Preparedness
I am seeing a lot of talk about preparedness all over the place, and I approve. From good spare mags to gardening to the “four freedoms” and how bloodyminded that (partially)is, to what are your “minimum” guns?
I’m certainly not the best prepared individual in the world, but I have a good handle on what it takes to survive.
The predominant issue, at present, is making the house payment. I know a lot of folks out there who have stocked up canned goods and shotgun shells and boxes of ammo, but how the hell will they make the house payment?
There’s a long stretch of hard times between being laid off and living in a cabin out in the woods, hunting and fishing for food. I have always got side jobs lined up that I can work to make sure I can get tbe bills paid. And that’s a big deal. Long before you have to worry about jerking deer meat and splitting wood for the winter, you will have to worry about whether or not the gas bill is gonna get paid on time, or if they’re gonna shut it off.
There are plenty of things that can be done to be prepared in the meantime, of course. Vegetable gardening is a great one because if you have expereince doing it when you don’t need it, you’ll be better suited when you do need it. Knowing what to plant and how to plant and maintain it is a good preparedness skill. Reloading is another. Doing your own atuo repairs- this boggles my mind, because I see the “Preppies” loading up all their gear in vehicles they obviously don’t -or can’t- maintain. If you cannot change the oil, spark plugs, wires, etc. in your car, what the hell will you do if it dies and you can’t afford to have someone fix it for you? Home repairs are similarly important- have any idea how to patch a hole in the roof? glaze a window?
I’m all about doing things cheaply, making things last, and getting the most out of everything. Those things in themselves are good preparedness skills, because they allow you to catch anything thrown at you, and throw it back with equal force. Like most things, the best preparedness is to be able to adapt. You may have a basement full of canned goods, shotshells, and bottled water; can you adapt to the bullshit we’re about to endure?
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Had my first ‘test garden’ last year. I know what NOT to do this time and I have a much better idea about what needs to be done (gourds are dumb, useless, and will take over a whole garden and chipmunks like pumpkins but won’t eat gourds). It’s a learning experience for sure but that puts me ahead of a whole bunch of folks.
I love the ‘real’ men who don’t know shit about construction, cars, or killing.
They’ll be the first to go.
I agree. Back to grandpa’s favorite saying from the great depression; We the unwilling,led by the unknowing have done so much,with so little,for so long, we are able to do anything with nothing.
I plan on going cannibal.
Shit, we get another 10″ of snow and my neighbors may mysteriously disappear.
Speaking of which, this is one of the funniest books ever written, for people with a morbid sense of humor. Especially the chapter on how vegetarians (labeled “grazers” in the book) make for the best meat, and techniques on how to harvest them (I really enjoyed the parts about using patchoulli oil as scent lure, warning that the females of the species are often larger, hairier, and more dangerous than the males, and the phrase “windchimes will be your dinner bell”)
:)
Ed: Fixed.
I followed a thread on another site involving oil changes. Possibly the easiest vehicle DIY project one can perform. I was astounded by not only how many didn’t but how many couldn’t. Most were completely uninterested in trying to acquire basic DIY skills. I am astounded.
I’m with Dick on this. People who cannot do even these simple things will never be able to adapt and survive.
And we will pick their bones. I see so many young that do not have a clue on how to do the simplist things. Forget the hard stuff. Especially the ones that are 2nd and 3rd generation townies. Not a clue.
A man with a pickup truck (or panel van) is never without work.
Some of us looked around about a decade ago and surmised that it wouldn’t be long before the shit got deep and figured we’d better eliminate ALL recurrent debt ASAP.
It’s a damn good feeling to not owe anybody anything. Not to mention acreage to farm and raise/hunt critters and cut wood. Tools to fix shit. Welders to make shit. And the know how to use ’em all.
I too know city slickers that can’t wipe their own asses…. much less plunge their own toilets. Those folks will have a STEEP learning curve or, more likely, will have to hire folks like me and you to wipe their asses for them when shit REALLY hits the fan.
Yup, there is damn little I can’t do myself…. excepting what my gathering years make impossible. Growing up on a farm, and much of my career running shops (making do with nothing is normal) prepares one to do almost anything with just about nothing.
When the Hungry Human Hordes descend upon your domicile to steel your food stash, this is the way to take “care” of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gYvW0nwkwM
“It’s like a fuckin’ turkey shoot.”
Indeed.
dakotas5 grandpappy said it well.
“We the unwilling,led by the unknowing have done so much,with so little,for so long, we are able to do anything with nothing.”
That is exactly how I grew up.
What Carteach is dead on for this aging…(dipstick?…wingnut?…ol’fart?…man?…male Homo Sapien?) yeah, they all work. Grew up with tools of every kind. And if I don’t have it or know it, I will improvise.
…..cough…..
As for the “Hungry Horde”…ummm, they make good wildcat, coyote and wolf bait. Not certain I wanna chow down on the carcass of some metrosexual of either gender who has been munching or punchin in places where the devil would fear to tread.
The good Rabbi Mossberg’s “00” buck 12ga. gene pool bleach is just the ticket to create a pile of bait. I will take furry hides for comfort, teeth and bone for tools.
Humans….Naw, that is where I draw the line. Might be the death of me, but I choose not to.
Just cook them to an internal temp of at least 165 degrees and don’t eat any of the meat attached to the spine, or the brain. Prions from the average liberal can cause DMD (Degenerative Moonbat Disease).
Just don’t eat Michael Moore. All of that meat is tainted, but if you render him down you should get a pretty good supply of bio-diesel out of the fat fucker.
You said “Taint”. That was cool.
Moore might make a good candle or three also.
I’d eat A. Jolie raw.
Well, Moore IS a taint…. :)
I can’t say I don’t have any debt, because truth is I have a lot of it, and mostly for ungood reasons. But if it all went tits up and I lost everything … I wouldn’t be in too different a circumstance from where I am now. I’d just be out a car and the contents of my storage unit. There are some things I would be sad to lose, but they’re just things. So, there’s that. I can deal with that.
As for the rest, if I don’t know how to do something, I’ll find someone who does and have them show me so I can do it myself. Have socket set, will travel.
Having spent plenty of time far too poor to be able to pay someone to fix things for me, I have figured out most of the basics. Hey, I changed out the transmission on my old convertible myself. Ordered the replacement off of eBay. And I know how to unclog a toilet when it requires more than just a plunger. (Something that will foam like baking soda or powdered detergent either dish or laundry, white vinegar, and hot water will get most moving.) There are people that tell me they are prepared and indeed they’ve got canned goods a plenty, but it won’t do them much good when the electric can-opener won’t work.
Around here and even well up into the Sierras you can forget about living in a cabin in the woods, there are a good number of people up there already, and they are armed and don’t want any company. But even they are going to have a hard time.
I’m just waiting for the Earthquake.
Women carry a money-generating/bartering device with them 24/7/365.
It ain’t fair dammit!!!