eating each other or scavenging from the ruins of homes and buildings. It is a pretty gross world.

The Man and the Boy are trying to reach the ocean believing there might be life and warmth there. They have no possessions save a salvaged grocery cart containing some canned goods, blankets, a tarp for shelter and a revolver with two cartridges.

The trip is harrowing as they encounter and do thier best to avoid gangs of scavengers and cannibals, theives and sub-human behavior of every type.

The Road is a real SHTF survival story. There are no well stocked hidden retreats, no best friend sheriffs who are always around, no wise old people full of practical knowledge and no cardboard bad guys with names like Scrag or Greasy.. just a man and his "world entire" the boy and their never ending perilous journey.

The story is depressing, especially if you are like me and have children. And I could not help but think that the Road portrays a world that most people will end up in if the SHTF. Homeless, wandering, hungry, cold, and carrying all their possessions in some jerry rigged form of transport.

The Road does not end entirely well. There is death and loss, but there is hope in the end. And like so many other critics and fans have mentioned, The Road is about love and sacrifice. More so than most other survival themed books I have read.

Not a pretty story, but a good read and a good book. The writing style and format take some getting used to, but The Road is definately up there in survival fiction writing in my opinion.

Best option, check the local library for a copy or order the paperback online.

SHTF: The Road

Unless you have been under a rock or in your bunker for the past two years, you have heard of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Forget that it is an Oprah book club book, whatever, rather that it is a masterpiece of literature.

The Road describes a world where everything, all life, people, animals, plants, are dying off after a cataclysmic event. (Although the book does not say, to me it is obvious an extinction event, such as a massive meteorite storm or comet strike has taken place. Other reviewers love to pontificate, incorrectly, that the the story describes "nuclear winter" after a man-made nuclear war).

Amongst this ruin, we have a man and his son, both unnamed, traveling across this blasted and cold land moving south where they hope there is warmer temperatures and food.

The story is about survival, but it is more about love and keeping hope in the darkest of times. Something we here understand and appreciate all too well.


Heavy handedness aside, let's get down to practicality. If you have read The Road, you probably thought what I did - "How could I have survived in that situation?"

As I read The Road, I figured out these few lessons:
- Be prepared - duh. But really prepared with food for several years, ways to grow more and preserve it in adverse conditions, to have a retreat well off the beaten path and obscure from passers by and have plenty of ammo for your weapon.

With that in mind, is there anyway anyone could survive that cold desolate world described in The Road? I'd like to think there is, after all, there were communes and survivors who had not yet degenerated into cannibalism and despicable acts.

To get started..

Don't be a refugee - Lesson one. The Man and Boy are wandering with all their worldly possessions. Around every corner is death and destruction waiting for them. Rather than walking to death, we know to have a retreat ready before the day happens.

Retreat location is everything - we don't know how the disaster took place, but we do know from The Road that pretty much everything above ground was affected. So having an underground shelter would be advantageous. Further, the shelter should not be too far north (colder), near an earthquake zone (falling asteroids could trigger a quake) or near the sea (flooding). So somewhere in the southwest or lower Plain states would be nice.

Our shelter must be over a deep aquifer for our well to go. Something with water for years and unaffected by the elements. So a well is mandatory and having the pump run on wind or another renewable power source is mandatory

Next, our shelter must be large, very large to house what we are going to stock it with.

Food,food,food - the characters in The Road are starving most of the book. We will need to stock our shelter not for a few months, but for years. That means the some sort of list of foods and schedule of consumption:

Year one, two - canned and packaged food.
Year three - long term storage food such as grain, rice, beans, powdered milk, honey, cooking oil.
Year four through seven - more long term grain, powdered milk, honey and oil. Retort foods such as Emergency Essentials, Meals-Ready-To-Eat for variety and as a treat.
Year eight and on - Underground food production garden with grow lights and hydroponics. Continued use of grains. Small scale animal production such as pygmy goats and chickens.

That was my estimate, so I went to the food calculator and entered in my data. Here is what I got..

First, I figured in seven years worth of food with four big people and one little person consuming - so that (7 x 4) + (7 x 1) x the estimated annual amounts.

That would mean
Grains - 9436lbs
Fats (oils, etc) - 413lbs
Beans - 1848lbs
Sugars - 1883lbs
Milk - 2359lbs
Plus a bunch of cooking essentials like baking powder, yeast, salt, etc.

Using this same calculator, I would increase the number of years I plan to stay in the shelter and stock accordingly.

It is a lot to consider, but think about the core food, grain. Only 10K lbs would feed five people for 7 years.

So the shelter has to be huge. I figure that I would have to buy a truckload of grain at a time, although I think a grain truck carries about 20,000 lbs so one would be enough. Just having a place to store it would be a chore.

With food and water covered for our post-The Road world, we need a few other essentials.

Power - Solar is out and the electric grid is down. The wind still blows and wind power may be are only option. We have to keep the wind mills running in all the dust and ash, and discovery will always be a problem. But if the windmills are running outside and our shelter is underground hidden from view, other refugees and bandits will pass them by hopefully and move on.

The windmills would store their power in deep cycle batteries and would power cooking, heating and lights.

The other option would be to have several thousand gallons of propane stored underground around my bunker. It could be used for cooking, heating and powering a generator.

Wood and coal fire would be out as the smoke would have to be expelled and that would attract others.

Washing, toilets and personal hygiene - all I wanted to do when I was reading The Road was the desire to take a shower. Having wash facilities would be crucial as would be toilets. The waste would have to be used for fertilizer in the growth rooms for vegetables and fruit productions.

Water from the bath/shower would be reused for watering the plants. Waste from the animals would be used for earthworm production and fertilizer.

What else would we need? Clothing, including changing sizes for children as they grow. Shoes too.

Vitamins as our diet becomes progressively more limited. Medicine as the chance of minor infections spreading becomes a real issue in our closed bunker environment. Having a sun lamp or tanning bed for artificial sunlight and vitamin D production would help too.

I would want to have at least four or five families in the shelter. We would probably be down there, with very limited exposure to the outside world for 7-10 years judging from the book. At that time, most of the die off would have unfortunately happened and then we could wait for the world to hopefully heal itself.

Could you survive the world of The Road? Most likely not based upon what I read. But thinking about solutions to problems is what we should do and do often. However, some survival situations are simply too big to grasp and plan for.