Because likker is quicker... and infinite.
Posted on 04/28/2010 6:13:34 PM PDT by ChocChipCookie
"Candles and wood."
It's Deb Giffin's mantra.
The Manor Township woman doesn't want to give up her dishwasher or her fridge.
But, she said, disaster could strike. Civilization shouldn't count on always having those cushy things. So she's laying away supplies for a rainy day.
She's started to fill the pantry of her suburban home with canned pineapple juice, beans and high-energy snacks.
She has fastened a large kerosene lamp to the wall of her living room. She has hand tools galore, a fireplace and bundles of wood from a home-improvement store.
She has an emergency pack in case she needs to clear out.
"I have flashlights that are the crank style" and don't need batteries, said Giffin, 54.
She also has plenty of company.
Emergency preparedness is growing into an American subculture that some adherants claim is bigger than the tea party movement.
Giffin and others share gardening and survival tips on blogs like The Survival Mom. They belong to groups such as the American Preppers Network, launched 16 months ago by 32-year-old Idaho truck driver Tom Martin.
The thousands of daily hits on americanpreppersnetwork.com will cease, of course, if there's a monster storm or economic collapse. But one goal of prepping is to get society ready for such events.
The message isn't always welcome, as Giffin knows.
"My daughter busts on me about being a doomsday person," Giffin said. Giffin contends she's just being practical.
Either way, the prepper demographic contrasts starkly with the secretive, backwoods bunker survivalists of the 1970s and '80s.
Some preppers are hunters and back-to-the-land types, to be sure. Some live on ranches and farms. But many others reside in cities and suburbs, said Kathy Harrison, a western Massachusetts woman who has written a preparedness guide called "Just in Case."
The prepper world is diverse, embracing concerns about energy use, personal health, overconsumption and waste.
"This is no longer sort of the crazy man out in the cave someplace dining on bats' wings and frogs' eyeballs," Harrison said.
Socking stuff away
Harrison for example, describes herself as a middle-aged woman with "a minivan and a pile of kids" and a backyard swimming pool. "We're just people," she says.
But what makes otherwise ordinary folks start packing away sterile gauze pads and tinned meat?
People who become preppers often already have a self-sufficiency mindset, said Art Markman, a University of Texas cognitive psychologist who tracks the preparedness movement.
Calamities such as Hurricane Katrina and the Wall Street meltdown stoke that impulse because they stir doubt about whether government can handle the mess, Markman wrote in an e-mail.
"When trust erodes," according to Markman, "people want to take over more ... basic responsibilities for themselves. People who feel like they are taking care of their own needs are decreasing the anxiety caused by mistrust."
Hollywood has picked up on the mood with recent post-apocalyptic movies such as "The Road" and "The Book of Eli."
"We're realizing how spoiled we are," Deb Giffin said.
Giffin said self-reliance comes second nature to her because she's a single mother of three, and because she grew up on a remote Berks County farm that lacked indoor plumbing until she was 6.
With five brothers and three sisters, she noted, "I always grew up wanting for something."
Her job in the electric utility industry has shown her the vulnerabilities of the power grid, Giffin added.
Recent stories about solar flares and electromagnetic pulse bombs that could supposedly destroy communications networks have put her more on edge, she said.
Now, she's convincing friends and family to become more independent —slowly.
She said her younger daughter, Jennifer Derr, asked at one point " 'What's a screwdriver?' She does at least check her oil now."
Her older daughter, Leslie Egiziano, created The Maven Club, a local self-help group, Giffin added.
Building a prepper nation is a guiding principle of the movement, according to Martin and Harrison.
They both live in rural areas, grow their own food and could live without the grid indefinitely.
But what if some catastrophe undermines law and order?
Harrison said she has no intention of taking up arms, "Mad Max" style: "I'm the first person in the stew pot, I know that. I can't fend off a gang of mutant zombie bikers."
She won't have to, she added, because her neighbors are already on the same self-reliant page.
Whether this ethic is infinitely adaptable to the nation's neighborhoods is an open question.
Markman lauds backyard chicken raising. And he says personal fitness and health care awareness are especially sensible.
"I think that recognizing that things can go wrong ... is a good thing," he said.
However, he added, "I think that, in general, people underestimate the complexity of really doing everything yourself."
Martin said he has no warm, fuzzy illusions about what would happen if political and economic systems should fail.
"I doubt if you'd get a Utopian society out of it." On the other hand, he said, "if a disaster comes through and nobody's prepared, your instinct cuts in and it's a fight for survival."
That's just the kind of scenerio Giffin wants to avoid, especially for her children.
And so she keeps on socking stuff away. And she keeps on trying to motivate other people to become preppers.
"If something big happens," she said, "I think people are going to have to realize they're going to have to get along a lot better than they are now."
Damn, I’m never in the right place for those opportunities. If you’ve not tried it, pick up a bottle of Cruzan Black Strap rum - I think it makes as nice a “Dark n’ Stormy” as the Gosling. Cheaper, too - almost underpriced right now. Stashing a few bottles is definitely worth considering.
never hurts to be prepared
THX
Thanks for the ping!
Well Sam, we have stocked rice, beans, flours, grains, oil, dried veggies and dries meat, canned tuna, etc. But I come from a family that makes tons of wine. We have grapes ahoy and my brother in law makes lots, I mean gallons upon gallons. I have also bought my first wine kit and am going to make a few gallons myself. We also freeze juice and we have gas run generators. WE have done pretty much all we can do. God will do the rest. Make sure also that you have at least a 30 day supply of shampoo, soap etc. the essentials basically. The rest as I said, is up to our God. and frankly I trust Him to bring those of us who know him, through what is coming. My prayers and blessings I send to you and I mean it. CO
Heck, maybe I should start using that kind, doctor says I’m low on most minerals, including selenium.
bttt
Actually, the little 3 lb blocks are more useful - Stored in a waterproof zippy bag individually, one is able to distribute them easily. Keeping all one's eggs in one basket is unwise.
1000 silver dollars = 62 pounds.
You might be better off with a few gold coins and a couple hundred silvers.
Because likker is quicker... and infinite.
Useful for what, distributable to who, and how much do they cost?
I like the 50 pound blocks because they are so cheap and easy to store, once you have your normal, survival salt stored, then you can add one or two of the 50s as an almost free, deep storage bonus.
Great place to do research and buy especially when they have their sales.
Believe it or not the Mountain Home freeze dried food is really good especially in an emergency situation your family would be eating like a king.
They have pre-packed kits for different situations most of the items are really good, I would upgrade some of their flashlights, box cutters, etc but they certainly would work fine in a short-term situation.
Also good for sterilizing wounds! Vinegar can be used to treat bruises, sunburn, some stomach ailements and cuts.
Stock up on TP! it might be worth it’s weight in gold. LOL
Salt with iodine, ground pepper for basic seasonings. Veggie seeds too. Store in dry place.
Shampoo, bar soap, laundry soap are the biggest price climbers here recently. Bleach is a must for killing germs, both on surfaces and in water.
Razor wire is available here.
http://www.fencing-online.com/razor_wire_3_ctg.htm
I ordered mine 3 weeks ago. If you order 10 rolls shipping is free.
Useful in that the portion is such that it is distributable.
Distributable into caches, rather than having one's entire supply in one block in one place. "Distributed" in smaller, separately packaged (waterproof) pieces reduces the chance of spoiling the whole lot, even if one is relying on a fortress mentality (which is a mistake IMHO).
As an example, your shelves are compromised and fall down. a portion of your kerosene supply ruptures in the accident, and spills upon your salt store.
One or two range blocks open to the kerosene damage would spoil the whole lot - But the equivalent in 3lb blocks, individually packaged in a water-tight fashion... You might lose some (torn packaging), but it is very unlikely that you would lose them all.
and finally, smaller portions can be used as barter. Now, I don't deny that one can do the same thing by chopping up a range block into smaller portions, but the difference in cost is minimal between the two form factors.
I don't know what they cost off hand, but it is negligible - Their purpose is exactly the same: A livestock salt block, available at any feed store... The smaller package is for the purpose of putting it into individual feed trays/mangers (think stalls in barns), rather than a shared range block (what you have).
Yes. It also comes in 100 proof, which is 50% alcohol. Absolut and Stoli both offer this.
I use them to make tinctures. When making tinctures, you should use the highest % alcohol possible, as the alcohol is what solubizes the active ingredients and makes it liquid-borne.
I make a tincture of elderberries for flu season; it cuts down on the length and severity of the flu by limiting the body's production of cytokines.
I also have made a marijuana tincture, but that's a whole 'nother thread!
We bought a three month food supply and just received it Monday....and were pleased to see that - for whatever reason - they discounted it by 15% and charged my card accordingly.
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