Friday, September 25, 2009

EOW 5/10/10

After the incident at "boot hill" a few days ago, I felt we needed a "pick me up".  I spent most of a day carving a bat, and gathering a few rock "balls".  It took a little coaxing, but I managed to get everyone interested in a baseball game, albeit with a few special rules. The basics of it are we men were handicapped beyond reason, and the women and kids got away with whatever they chose. One of my sons in law got silly and threw a dirt clod to his wife instead of a rock, and it just busted, but she ran anyway, and hollered we couldn't tag her out cause the ball was in pieces on the ground or some silly reason like that and she ran the bases twice. It was the height of foolishness, our society was in ruins, and we were playing rock and stick baseball, in a national park, laughing our selves silly cause my daughter was taking a second turn around the bases.
Perhaps if we can laugh at ourselves, and enjoy our time together, then humanity may yet survive. If, even for a time, the joy of being a family can override the responsibility of living, we may have a chance at surviving. If the day should ever come when survival is all we have, when getting from one day to the next is our only reason, it is then, our life has ended.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

EOW-5/05/10

5/05/10
I killed my first man a few days ago, and it has had an unexpected effect on me. None. He was stealing food from us, and so deserved to die. I am sure he was hungry, or his family was hungry, or whatever, that food is our life, and so we must protect it. I backtracked from where I think he came from, but I am no tracker so must keep watch carefully against reprisals.  I had traded an 8mm Mauser and 100 rounds for two horses, and so could ride 5-7 miles up the canyon and leave him on a hill about 200 yards across. I think I'll call it Boot Hill.

EOW Chapter two

Eight of us left our home in the Texas Panhandle that morning, and setting up in the Hondo Valley was more an adventure than an escape. It took three weeks to set up permanant shelters. We had a four room dugout with a large central area, and a smokehouse attatched to one side.  Dugout  .
In the coming weeks we tried to return to a normal life, as normal as is possible following the EOW.  We held school for the kids, even teaching them how to tie knots, hunting for food, and the three R's. The first sign of winter was in early november when the first freeze came. Then the reality began to sink in, just what had happened, and what was to come. This was not just some grand adventure we would go home from someday, Our society had broken down, It wasn't the end of our country,  America is alive in its people, "for as long as the wind dances across the plains and stirs even a single star, for as long as a dream stirs a lonely heart, then abide honor and pride, and freedom will go on forever, and America will never die." Those words are the hope we live by. There are times we all get discouraged, and nothing is ever easy, even going to the bathroom is difficult. It hits me sometimes how lazy and complacent we had gotten, allowing ourselves to be controlled by the allure of technology. Had we only truly understood just how much was at stake we would have made things different long ago.
(present day)
It is not as cold this morning, I am on guard at the far end of the westernmost canyon. I am here because we had raiders two days ago, and nearly lost some valuable supplies. The deer jerky we made was stolen, and only recovered when the raider was shot. My father built this rifle I carry, and it served me well.
I saved my thermos and use it every morning now, at the western canyon guard site. Winter stayed late this year, and it almost feels as if the seasons are changing. It is early May, and the temperature should be well above the lower thirites at night even here. We have discovered trade with others in the area, and one is a rancher from farther up the canyon willing to trade beef for ammo, and I am still thinking about it. We have some 30-30 that we don't need as the rifle that used it was damaged beyond repair long ago, and I kept the ammo for just this purpose, maybe.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

EOW-Chapter one

CHAPTER ONE: How it all started.
It happened 8 months, 14  days ago. Today is may 4th, 2010. When it happened it took us all by surprise. The pointless reason it all started was what really surprised us all. It happened in Azusa, California, when a television station reported a grocery store chain was closing a warehouse food outlet, more closures were expected, and the future of food distribution was unknown..etc.etc. It was sensationalist reporting of course, but it opened a floodgate of panic that had far reaching consequences. The story was aired first on monday morning at 6:00. When the residents of the L.A. area heard the story, they paniced, and started a buying spree on grocery stores all over the area, and other news stations made the problem worse and by 5pm every grocery store from San Diego to Bakersfield was completely empty, and by the next morning the warehouses were empty as well. The highways in the L.A.  area were unable to handle the increase in tractor trailor traffic, and 24 hours following the original airing of the story, southern California was unable to support its own demand for food. The entire social structure broke down, and it was a war zone equal to anything America has seen on the evening news. Armed gangs broke down doors, and killed just for the food in a persons refrigerator. 
The increased demand in California sent waves of panic and the easy communication of the internet, cellular phones, and netbooks worked against us, and nothing could stop the flood of misinformation, and panic. Even when the nexus points were ordered blown, the damage was done.
The National Guard, already on alert, was nationalized at 7:40 am on the 23rd, and martial law was declared by noon. The best laid plans of FEMA and the other alphabet agencies went for naught, and America was the land of anarchy by the morning of September 25, 2010.
When the waves of panic crossed the country, we all knew the worse was coming. The family got together as we had always planned, and gathered our supplies and waited. Monday evening we decided we would go to run point #4. We planned 6 "run points", or places to go when the end times came, and just before sunrise on Tuesday morning, we left for Lincoln National Forest,  and Hondo Valley. We followed the highway to Lincoln, turning right at the crossroads and found the spots we had scouted on the banks of the Rio Hondo. Eight of us left our home that morning, my wife, two daughters and their husbands and children. Having plenty of time to gather our supplies, plan the move and make the best choices, we kept one person awake at all times, kept a careful watch on the vehicles and supplies, and loaded early what supplies remained, and left with the sun. just 4 hours later we were setting up camp, and making plans for a more permanant shelter.

choices

Making choices for tshtf is difficult for those of us who question everything. Trust is a hard issue when you realize what is at stake. It has been made even more complicated by the plethora of information available. Gun, no gun, what knife, how many, what kind? The answers can only come when society as we know it has ceased to function, then the choices we have made will show our wisdom, or foolishness. Whenever I prepare, I try to imagine that there are no grocery stores to buy from, no internet to order from and only what I have in hand to live on. This leads me to beleive simplest is best. Less to go wrong, less to do without. What if myself, my wife, or son in law had a deep cut across the arm, or abdomen, and there are no hospitals around, what would we need to survive. Remember the "Band Aid" tins? In one of these I keep a needle and thread I have soaked in alcohol, sterile bandages, alcohol in a small bottle, and tweezers. This would by no means be the best option, but in a dire emergency would save a life.
Balancing neccessary with available space and weight is my biggest concern. Have I overpacked on food? have I underpacked? What kind? As a younger man I have done my share of camping in wilderness areas, but this is not an accurate barometer because I always knew I would be coming back in a week or so. I have never experienced the eow and so how to prepare?
It may be enough that I do prepare, do take steps to survive in a post apocolyptic world, even if the choices I make now are not optimal, it is the attitude of survival that drives me forward, pushes me not to be complacent, but to try to survive what I always knew would come. Like many of us, have felt the end of all things in some back room of our psyche, and so must prepare.
The beleif that all things will soon end is controversial, yet one thing is clear, we live in a society constantly on the edge of financial ruin, even if our social structure remains intact, even if the end never comes, it is a wise man that is prepared for an uncertain future.
Tomorrows survival is todays choice.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Values

In our world, values are assigned to things according to their neccessity, or availability. It is easy to justify a considerable expenditure on what we consider neccessary. The latest electronic gadgets, or latest vehicle everyone thinks we need, and often at the expense of other items deemed less neccessary.
Assigning value in an apocolyptic world is a more difficult undertaking, and neccessary takes on a whole new meaning. Gadgets no longer function, the cell won't dial out, the netbook won't wi-fi, the plasma TV just snows, and even the old fashion landline doesn't work. When we suddenly find ourselves flat broke because our credit card won't let us charge it, the bank is closed, and no one wants to accept an old fashion hand written check, we discover neccessary just doesn't mean what it used to. Food is suddenly very neccessary, and when the utilities don't function 'cause they're computerized, or the utility company personel are staying home, cooking, drinking, and flushing the toilet become very neccessary as well. It is at this time we question our values. The wisest of us question values before they become a neccessity.
Our failing economy makes these choices difficult. However, even on a budget preparing for more difficult, or apocolyptic times can be made easier, and here's how: Every time I go to the grocery store, I pick up a few extra items for storage. A can of tuna or dried beef is certainly not on anyones gourmet food list, and Spam may not be the most desirable meal, but if you were hungry, and society just went belly up, how good might a cheap can of Spam look then? Here is a good example: dried beef 1.50-beef boullion .30-1tablespoon flour .05-salt,pepper-8cups water and boil. total 1.85. feeding a family of four, valued at..? Today a S&W model 64, 38special is valued at 200.00-250.00 [jgsales.com] and there are plenty around. What if there were no more to be made, no ammunition to be made, and throngs of starving zombie like people knocking down your door, what would a 6-shot double action 38 special be worth then? What would a cheap 20gauge shotgun be worth? It is this reason I keep different types of ammunition in my bug out bag, Protection and trade. A Smith and Wesson revolver is an excellent choice for an end of the world gun. My S&W model 19 will fire-357magnum, 38special, 38 long colt, 38 short. Four different rounds. My 32magnum charter arms snubbie will fire 32 H&R magnum, 32 S&W long, and 32S&W. 7 different rounds in 2 pistols. As I said, excellent EOW guns.

my pocket survival kit: In an altoids tin I carry in a pocket I have-
bailing wire, fishing line and hook, needle and thread, blade, a few bandaids, a few BC powders (powdered aspirin), matches in plastic, firestarter.
with this kit I can- Sew a gaping wound, have analgesic for pain, fish, clean fish, start a fire, repair any number of things with bailing wire. (also called mechanics wire) and other uses.

In a small bag no larger than a typical womans purse I have- flashlight, extra batteries, candles toothache kit, military can opener, eating utensils,10 packets handwarmers, clean bandanas for bandages, a few of each of the following- 8mm,223rem,357mag, 32mag,38spec,32s&w,20ga, 22lr, gun oil and cleaning gear, hemostats, flat & phillips screwdrivers, needle nose pliars, extra fine steel wool, small tube of graphite, loaded 32mag revolver,poncho, extra straps, toilet paper, sewing needle and thread, waterproof matches and firestarter, whistle, scout compass, first aid kit, folding camp shovel, 25 feet nylon rope, 12oz water, pint of medicinal whiskey, 8 individual coffee bags, 6 hot chocolates, boullion, tea bags, 6 meal bars.

If you choose gun ownership, choose wisely, and for the right reason. It is not a machismo issue, it is a security issue. It does not imply illegality, it proves reason. I have chosen revolvers because in my opinion they are more reliable. In a survival situation reliability is of the uppermost importance. I may go years and not need my revolver, then need it in a moments notice. A double action revolver is a load, forget, aim, and fire weapon. I chose a Charter arms 32 magnum snubbie. It is well built, good design, relatively inexpensive ( about 350.00) small, and a 32 H&R magnum shell with 85 grain bullet, is more than sufficient for protection.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The quiet ones

"you cannot invade America, there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
In the quiet places of our beloved country, we go about our daily lives. Most of us have never seen the lights of the great cities of the East, nor the great Columbia River. We have not trod the beaches of the west coast, nor seen the centers of finance, or of government.
Our names have not been seen on the news, nor our faces in print, and no one knows of our existence save for our loved ones and friends. We go about our lives never having influenced policy or called on to give our views to a reporter.
Our fame is in the eyes of the children, and grandchildren we have raised. It is to them we give our views and opinions. It is the bow of our heads in prayer, or the flag outside our homes that is the only interview we will ever give. It is the full knowledge of our country's most sacred documents, or the understanding of a system of government that influences the policy by which we live.
Our lives are not on the evening news for all to see, to comment on, or ponder. No one will conduct opinion poles, and chances are never even know we have lived. we are the quiet ones behind every blade of grass, and we will never die.