Prepare: SHTF Fiction Update

SHTF Fiction Update

I have been writing SHTF stories for some time and after publishing some of them here, finally started up a second site specifically for the genre.

SHTF Fiction has a number of my stories as they evolve in my head. I think there are four or so in progress and they are like my kids. I try to spend time with each and it is fun to watch them grow.

I really have to do some housekeeping on the site as it is a bit disorganized. Also, blogging platforms put the newest post first so first time readers will find the latest chapter when they land on the page rather than the first chapter. Hopefully this weekend I can reorganize things and make it more logical.

So what stories are going on at SHTF Fiction?

America 2.0 - The economic fall and rebirth of the United States as seen through the eyes of a suburban teenage girl.

Fragile - The prelude to Will which describes a virus which kills most of the world's population and leaves humanity in small enclaves.

Will - Follows the story of a young man from childhood to early adulthood as he, his family and friends deal with a world emptied of people and their struggle to survive.

Change of Major - Three college friends survive a nuclear war, but now have to deal with the outcome in their local area.

I try to take the survival genre and add situations and characters not generally found in other stories. If you have the chance, please visit and let me know if you like any of the stories.

Prepare: The fallacy of living off the land

There is a common thread among many survivalists and that is the concept of  "living off the land" once the poop hits the fan. The idea being that the survivor can get along hunting, fishing, trapping and foraging from nature. This is a futile methodology and should be avoided.

Living off the land conjures up images of Daniel Boon or Davy Crockett stomping through the woods with their trusty muzzle loader, sitting around a camp fire roasting a large piece of unknown meat and wearing buckskin fringe and a dead raccoon on their head. In the post-SHTF world, this sounds like a pretty novel idea.

After the nukes go up and the cities explode, head for the national forest with a pack and rifle. Find a little clearing in the glen and put up a shelter which will later be expanded into a cozy little cabin. Take down a deer every so often for food. Or walk over to the mountain stream and pull up a couple of trout for breakfast. Study the local fauna and gather nuts, berries and medicinal herbs. Stockpile wood for the winter and hole up in peace and comfort while avoiding Mad Max and Snake Pliskin in the far away dystopian world.

Right. You and every other Jerimiah Johnson Jr.

Living off the land is nearly impossible. Even the early mountain men returned to civilization from time to time to sell pelts and restock supplies they could not fabricate or find in the wilderness. Things like salt, gun powder, shot, etc. The Native Americans lived off the land, but did so in communities where multiple people took care of multiple tasks; hunting, food preparation and storage, processing of game and hides, etc.

Here's another take on it. If the SHTF, what do you think everyone else will be doing? Not just hunters like yourself, but Joe Suburban with his never used Remington? Now imagine 5000 Joes and you get the picture. Not only will they be stomping around every national and state park scaring away the game, they will be shooting anything that looks like a deer including you!

Then there's the game. Game management is a full time job. Once that goes out the window, along with hunting season, quotas and bag limits, the game will be wiped out to disastrously low levels in short order. Forget about deer. Next will be squirrels, rabbits, dove, quail, beavers, woodchucks, etc. What happens when you finally take down that deer and it turns out it is sick? Do you take a chance because you have nothing left to eat but grubs and roots or walk away? No thanks, not for me.

If it were me, I would live off the land, but my land. Not some open piece of woods far away. You are better off in semi suburbia with 400lbs of rice, a good sized garden and the option of plinking squirrels and an occasional stray dog for stew meat. Add some chickens, a few goats and maybe a hutch of rabbits and you are in good shape. Better than Grizzly Adams some would say.

Living off the land is dangerous and no matter how many guns you have nor how much woodcraft you posses, the odds are against anyone starving to death in less than a month. If Joe Suburban doesn't get you first.

SHTF: Minimum housing, Minimum wage, minimum life next

Couple of things ran across the radar this AM.

First, this article about this boarding house in Seattle with a new concept. Tiny apartment homes with shared kitchens and laundry facilities. The actual rooms are as small as fifty square feet. How cute.

Except when you realize how many of those in charge, (and who get paid lots of tax dollars and non-profit money), think this should be the ultimate destiny for all of us little ants and bees here in the U.S.. Everyone should embrace this small is better philosophy.

I can see their version of the future...

Imagine happy workers in their snug little one room homes with two sets of clothes, (two pairs of khaki pants and two blue shirts), a municipal bus pass and a secure job at the department of Coffee and Soy Burger Production.

Mandatory educational hours twice a week learning about subjects like "The Carbon Impact of Human Existence on Earth" and "The Progressive Values of Alternate Cultures Compared to the Failures of the Western World Belief System".

Good medical care provided by USCare and USPharm. Advocates praise the decrease in life expectancy among Americans to the "sustainable level" of 59 years of age. As their productivity drops, those seasoned members of society should be encouraged to Die With Dignity.

How about that big bump in the Minimum Wage today?

Yesterday the serfs earned $6.55 an hour. Today they can look forward to $7.55 and increased dollars to spend freely on big screen televisions, video games, new fuel efficient cars from GM and fast food. One economist praised this potential infusion of $5.5 billion into the economy as a "shot in the arm".

Forget that businesses are suffering and laying off employees, reducing hours and closing their doors. Mandatory government wage increases mean nothing if there are no jobs.

This minimum wage increase will definitely turn things around. It reminds me of those incredible crop predictions of the old Soviet Union. Prosperity for all!

Never forget that this is all part of the plan for us little people. 99% of the population going to our minimum wage government jobs moving park benches and painting the local Diversity Center. Living in crammed rabbit warrens eating soy mush and bean surprise. Children limited to one per couple once they pass their Child Licensing Test. Vast areas of suburbs, rural areas and wilderness off-limits to the masses and only available for the enjoyment of the Elders and Watchers assigned over us.

Peace and Tranquility upon you!

Bah. It won't work and it won't last. These brainiacs seem to forget we are human beings. Individuals with spirit, drive and determination. We refuse to climb into our pigeon holes and chase the cheese around the maze. We stubbornly cling to our antiquated religions and self preservation.

As individuals we want to make more money than we did last year. We want to live in the home of our own liking whether it be a two bedroom apartment downtown or five acres in rural Idaho. We may want to have no children or ten.

We may wish to pursue eight years of college, four years of technical school or simply avoid school and recycle discards found on the side of the road. Simply put, individuals fail to comply with Big Brothers Five Year Plan. And they hate us, but we have an advantage they don't.

We move faster. We are more nimble. Their bloated carcass can hardly get out of bed in the morning without a poll, focus group and consensus. We win in the end. They lose and go extinct.

In the meantime, you need to get ready. This is a marathon, not a race. We need to be prepared for the trying times over the next two years or so. The economy is not growing and cannot keep up with the spending. The collapse is inevitable. You must prepare for your family and friends. The usual; food, fuel, water, space.

We will persevere. We will overcome. We will survive.

Prepare: Fall 2009 End Of The World TV Shows

In the world of television, (don't ask me how I know so much about this - that's for another blog), there are a number of important calendar events. Sweeps weeks (actually there are months, four of 'em to be exact}, numbers (when Nielsen and other release their latest official ratings) and seasons - Fall, Spring and to a lesser extent, Summer schedule.

Fall is a bigger release time than Spring. Spring only means that the holiday schedule {Thanksgiving to New Years) is finally over. Fall is larger because that is when the real, high dollar budget shows are debuted.

Fall 2009 brings a host of new shows with an Apocalyptic bent to them. I have a theory why which I will cover later in the post.

Day One (NBC) - Here is the take from the network..

Day One is planned as a limited "event series." The new series from Jesse Alexander and Alex Graves involves what happens to a band of survivors after a global catastrophe devastates the world's infrastructures. The series stars Adam Campbell, Catherine Dent, Julie Gonzalo, David Lyons, Derek Mio, Carly Pope, Thekla Reuten and Addison Timlin. Day One will be held until midseason to be launched out of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games at the end of February, NBC announced.

Here is a "Behind the Scenes" which told me very little..



A writer online suggested that James Rawles (yes that one) had something to do with Day One, but I have found nothing yet to substantiate the rumor. If so, that would be interesting.

Flash Forward (ABC) - What the network has to say about it.

Everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes and has a vision of their future. Chaos ensues.



Flash Forward is based upon a book of the same name by Robert Sawyer. Wikipedia gives a very detailed and technical explanation of the story. My bet is ABC will stray as far away from the storyline as possible in order to have lots of good looking young people as the stars and attention spans fixated on the series between commercial breaks.

V (ABC) - What the network has to say

Based on the 1983 miniseries, "V" chronicles human resistance fighters battling aliens.


Remember this from the 1980's? I seem to remember the unlikely shooting of a flying saucer with a LAW rocket for some reason or another.



V, 2009, has been updated with today's news events in mind. Don't be surprised to see certain political parties and candidates parodied as already being infiltrated by the aliens.

For us, Jericho was the best hope for a real post-apocalyptic television show. Unfortunately, it died a painful death after a great start.

There is a desire for end of the world programming, both on TV and the movies. Look at some of the films coming out this fall like the adaption of "The Road". Why would Hollywood be making this type of movie? I mean c'mon - they just elected the candidate who most personified "Hope and Change", didn't they? Isn't the world just a breath away from a new utopia here on Earth?

Happy thoughts and positive feelings aside, the real world is a different story for millions of movie goers and television watchers..

- The highest unemployment rate in nearly 30 years.
- North Korea (has nukes) and Iran (nearly there) saber rattling with fissionable swords.
- The U.S. economy in free fall with no end in sight.
- Swine flu and other diseases on the uptick.
- Global warming/cooling threats every other second.

My own theory is people want to watch end of the world movies and shows because they want to know the world could be worse and the secretly want some ideas what to do when the SHTF. Sort of a "how to" guide.

Expect more of this type of "entertainment" in the coming months. Things unfortunately will only get worse and reality can be stranger than fiction.

SHTF: Post SHTF employment, jobs, skills and work

In light of my past post about surviving layoffs and today's economy. One of the SHTF forums I frequent brought up this topic for discussion.

Let me preface with an explaination what I mean by post-SHTF. I am not talking about the current economic or employment scenario we have today. Loading up a yard cart and going door to door in your neighborhood offering to sharpen saw blades might get you a bunch of odd looks and the possibility of a confrontation with the law.

Rather, post-SHTF employment and jobs means work after the economy has collapsed; i.e. no welfare, no SS, no Medicare, no paycheck or job to go to. The government is gone or limping along at the federal level with few if any employees and only a token head of state hiding in a bunker somewhere. The streets are either deserted and home to looters and thieves.

You and yours are living in a rural or suburban enclave and have to do business or trade with others to items you need.

So, that being the case, here are my list of realistic post-shtf jobs and employment.

- medical and dental work.
No, nothing complex, but basic medical treatment and advice. Doctors, nurses and dentists will have plenty to do, but will have to do their work without benefit of most drugs or electricity. However, having a doctor check a child and determine that indeed the appendix is in danger of rupture and surgery is required, will be a must have skill.
In addition, knowledge and skills with natural remedies will be priceless. But these homemade potions and herbs have to work to some degree, so don't plan on figuring out this skill after the SHTF.
Finally, any sort of related health skill will be useful such as massage therapy, accupuncture, chiropracters, midwife, etc. Those folks will have their "hands" full as hospitals and doctor's offices close.
A reminder, there will be no advanced medicine available or will be severly limited. That means high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, depression, etc will either run their natural course or the patient will have to adjust. Quickly.

- personal care
How often do you get a haircut? Once a month or every six weeks? What happens when Supercuts is a distant memory? Who wants to have head lice or scabies? People with hair skills will have their work "cut" out for them. Sure, Sonny can get a crew cut or butch with the home barber kit, but what about Mom or daughter?

- food production and preparation
Most people have brown thumbs and cannot produce a thing to eat from dirt. Those with gardening know how, or better, the ability to produce extra will have work out the wazzoo. That also applies also to those with canning, preservation, butchering and drying skills.
The hunter will have work, but with 300 million mouths in the US, wild animals will be overhunted and domestics will be the new food source. Take it as you will.
Raising chickens, rabbits and goats will be a cash industry post-shtf.

- labor of all types
Like it or not, most of America is soft and weak and used to having others do for them. Family men who cannot change a lightbulb or mow their own lawn. Mothers who cannot clean their home or do the laundry.
These are opportunities, as basic as they are, for the hardy do it yourselfer to offer services and training to these lost souls.
More advanced skills like sewing will be highly in demand. Basic work like taking in laundry will provide work for families.

- Mechanical, electrical, carpentry
If gasoline runs out, fixing the Escalade will not be in demand. However, keeping a generator or rototiller working will be.
Same with installing a basic power generation system using salvaged solar panels or an excersize bike and car batteries.
How about having those shot out windows fixed or the roof leak repaired?
Yes, having real fix it skills, not some shade tree service, will be in demand from skilled professionals. Having the tools, non-powered to do it, will also be mandatory. So stock up on hand saws and drills.

- security
The soldier of fortune, former police officer or even the black belt, former nightclub bouncer will have plenty of work.
Think of all the folks who are afraid of guns right now. Or have never handled one. Or the number of people who do not know how to defend themselves. Or know how to set up a defensive perimeter around a home, town or farm.
These skills and the mindset which accompany them will be priceless as your town goes to war between the haves and havenots, the raider and producer and the looter and survivor. Remember the TV show Jericho? The neighboring town attacked Jericho for farm land and food. Having a man like the Mayor who had combat experience made the difference when the town was under attack.

- scavenger
The ability to find hard to get products will be.. interesting. And potentially profitable.

Tell me. What skill do you see as needed and worthwhile to pursue after the SHTF? Remember, think what others will pay for, not what your dream job will be.

SHTF: Scavenging 101

In the post-SHTF world, there are a number of ways to have stuff and stay alive.

Produce - grow vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat.
Hunt - animals for food, skins, etc.
Trade - your goods for someone else's stuff.
Buy - you pay for stuff with gold or junk silver.
Scavenge - you search and salvage.

Scavenging is not looting, stealing or raiding each of which is illegal, wrong and dangerous. For a few quick definitions..

Looters - exist immediately after law and order has broken down or is in the process of collapsing. Looters target businesses, stores and homes which have things they want and will take. Generally, looters avoid violence and direct confrontation depending instead upon mob mentality, confusion and panic to get what they want.

Bandits, thieves and robbers - Lie in wait along well traveled areas and target passersby. Bandits rarely travel far from where they make their living and will only move on when confronted with a larger and more deadly force.

Raiders - move and steal, killing and raping as they go. Raiders burn through food, fuel and ammo and have to constantly travel and raid to find more stuff. The worse of the post-SHTF vermin, the raider must be dealt with before they find your retreat.

But let's talk about scavenging. Scavenging is both a bottom feeder mindset but also a resourceful, adaptive past time. Scavenging means to search for and accqure goods and resources which have been abandoned, lost, left behind or overlooked by others.

The scavengers motto is "lost and found, finders keepers". Scavengers will go through the looted grocery store, warehouse or office park long after world has collapsed and the property owner has migrated or expired. Scavengers research and observe a potential find or area and verify that it is not inhabited or otherwise in the possession of others. Scavengers never kill or use force to take, only to defend what they have found and worked for.

Where the scavenger works

The scavenger works from a base of operations, his retreat, urban or rural. He has to have a central location where he lives and stocks his supplies.

The scavenger will target locations for salvage such as..

Retail stores
Warehouses and storage facilities
Gasoline stations
Businesses and offices
Government facilities, buildings or bases.
Interstate highways and roads for abandoned cars, trucks or other vehicles for fuel and cargo
Abandoned homes, farms or ranches

Tools of the trade

Scavenging typically means traveling light. While it is advantageous to have some sort of vehicle, powered or not, to carry large loads, the typical scavenging run means generally entails carrying as little as possible to the job and leaving with just what you can carry.

The scavenger needs the following tools:

Some sort of bag. A good backpack works, as well as having a few cloth or mesh bags for extras. Trashbags are OK for light salvage, pillow cases work as well.

A crowbar, multi-tool and knife.

Gloves, face mask and goggles are useful, especially the gloves.

Flashlight

Alone or in a group?

It is always best to buddy up when scavenging, for safety, communications and for effort. Whether it is to lift a heavy object or cover a large amount of space in a short time, going with more than one scavenger as a team is the best solution.

What to look for and where to look

Grocery stores - food obviously as well as anything else carried in a grocers. Check under the shelves, any piles of boxes or displays, the back of the store, and loading dock. Always remember that most grocers have offices and areas generally off limits to shoppers.

Gasoline stations - sure the tanks, but don't forget the store, closets, garage, out back and in any storage containers.

Offices, buildings and office parks - break rooms for vending machines, coffee, paper products, the refrigerator. Employee desks (most people keep food or snacks in desk as well as other goodies), storage closets for supplies and giveaways.

Highways and roads - Abandoned cars for fuel and goods left behind, trucks for fuel and cargo (most trucks are contract and unmarked), any highway or DOT storage warehouses or depots.

Abandoned houses - naturally food and supplies inside, but also check the garage, basement, attic, and outside for garden or fruit/nut trees.

In every building and vehicle, search for hidden storage spaces, compartments and trunks. Almost every place has a hidden storage area that other scavengers may have overlooked. Check under furniture or fixtures which seem too heavy to move. In air ducts and fireplaces. In bathrooms.

The good scavenger can have a profitable day no matter where he searches if he knows where to look, what to look for and how to do his job.

SHTF Saturday

Its Saturday, so I can write whatever I feel like today.

Here is a short story, actually a piece of a story. Forget about the story line, instead see how many post-SHTF jobs and business opportunities you can spot.

Richard Lassiter finished loading the last box in the back of the trailer and secured it with tarp and rope. The other two trailers were ready and the families were climbing aboard the three trucks.

Richard's oldest son Luke and his nephew Jim were kicking their dirt bikes to life and pointed them out the open gate to the farm. Luke would ride out last after locking the gate down when the last truck and trailer pulled out.

It had been nearly a year since the Fall. That was what they called it around here at least. They called it the Crash in the Midwest, the Big Boom in California and simply the End in other places. The stories the Lassiter family heard on the shortwave helped them piece together some of what happened elsewhere. Nobody would ever know the full extent of how bad things had gone in the world over the past year.

Now, gasoline and diesel were in short supply, especially when running five vehicles as the Lassiters and their extended group of family and friends were doing early this particular morning. But the Lassiters were not one to miss an opportuntity for some trade and the chance to increase their bounty.

The nearby small town, which until last year was home to nearly 25,000 people, was the site of a new trading fair, bazaar,flea market, what have you. After several months of no commerce or trade, people were itching to get out of their homes and see what was available from nearby residents for trade or sale. And the Lassiters were no different.

As the Lassiters made their way to the high school grounds where the trading fair was to be taking place, several others made their way as well. Most had only a few things of value to trade. Others, however, were planning on providing services they knew would be in demand by survivors of the Fall.

These would be entrepreneurs all had quite a bit in common. Each mumbled to himself after the Fall, "I'm gonna be a knife sharpener, gunsmith or 'jack of all trades'. I am sure those things will be in demand". And so, they loaded up their wagons, yard carts and bike trailers and rolled them onto the fair grounds looking for business.

Imagine the looks they received from each other as they clanged, jangled and banged their identically laden carts of tools and files into the trade area at the fair.

At the same time, the Lassiters arrived. They parked their three trucks and trailers in a row length wise. Plywood board signs were erected on top of the trailers and along the sides of the trucks announcing their services, trade items and desired products of exchange. Folding tables were erected and chairs put out behind the tables.

Two young men with shotguns took up position behind the tables to provide security while the other family members, openly armed as well, setup shop.

Peg Lassiter, 19, set up tray after tray of vegetable seedlings on the two folding tables in front of her. Each was grown from the supply of hybrid seeds her father had collected over the years. They would not germinate next year which meant that today's customer would be back next season for more.

Jane Lassiter, Richard's wife, along with her niece Hope, setup two chairs side by side and a table laden with hair clippers, scissors and manicure equipment. Hope had been to beauty school before the Fall and Jane had always trimmed her husband's and son's hair. Now they would put those services to good use.

Max McCauley, Richard's long time friend, setup a bench and table with old shoes and boots. Each had been obtained from thrift stores and second hand for years before the Fall (and some scavenged over the past few months..). Max had repaired several seams and heels over the winter, had cleaned the shoes and provided new laces where needed. Now the worn, but completely serviceable shoes were going to bring Max a handsome profit for his winter's work. The shoes were organized by size and the prices clearly labeled.

Ted Lassiter, 12, was not to be left out. Piled on the ground in front of him were nearly 100 phone books and two trash bags of old newspaper. All had been scavenged and recovered from the numerous looted houses and businesses in the Lassiters area. A simple sign in front of the pile made Ted's case "Toilet Paper".

Finally, Richard pulled something out of his bag of tricks. Written on the plywood sign above his head was his shingle "Notary, witness and provider of civil wedding ceremonies - inquire within". Richard had obtained a "ordination" online before the Fall which proclaimed he was an ordained minister. Further, he had been a lawyer at one time before the Fall which might still have some revenue generating ability.

This combined with the large selection of used tools, knives and candles he had obtained from garage sales, thrift stores and flea markets which were now displayed on the table in front of him and who knew how he would make out today.

In the meantime, our dozen or so amateur gunsmiths and knife sharpeners were having a hard time finding business. One had hastily penned a sign which read "Knifes sharpened, fair prices". Another pushed his wheel barrow in front of every person he saw with a gun or knife on their belt "Sharpen your knife for ya. Tune up that pistol too".

"No thanks" was the reply which only angered and frustrated the would be business man.

Jane and Hope had a line at their "beauty shop" by this time. Of course it helped that after nearly a year, most people had uneven shaggy haircuts or ridiculously long locks hanging in front of their faces. And business was attracted to the Lassiters as twin sisters Mary and Faith serenaded the crowd with their violin and guitar duets. Music had been a stranger now that the power was out and radios, CDs and stereos were a thing of the past.

When a young couple shyly approached Richard about a wedding ceremony, the whole family stood and cheered. A time was set for that afternoon and Richard began to make arrangements. He quickly produced a silk flower arrangement and a wedding veil from his truck "Would you like to rent these for the happy occasion?" he inquired.

Two of the knife sharpeners were in a scuffle over an elderly man's pocket knife sharpening business. In the end, both were bruised and battered and the knife owner left with a dull blade.

The Lassiters were not taking old money for their wares and services. Only trade goods which were hard to get or manufacture. In particular,the Lassiters were looking for ammunition of any kind (but not to trade away, only to take in), fuel, unopened pre-Fall food stuffs, batteries and such. They also kept an open mind for "work of equal value". Why do the work when someone else would do it for you for cheaper? Outsourcing was not a thing of the old America.

When a man approached Ted for some toilet paper and offered a five dollar bill, Ted pulled the phonebook back from and asked for proper payment. An older relative sided up to Ted in case the customer became "difficult". He did not and he shuffled off with his money and goods for trade - a grocery bag of worthless compact disks and cell phones.

That afternoon, to the strains of "Hear Comes The Bride" as played by the twins, the young couple exchanged vows and Richard signed a marriage certificate, which he produced and notarized too, by the way. The couple handed over 8 rounds of 00 buckshot and a butane lighter for the services. Richard let the bride keep the silk bouquet. She looked too pretty to take it back.

A wonderful day for commerce, trade and love in the new America.

As the Lassiters packed up to head home before dark, a number of seething eyes were upon them among the stragglers lingering in the fairgrounds..




More tomorrow..