Survival is like baseball, it can be complex or simple, your choice.
I am a baseball fan. I truly love the game. I listened to George Kell and Ernie Harwell call the games every weekend as we traveled up north to the cabin. We left home about the time the game started and headed home just as the Sunday afternoon game started. It made the drive easier to deal with. I also played the game in high school although I mostly road the pines. After my wife and I got married and settled into life in the city we bought season tickets to the local minor league team and spent many a night watching baseball under the lights.
Baseball can be a very simple game. Throw the ball, hit the ball. Baseball can also be very complex, the game within the game. There can be intensity watching a runner lead off first base, trying to judge the correct distance that will give him time to get back on a pick-off move or make the break for second in time to steal the base. Forcing a throw to first by the runner can make many things happen, most of them bad for the field team. The pitcher can balk, throw a wild toss, or make a throw home that the batter can smoke. The first baseman can drop the ball or miss it entirely. Does the pitcher try a pitch out and hope to catch the runner? Can the catcher make a good throw to the bag? All of these things are part of the game. They make it interesting to watch and study.
Prepping can be the same way, simple or complex. Store some extra food, feel prepared. Or, you can change your lifestyle so that you are constantly in a state of preparedness. Growing and canning food, storing water, filters, and buying a Big Berkey. Putting away gas, kerosene, propane, and other fuels for lighting and cooking after TSHTF all add layers of preparedness.
Having season tickets doesn’t make you a better fan, just a more involved one. Having more storage than the next guy doesn’t make you a better prepper, just a more prepared one. Don’t get caught up in having the most, the best, and the newest stuff, just get caught up in the idea of understanding someday you will need to be self-sufficient.
Wolverine
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Survival Bible
Survival Bible
I do not remember where I first heard about a Survival Bible. I sure do hope it was not something Tonto told me about or he will want another royalty for this article!
The Survival Bible (SB) is a very simple concept. As you are building your supplies and knowledge about survival you keep a hard copy of things you think might be good to have. I started building mine by ripping out magazine article from places like Outdoor Life and Field & Stream. Most of my early savings were things I could teach the Boy Scouts on campouts. From there I started saving important information that I might need after TSHTF. There was a nice article about trouble shooting chain saws and how to keep them running well. That went in the section of my SB with a pamphlet I had on how to fell a tree. Along with a print out on which woods make the best source for heating.
I am a great believer in reading as a source of information. I understand you can only gather so much from reading and you need to put what you have read into action to truly learn a skill. I also know that I can not remember everything so I keep these articles to use as a reminder tool.
I put most of the stuff in clear plastic pages my son got from a dumpster at college. They keep the pages clean and easy to read. I bought a package of dividers and have different sections marked off. Tonto has several three ring binders that he uses for his SB. He also has a ton of stuff stored on a thumb drive.
I sometime clean out an old article because I have something newer or better. I recently found a book on soap making that cost a dollar at a garage sale. I took out the couple pages I had on soap making. The book is much more in depth.
Some things you keep may not be something you would normally think you would want. One such section I have is on turtle trapping. I have only tasted turtle once that I can remember and can’t remember how it tasted or my reaction to it. However, I have four or five articles on turtle trapping and cleaning. I doubt I would ever kill a turtle during normal times, but after TEOTWAWKI they might be an overlooked source of meat. I have eaten snake and found it very edible so I suppose if I need to feed my family with turtle I can do that. All I need to do is check my Survival Bible.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
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Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
I do not remember where I first heard about a Survival Bible. I sure do hope it was not something Tonto told me about or he will want another royalty for this article!
The Survival Bible (SB) is a very simple concept. As you are building your supplies and knowledge about survival you keep a hard copy of things you think might be good to have. I started building mine by ripping out magazine article from places like Outdoor Life and Field & Stream. Most of my early savings were things I could teach the Boy Scouts on campouts. From there I started saving important information that I might need after TSHTF. There was a nice article about trouble shooting chain saws and how to keep them running well. That went in the section of my SB with a pamphlet I had on how to fell a tree. Along with a print out on which woods make the best source for heating.
I am a great believer in reading as a source of information. I understand you can only gather so much from reading and you need to put what you have read into action to truly learn a skill. I also know that I can not remember everything so I keep these articles to use as a reminder tool.
I put most of the stuff in clear plastic pages my son got from a dumpster at college. They keep the pages clean and easy to read. I bought a package of dividers and have different sections marked off. Tonto has several three ring binders that he uses for his SB. He also has a ton of stuff stored on a thumb drive.
I sometime clean out an old article because I have something newer or better. I recently found a book on soap making that cost a dollar at a garage sale. I took out the couple pages I had on soap making. The book is much more in depth.
Some things you keep may not be something you would normally think you would want. One such section I have is on turtle trapping. I have only tasted turtle once that I can remember and can’t remember how it tasted or my reaction to it. However, I have four or five articles on turtle trapping and cleaning. I doubt I would ever kill a turtle during normal times, but after TEOTWAWKI they might be an overlooked source of meat. I have eaten snake and found it very edible so I suppose if I need to feed my family with turtle I can do that. All I need to do is check my Survival Bible.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
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Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The First of Several Book Reviews
The First of Several Book Reviews
First, the proud father stuff. My youngest son graduated from IBOLC and is now a full fledged Infantry Officer in the United States Army. He had ROTC in college and wanted to try his hand at a military career. It was a great honor for his Aunt and I to attend his graduation and I felt very proud awarding him his Blue Infantry Cord. (I would have liked to given him my old green and yellow MP cord, but he wanted to take a different route.) He is now preparing for Ranger School and his dad is so damn proud of him he could just bust.
Ok, now the prep stuff. While we were in Georgia for his graduation we went to an out of the way eatery, the Four Winds Restaurant so my son could have a Ranger Burger. While there I spotted a book for sale by the cash register and picked it up. The book was called The Fugitive Forester by Joel Robertson.
The back of the book made a statement that the protagonist “gives real meaning to the term ’survivor’.” I do not read a lot of fiction but this one made me think about buying it so I did. It was fourteen dollars and I think the book is self-published.
In a nutshell, the main character is falsely accused of murder and instead of going to jail he sets up a plan to fake his own death and try and find the real killer. (This just screams for an OJ reference but I will reframe.) He pre-plans his death and places several caches in the area to help him survive.
The book could be a guideline for anyone that is planning to head for the woods in the event TSHTF or your plan of choice is to hide in the woods. The author describes several caching methods and ideas for supplies.
It wasn’t a bad book as it goes. There were several spots where some editing was missed, grammar and typos. There were also several things that just don’t ring true, like the Army leaving a supply of ammo and MREs setting by the side of the road for pick up later.
The book was good enough for me to stay up late one night during the work week to finish it, so that should say something for it. While not a step by step guideline for escaping to the woods reading this book will give some ideas that can be followed up on for later use.
Since prepping should not be all consuming in our lives we can take a break and read some fiction and still get some prepping knowledge at the same time. If you can find a copy give it a read, you just might enjoy the book. The publisher is listed as Brentwood Publishers Group, 4000 Beallwood Avenue, Columbus, Georgia 31904.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at:
www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at:
www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
First, the proud father stuff. My youngest son graduated from IBOLC and is now a full fledged Infantry Officer in the United States Army. He had ROTC in college and wanted to try his hand at a military career. It was a great honor for his Aunt and I to attend his graduation and I felt very proud awarding him his Blue Infantry Cord. (I would have liked to given him my old green and yellow MP cord, but he wanted to take a different route.) He is now preparing for Ranger School and his dad is so damn proud of him he could just bust.
Ok, now the prep stuff. While we were in Georgia for his graduation we went to an out of the way eatery, the Four Winds Restaurant so my son could have a Ranger Burger. While there I spotted a book for sale by the cash register and picked it up. The book was called The Fugitive Forester by Joel Robertson.
The back of the book made a statement that the protagonist “gives real meaning to the term ’survivor’.” I do not read a lot of fiction but this one made me think about buying it so I did. It was fourteen dollars and I think the book is self-published.
In a nutshell, the main character is falsely accused of murder and instead of going to jail he sets up a plan to fake his own death and try and find the real killer. (This just screams for an OJ reference but I will reframe.) He pre-plans his death and places several caches in the area to help him survive.
The book could be a guideline for anyone that is planning to head for the woods in the event TSHTF or your plan of choice is to hide in the woods. The author describes several caching methods and ideas for supplies.
It wasn’t a bad book as it goes. There were several spots where some editing was missed, grammar and typos. There were also several things that just don’t ring true, like the Army leaving a supply of ammo and MREs setting by the side of the road for pick up later.
The book was good enough for me to stay up late one night during the work week to finish it, so that should say something for it. While not a step by step guideline for escaping to the woods reading this book will give some ideas that can be followed up on for later use.
Since prepping should not be all consuming in our lives we can take a break and read some fiction and still get some prepping knowledge at the same time. If you can find a copy give it a read, you just might enjoy the book. The publisher is listed as Brentwood Publishers Group, 4000 Beallwood Avenue, Columbus, Georgia 31904.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at:
www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at:
www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
Friday, April 8, 2011
Recent Accomplishments
Recent Accomplishments
I like the standard Friday post that Mickey Creekmore does, “What did you do to prepare this week?” By thinking about what you have done it gives you an idea on what goals you need to set for next week and it helps you realize that you have made steps in the right direction.
While I always reflect on what I did accomplish I rarely write about them outside talking to Tonto, Toolman, E, and my boys. Some things I would rather not share with the world. However, I thought I would share a few things with you and make a suggestion that might help you focus your prepping a little better.
I built two storage racks in the basement. I finished one the first few months I was here and had the other started and in parts. I finally finished getting the racks done. I built them so that they would double as bunk beds if we were forced to stay in the basement for some reason. I added sleeping bags and pads to the supplies down there so we will be able to sleep.
I sorted out some older MREs and sold them to Tonto. My son has gotten some newer ones from his training so we upgraded and rotated the stock.
I picked up three survival related books lately too. I read Creekmore’s book on his trailer set up, picked up the book “Surviving a Hostile City, Book I”, by Lorna Dare and Kent Alwood. Tonto and I ran into Kent Alwood at a gun show and chatted for a bit. So far it is an interesting book and I will tell more about it after I finish it. The last book came to me as a PDF file and is called Life, Freedom, & Survival” by James C. Jones. I got this from a couple of the officers in my old unit.
I bought a larger chain saw than the one I had. It is used but runs nice and will do a better job. With it I finally got limbs and trees cleaned up from the ice storm a while back. I have several dead or dying trees that I still need to cut down and get rid of and I have two nice Maple trees I want to transplant before they get any bigger.
Since my son took a lot of my gear for Ranger School I need to fill in some holes. In order to do that I sorted out a lot of extra gear and have it ready to sell. Just don’t know if I want to try and garage sale it or take it someplace and dump it all at once.
I have most of my seeds bought and need to get the garden going. As I write this we had snow today so it will be a little while yet.
Tonto and I hit a community garage sale and picked up several good survival supplies. I got a bunch of candles for a buck and a flashlight and gym bag for a buck. The gem of the day was the 300 watt inverter that Tonto found there. It has made me more aware to look for an inverter at other garage sales.
Did you happen to notice that almost everything I listed lead me to note something else I needed to do? Here is a suggestion that might help you focus your prep needs. Go to Rawles Survivalblog and read some of the profiles. After you have read a few write out your own profile. Re-read your profile and see where it shows weaknesses and strengths. When I did that I shared it with Tonto and he wrote back what he saw I was lacking in. One thing he noted is my need for more and newer fruit trees. If you have a trusted friend have them read yours and you read theirs and help each other improve what needs to be worked on. It is a good thing to know what you did for prepping this week.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
I like the standard Friday post that Mickey Creekmore does, “What did you do to prepare this week?” By thinking about what you have done it gives you an idea on what goals you need to set for next week and it helps you realize that you have made steps in the right direction.
While I always reflect on what I did accomplish I rarely write about them outside talking to Tonto, Toolman, E, and my boys. Some things I would rather not share with the world. However, I thought I would share a few things with you and make a suggestion that might help you focus your prepping a little better.
I built two storage racks in the basement. I finished one the first few months I was here and had the other started and in parts. I finally finished getting the racks done. I built them so that they would double as bunk beds if we were forced to stay in the basement for some reason. I added sleeping bags and pads to the supplies down there so we will be able to sleep.
I sorted out some older MREs and sold them to Tonto. My son has gotten some newer ones from his training so we upgraded and rotated the stock.
I picked up three survival related books lately too. I read Creekmore’s book on his trailer set up, picked up the book “Surviving a Hostile City, Book I”, by Lorna Dare and Kent Alwood. Tonto and I ran into Kent Alwood at a gun show and chatted for a bit. So far it is an interesting book and I will tell more about it after I finish it. The last book came to me as a PDF file and is called Life, Freedom, & Survival” by James C. Jones. I got this from a couple of the officers in my old unit.
I bought a larger chain saw than the one I had. It is used but runs nice and will do a better job. With it I finally got limbs and trees cleaned up from the ice storm a while back. I have several dead or dying trees that I still need to cut down and get rid of and I have two nice Maple trees I want to transplant before they get any bigger.
Since my son took a lot of my gear for Ranger School I need to fill in some holes. In order to do that I sorted out a lot of extra gear and have it ready to sell. Just don’t know if I want to try and garage sale it or take it someplace and dump it all at once.
I have most of my seeds bought and need to get the garden going. As I write this we had snow today so it will be a little while yet.
Tonto and I hit a community garage sale and picked up several good survival supplies. I got a bunch of candles for a buck and a flashlight and gym bag for a buck. The gem of the day was the 300 watt inverter that Tonto found there. It has made me more aware to look for an inverter at other garage sales.
Did you happen to notice that almost everything I listed lead me to note something else I needed to do? Here is a suggestion that might help you focus your prep needs. Go to Rawles Survivalblog and read some of the profiles. After you have read a few write out your own profile. Re-read your profile and see where it shows weaknesses and strengths. When I did that I shared it with Tonto and he wrote back what he saw I was lacking in. One thing he noted is my need for more and newer fruit trees. If you have a trusted friend have them read yours and you read theirs and help each other improve what needs to be worked on. It is a good thing to know what you did for prepping this week.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
Monday, April 4, 2011
SELF- Reliance
SELF- Reliance
My boss and I got to chatting the other day. He is a 5th Degree Black Belt in a Korean style of karate. He teaches at a college in the area and does a lot of seminars. Our HR department conned him into teaching a self-defense class for one of our annual in-services. He had stopped by to see if I was signed up for that class.
I have over seven years of martial arts training. My foundation style is Korean Tang Soo Do, and I have colored belts in Chinese Kempo, Japanese Isshinryu, and have studies several other styles. I never did earn a Black Belt in any style. I told him that I wasn’t taking the self-defense class. I told him that we should be teaching a self-reliance class to the group too. He asked me to explain, so I posed a question to him. We have had a lot of blizzards this month and it is possible that at some point we could get snowed in at work. If that happens how are we going to get fed, sleep, and take care of daily needs? He thought about it a minute and responded that maybe we should have something in place for such an event.
My response was a second question. “Can you defend me in a street fight?” Oh course not he replied, unless I am with you, and beside, you know how to defend yourself. Exactly I said. It is called self-defense, not everyone defense. It is also called Self-reliance, not everyone reliance. I explained that I kept enough food and stuff in the truck to last me from two to four days. I had a good sleeping bag and could shelter back in the maintenance shop for a while and be comfortable. I doubt more than a few other people could do that. As the security and safety director he should be pushing for people to have their own preparedness supplies in their vehicles so that if something happened they would not be a burden.
I could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. He of course suggested the vending machines for food. I asked him if he thought a candy bar and Hostess cake were good enough for a dinner and what about those that didn’t manage to get one out of the machine before it ran out or broke down? At certain times of the day we have well over three hundred folks on the complex. It is hard to convince people that they need to prepare, as I am sure you well know.
My boss’s first thought was how to take care of those people, not how to teach them to take care of themselves. Self-reliance is becoming more and more scarce in our everyday thinking. He thinks about self-defense and encourages it for people but not self-reliance. We need to get people to be a little more self centered; it isn’t always a bad thing.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
My boss and I got to chatting the other day. He is a 5th Degree Black Belt in a Korean style of karate. He teaches at a college in the area and does a lot of seminars. Our HR department conned him into teaching a self-defense class for one of our annual in-services. He had stopped by to see if I was signed up for that class.
I have over seven years of martial arts training. My foundation style is Korean Tang Soo Do, and I have colored belts in Chinese Kempo, Japanese Isshinryu, and have studies several other styles. I never did earn a Black Belt in any style. I told him that I wasn’t taking the self-defense class. I told him that we should be teaching a self-reliance class to the group too. He asked me to explain, so I posed a question to him. We have had a lot of blizzards this month and it is possible that at some point we could get snowed in at work. If that happens how are we going to get fed, sleep, and take care of daily needs? He thought about it a minute and responded that maybe we should have something in place for such an event.
My response was a second question. “Can you defend me in a street fight?” Oh course not he replied, unless I am with you, and beside, you know how to defend yourself. Exactly I said. It is called self-defense, not everyone defense. It is also called Self-reliance, not everyone reliance. I explained that I kept enough food and stuff in the truck to last me from two to four days. I had a good sleeping bag and could shelter back in the maintenance shop for a while and be comfortable. I doubt more than a few other people could do that. As the security and safety director he should be pushing for people to have their own preparedness supplies in their vehicles so that if something happened they would not be a burden.
I could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. He of course suggested the vending machines for food. I asked him if he thought a candy bar and Hostess cake were good enough for a dinner and what about those that didn’t manage to get one out of the machine before it ran out or broke down? At certain times of the day we have well over three hundred folks on the complex. It is hard to convince people that they need to prepare, as I am sure you well know.
My boss’s first thought was how to take care of those people, not how to teach them to take care of themselves. Self-reliance is becoming more and more scarce in our everyday thinking. He thinks about self-defense and encourages it for people but not self-reliance. We need to get people to be a little more self centered; it isn’t always a bad thing.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
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