Posted on 07/14/2011 9:06:55 PM PDT by Kartographer
Even if you are fortunate enough to have a retreat out in the country getting to your safe haven maybe impossible during upheaval. Roads blocked by wrecked and fuelless vehicles will stop most bugouters in their tracks. Maybe you were born lucky and can make it out safely before the balloon bursts, then what? People in rural areas, will start shooting if threatened by mobs of refugees fleeing the city. Don’t expect to be welcomed with arms outstretched. Most country folks don’t trust outsiders; you will likely be greeted with a load of buckshot and not the cup of fresh coffee and meaningful conversation you hoped for.
(Excerpt) Read more at survive2thrive.net ...
Yes in the South the criminal gangs are going to last about 48 hours once they venture out of the inner city and out to the burbs. Everyone is armed to the teeth down here. People in the burbs down here will band together to protect their neighborhoods. Its still going to be a miserable existence though. Stock up way more than you think you will need. Make sure you have a water filter. I highly recommend the Big Berkey light. Price approx. $235. We have one.
If you can get any kind of rural retreat do it soon. Stock it up and make sure you know 2-3 different ways to get there. Even an acre of land and a used travel trailer will be preferable to trying to survive in an urban area.
Picture your neighborhood 1 month past the last garbage pickup. Then on top of garbage piling up in the streets picture no running water for 1 month. That means no flushing toilets and no clean drinking water. Dehydration, dysentery and typhoid will kill more people than starvation and criminals. Make sure you have anti diarreahals like Immodium etc. and antibiotics. You can obtain anitbiotics legally at www.survivinghealthy.com
Made my own for about $112.00 filters and all:
http://www.survival-spot.com/survival-blog/homemade-berkey-water-filter/
Also in my Preparedness Manual (see post #3)
I'm not so sure about that. About 5 years ago, I was working on a building rehab job a few blocks from the WTC. The building was mid 1800s and plans were long gone. We found a sub-sub-basement that the owner did not even know existed. It was a half-height door behind piles of junk. Not opened for at least 50 years.
I will remember that smell forever. When I shined a light in, the floor looked like it was moving frantically. It was wall-to-wall rats as far as you could see, their eyes reflecting off the light. Many were bigger than cats and made low-frequency growling noises.
An exterminator was called and said we were lucky to be alive opening such a door full of cornered rats. A few more minutes and they would have turned us into food.
The NYC rats are very elusive and will almost never appear within sight of humans. If you’re on one of the few dead-quiet blocks and quietly look out your window in the middle of the night, you’ll see swarms of huge rats foraging. They scatter at the slightest noise. There are many, many underground passages and chambers around NYC for them to hide.
When I'm not making FRenemies over Palin(™) I'm spending a lot of time in LA, Vancouver and Korea these days on movie stuff. Nothing big yet but things look promising. I'll keep you posted. Let me know if you'd like to read a script.
In 1949 the NYC rat population was estimated at one per 36 people. Average rat weighs around a pound. You do the math.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/rats.asp
Yes I’ve seen your manual. Its got some good information.
Sadly there is only going to be a small percentage of folks who will actually prepare for an ongoing crisis. I have ony been able to talk one of my friends into prepping. My sister finally broke down and bought a 25 LB bag of rice. So about 2 weeks after the SHTF we can expect to see them and their 100 lb dog at our gate. The dieoff will be pretty horrific in the first 90 days. If you can survive for 6-12 mos you will have a chance to make it until things get back to semi-normal.
We have spent the last 2 and a half years getting ready. It was a twisty road. Personally we believe the most important thing is to have a plan. You have to wargame and be mentally prepared. At the minimum you should be able to navigate your own property with a weapon at night without a light. (We practice it all the time) Thats what intruders will do.
Another really good thing to have is a mobile security alarm. We call her Coco. 10 lbs of shreaking fury. She hears everything, it doesn’t cost much to feed her and she operates 24 hours per day.
Ha! Our Coco(a) is an 8 lb male chihuahua. Sadly he's mostly deaf (14 years old) so he's no alarm.
We have a Coleman, but we also have sterno stoves (the 2 burner models) and are stockpiling both sterno cans (both sizes) and fuel for the Coleman.
We have been stockpiling bottled water, medicines, canned soups, canned vegetables, canned fruits, and canned beans and meats (protein) for some time now. We have a 6' 2 door cabinet in the basement for just the canned foods-it's almost full.
I remember back in the Reagan administration (not sure 1st or 2nd) reading a letter in the Ann Landers column. A reader told her about discovering a can of tuna that had an expiration date in the Nixon administration! She stated that she'd discarded the can, but wanted to know if it would have been safe to eat. Ann consulted with some chemists, canning operators, FDA staff, etc, and their conclusion was, the food might have deteriorated a little in taste, texture, and vitamin "availability", but it would have been safe. More recently, I saw an article on a grocery store that had gone out of business way back in 1969. Somehow a can of corn from it had gone into storage-don't ask me how or why, it's been a few months. Anyhow, the can was taken to a lab, opened-and the corn inside looked as if it had been canned last month. It was perfectly safe to eat. So I say, regard expiration dates as interesting suggestions, not commandments from God. At least for cans that require a can opener...Not sure if I trust the pop top canned foods as much, and it's getting harder to find the old fashioned, less convenient cans.
I suggest all preppers who NEED their morning coffee make damn' sure they have a camp or stovetop perculator coffee pot, and filters. We made coffee with the stovetop on a sterno stove-it was very hot and very good. I used non dairy creamer with it...With the electric, the creamer just slowly dissolves into the coffee. With the perculator, the creamer disintigrated on coffee impact. It was really impressive to see.
I recomend a ‘Rocket Stove’
http://www.stovetec.net/us/index.php
There are plans for a DIY rocket stove in my Preparedess Manaul (See post #3)
Waterworld. Don’t forget your tomato seeds.
Buy yourself a Waterbob.
If we go into a full blown financial collapse, the fallout will be unprecedented in history. Not even Rome is an analogy. Mad Max might be the closest thing.
I think that we are at the very least in for a collapse much like that of Argentina’s ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yerKMQc7-w&feature=grec_index),
If we go into a full blown financial collapse, the fallout will be unprecedented in history. Not even Rome is an analogy. Mad Max might be the closest thing.
Our Beagle Buddy is 15 and mostly deaf. He’s retired now and spends 22 of 24 hours in his petbed. Coco took over Sentry duty about 2 yrs ago. LOL!
At the very least. We are a far more urbanized and populated society with the most advanced system of financial exchange and goods distribution ever put in place. 99% of our population relies on that system exclusively. If that fails, it will be hell on earth.
Actually I prefer varieties of composting toilets, rather than a pit outhouse. A trench latrine can have a small outhouse on top and be moved bit by bit, so the excrement composts quickly.
I highly recommend “Humanure” which is online as well as for sale, I have a copy, and it is the best book on the subject.
Argentina was just one country.
When it blows this time, it’s the entire system, so Argentina is just a small preview, not the worst case scenario.
You was right! :)
One word - pirates.
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