The following fictional account is a continuation of the ‘Aftermath’ series and has been generously contributed by The Prepper Project.
Click here to read Part 1: What Will Life Look Like When The Lights Go Out?
Aftermath
Episode 2: The Road Home
If you haven’t read part I Of Aftermath you can check it out here.
The cold, boxy barrel of the 9mm pistol pressed hard against the back of Jason Jones’ neck. His attacker had surprised him, which was not an easy thing to do, and now Jason was at his mercy, at least that’s what the attacker thought. It surely wasn’t the first time Jason had been at gunpoint, but from the looks of things on the streets beyond the alleyway, it wouldn’t be the last. Jason had to think quickly, the situation was tense and from the tremor in his attacker’s voice, it was clear the man was on edge, and probably not used to armed robbery. Jason knew his inexperience made the gunman more dangerous, but also easier to defeat. Anyone trained in combat knows that you only make contact with your enemy to strike; putting the gun directly on Jason’s neck was as good as putting it Jason’s hand. The neck was narrow and an easy target to miss, and giving your victim something to grab onto was basic combat mistakes 101. Jason thought about all of this as he raised his arms up beside his head, so that it looked like he was surrendering to the gunman.
“Hand over the bag and I won’t hurt you.” The man with the pistol threatened. You won’t be hurting anyone but yourself, Jason thought, and twisted around with lightning speed, his raised arms knocking the gun wide of his neck and torso. The gun fired without consequence, and the bullet smashed into the brick wall of the alleyway. The attacker was stunned. Jason grabbed the arm holding the gun tightly and twisted hard, forcing the elbow to point toward the sky, bending the man in half at the waist. The gun clattered to the concrete as the mugger cried out in pain. Jason pressed his forearm down on the awkwardly bent arm of the attacker; in a few blinding seconds the tables had turned and the gunman was now at the mercy of Jason Jones.
“I ought to break your damn arm,” Jason seethed.
“No man, please! Don’t do it man, don’t break my arm!” The man pleaded pathetically through a grimace of pain. Jason held him tight in the debilitating arm lock.
“No man, please don’t do it, I’m sorry, I’m not this kinda guy I swear, Ahhhh!”
Jason pressed harder on the man’s straining arm bone.
“Please! I swear! Just lemme go! I don’t know what got into me, shit’s gone crazy out there!”
In the heat of the moment, Jason had nearly forgotten why he was there in the alleyway in the first place. The sudden loss of electricity, the riots in the streets – the world around him had suddenly fallen apart. Perspective returned to Jason. He shoved the man down to the ground, and quickly drew his own pistol.
“Go.” Jason pointed the gun directly at the man’s chest, “Get the hell out of here.”
Without another word, the trembling man darted out of the alley and into the frenzy of the streets. Jason scooped up the attacker’s pistol from the ground and stuffed it into his G.H.B. and scoped out his surroundings. I’ve got to get out of the city, he thought, but before he went back out into the madness of the Chicago streets, he needed to do a little recon. A fire escape provided Jason with the vantage point he needed to make a plan. He’d, of course, prepared multiple bug-out routes, and had taken each of them, on his way home from work. Jason climbed the iron ladders until he was atop the squat, three-story building, and looked out over the chaos below.
Two bodies lay bleeding in the street in front of the store, gunned down in the ruckus that forced Jason into the alley to begin with. The looters and panicked masses trampled over them as if they weren’t even there. Jason pulled out his map and oriented himself with his position, the highlighted routes on the map that started with his office reached out like tentacles in all directions, but all ended in the same place, at his home, nearly 25 miles southwest of the city, reaching out just beyond the suburbs into rural Illinois. This won’t be an easy trek, Jason thought to himself, but the family is prepped, and they know I’ve planned for something like this as well, so that should keep them from worrying too much. It was true, but still, Jason longed to get home to his wife and kids as soon as possible. He also knew that he had to keep focused, if he got sloppy or careless, he might never see his family again.
The route Jason decided on was his 3rd favorite option, it took an extra 2 miles of urban hiking, but it avoided high-crime areas, and took him through the suburbs. The insanity that had sparked so quickly on the streets outside the alleyway was a bad sign, and Jason didn’t want to risk entering any neighborhoods that were already notorious for violence and mayhem. At the back of the alley, Jason used his pry bar to peel back the planks of a neglected wooden fence, allowing him to escape the area without reentering the main streets. He stuck to the alleys and backstreets along his pre-planned route until he reached the edge of the city. The neighborhoods flattened out into the first rows of suburbs surrounding Chicago.
The density of panicked people and chaos dissipated the further Jason trekked among the cookie cutter houses and well-manicured lawns of the suburban neighborhoods. It had taken him four hours to hike there, at the average walking speed of three miles per hour. He was tired, but not exhausted, and with the afternoon sun beating high over head, Jason decided to rest in the shade of an oak tree set behind the backstop of a small baseball diamond. The area seemed relatively secure – many of the driveways were occupied with fathers and brothers working with confusion on the family car, mothers hanging clothes to dry on freshly strung lines. Small groups of neighbors gathered on corners to causally discuss the power outage, but it was clear to Jason as he watched and drank his water, that no one in this neighborhood was aware of how bad things were in the city. How could they know? he thought to himself, No T.V. no phones, no radio, no cars… how could they have any idea of how big this thing really is, or how bad it’s gotten downtown. Jason stood and put the half-empty water bottle back into his pack, rechecked his position on the map, and headed in the direction of home.
After another hour of hiking, he found himself along a wide state route that stretched four or five miles between two suburbs. Thick trees and foliage lined the roads a few yards off, and intersections were few and far between. It was quiet, and as Jason walked he took a moment to appreciate the silence that the lack of machinery had left. He knew he and his family faced an uphill battle in what was to come, but they were prepared, and he took a moment there in the quiet of the long and empty state route to close his eyes and say a small prayer. “Thank you Lord for giving me the guidance, strength and wisdom to prepare for this life. Please watch over my family and our friends in our time of need. Thank you for providing us with all that we need to survive.” Jason thought about his garden at home as he said the words. “Please continue to give us the strength to carry on in our lives as good servants to you, and our fellow man, even when our faith and kindness are tested, Amen.”
Jason opened his eyes to see thick black smoke billowing in violent rolling clouds. Just out of site, at the intersection of the state route and an old farm road, two vehicles lay smashed and burning on the hot asphalt. The words of his own prayer repeated in his head, give us the strength to carry on in our lives as good servants to you and our fellow man… He quickened his pace. As he grew closer, the heat of giant blaze that consumed the old pick-up truck made Jason wince. He stopped and held his hand up against the heat, and tried to see if anyone was left alive. The roaring of the fire and crackling plastic was a hellish rip in the peaceful silence he was enjoying just seconds before. As Jason strained to see, it was becoming clear that no one had lived through the wreck or that they had already made off. Then he saw movement on the other side of the mini-van which had been t-boned by the large truck. Jason darted around to the far side of the van to see a middle-aged woman lying face up on the glass covered road. Small streams of crimson blood streaked across her legs and arms and stained the cream colored t-shirt and light blue denim jeans she wore.
Tiny shards of glass crunched under his hiking boots as Jason rushed to her side, the direct heat of the flames blocked slightly by the van’s smashed carcass.
“Hello?” Jason said over the crackling roar. There was no response.
“Hello, can you hear me?”
The woman moaned almost inaudibly and tried to turn over.
“Easy now, easy.” Jason gently put his hands on her shoulders,
“My name’s Jason Jones, and I’m an ex-marine, and I’m here to help you.”
The woman just moaned again. I’ve got to get her away from these flames, Jason thought, the van could go up any minute, and then we’re cooked. The best way to move the woman without a stretcher was a blanket pull, but with the flames roaring closer each second, Jason didn’t want to risk the time it would take to unpack his blanket, stretch it out next to her, move her carefully and then pull her away. “It’s going to have to be a shoulder pull,” he said out loud to himself. It was the only way to move her away while keeping her head and neck supported. He bent down and put his arms under each of her shoulders, keeping his arms along either side of her head so it wouldn’t roll out of alignment, and began dragging her. Small lines of blood trailed from underneath her onto the concrete, as they slowly put distance between themselves and the burning wreckage. When they were 50 yards away, Jason gently laid the woman back down on the ground and checked her vitals. She was still breathing, and her heart was beating, but there was a lot of blood loss, and if he didn’t clean and dress all the cuts, she would certainly bleed out.
Luckily, she stayed unconscious for most of the dressing, but as he worked on the long cuts on her legs from dragging across the glass shards, she suddenly woke up and screamed.
“Hey, calm down. It’s okay,” Jason reassured her in a calm and steady voice.
She winced in pain and her breathing became rapid.
“Easy now,” he said and tried to calm her.
Her eyes opened, and rapidly darted around in fear.
“Where am I?” she gasped.
“You’ve been in an accident. You’re on State Route 43 about 7 miles north of Huntsville Illinois.”
Huntsville was the name of the rural community where Jason and his family lived, he’d been on this road countless times before, and spoke with calm confidence.
“Huntsville,” the woman’s face grimaced in pain as Jason applied more antiseptic from his medical kit. She repeated again, groggily, “Huntsville…”
“That’s right, just down the road about seven-”
“The fire!” she shrieked, as her memory and awareness suddenly returned to her through the fog of the accident.
“The what?!” Jason asked.
“The fires… oh God!” The woman was trembling now, and her breath became short and full of effort again.
“There was a fire, at the grocery, a big blaze, really something to see,” she spoke in strained and broken phrases. Jason poured water into her mouth.
“I was on my way into the city, and talking to my husband. The news said the fire department had just called into Midcity to help control the blaze.” She coughed and asked for more water.
“I was talking, and driving along. Then all of the sudden the phone went dead, and so did the car, and… and…” As her memory caught up with her, so did her emotions and tears began falling down her bruised and blood stained cheeks. Jason told her it was okay as calmly as he could, but he could feel the panic rising inside him. If they had to call in Midcity’s ladder company, and then things went dark, there’s a good chance they never put out that fire, he thought. He pictured the small grocery, which was connected to a strip mall – the only set of shops in Huntsville proper, not counting the…
“Oh God,” Jason whispered aloud, as he realized what sat at the other end of the strip mall across from the grocery where the blaze had apparently started. He peered off into the distance toward Huntsville, and hanging over it was a thick black fog of smoke.
“If that things not out yet,” he said aloud in disbelief, “it’s gonna hit the-”
As he watched, a massive fireball mushroomed into the sky where the Hunstville gas station once sat, at the other end of the strip mall, from the grocery store, which that morning had caught on fire. It had been a dry summer, and the woodlands that weaved their way in thick bushels throughout the community of Huntsville and surrounded Jason’s homestead were prime targets for the blazing inferno. Jason watched with a rotten feeling sinking in his gut as the flames began to fan out from the initial fireball the gas station had created when it exploded. The thick black cloud above the distant town grew wider and more intense with each passing second…
Check in next week for the exciting continuation, as Jason Jones battles a blazing inferno and other dangers to save his family and his homestead in the Aftermath!
Michael Ulanski is a fiction writer and freelance journalist currently traveling and working in the Middle East. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, he is working on a series of short stories entitled Maps of a Midwest Suburb, as well as maintaining a travel blog, and working on his first novel. He holds a masters degree in English Education and teaches writing to secondary students in the United Arab Emirates.
Visit The Prepper Project for more excellent preparedness and survival information, and connect with them via Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
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Bugging out after an EMP would most likely be hoofing it on foot. Hope you are in shape.
It was very strange that all those sunspots did not produce even a small X flare this week. The Sun seems to be buidling for something large. Whether this is an Earth directed flare that would produce a large EMP is a matter of chance. During the 24 or so days of the Sun’s roatation around, there really is only about 6 days in which a flare erupting would be aimed enough towards the planet. There is about a 1/4 chance or 25% that the next time a massive flare goes off that the Earth will get hit. The odds are catching up though because the last big flares, especially the super one 10 years ago have not been in that 6 day window.
While a solar flare would fry practically all long wires, power lines and stations, a nuclear EMP would cause everyone’s electronics to go bye-bye. The U.S. continues to meddle in other people’s business. Russia does not have to launch such a EMP nuke that would be concentrating more on gamma rays to make the pulse as destructive as possible. Russia could easily use a puppet from some other country like North Korea, Iran, or a simple terrorist group to do this for them to flatten the U.S. economy and infrastructure. It only takes one nuke launched from some flat decked freighter boat, probably off the Gulf of Mexico, with a rudementry type missile. Most modified SCUDS would likely work. Only one, and the U.S. would be like the story above.
i would think that many nations have satellites that could produce emps.
Look on the Bright Side, when the Electro-Mechanical World comes to a screeching halt, there will be no more MSM TV lying to us, no more Utility Bills to have to Pay, No more IRS bills and payments raping us. No more cell phone bill and sounds, and people will actually talk to each other rather than texting across the room. Kids will again have to learn creativeness and imagination as they play. People will be in better shape as they have no choice but to get out there and walk, and do menial tasks like garden raise animals, and fix their own property up. Yes, there will some pocket of civility, not all killing which will mostly occur in the first 90 days as the population is reduced by 50%. We will once again, hear nature, birds singing, squirrels chattering and scampering in the trees. If there is no commerce, No Banking, that means most of all Big Corporation will collapse as their workers wont even show up to run them. There will be nothing to run. Which means everything you have in your possession now will be fully owned by you. Sure go ahead and let them try and repo that worthless vehicle in the driveway. Sure Come and get it. I smell a whole new set of Freedoms out there since there will be NO Law enforcers. We will get knocked back into the early 1800’s, and see a rise again in the Pony Express to deliver messages. Steam machines will make a come back and steam ships and coal locomotives. As a society, we have come way to far too fast and there is nothing wrong getting knocked back a few notches. You and I either adapt or die. Read how Cuban’s adapted after Russia Abandoned them. Community is important.
If there is no commerce, no power, no running water, there will be no squirrels, no birds, no free protein anywhere as 350 million starving people are going to make a desert of things. MAYBE deep in the back woods of Canada you might hear these things, or some of the islands off the coast of Alaska. The lower 48, I kinda doubt it. It would take years if it did return to the level you are speaking, but I bet on animal extinction.
Unlikely, IMHO. Those 350 million starving people have zero clue how to catch and prep wild meat, let alone cook it. 70+ million of them can’t function without an EBT card.
The percentage of those of us who can catch, prep and cook w/o modern day conveniences/technology/feed stores, etc.. is very very very low (if it’s even measurable).
There will be plenty of abundance for those who have “life” experience.
There are 14 million big game hunters in this country. That will do it right there as all game laws will be nil and void and the adults will be killed with unborn offspring or in the spring and the offspring will starve without the mother. No refrigeration will mean the food spoils quickly so a deer or pig or beef will only last for a few meals b/4 the maggots take over. Now further north in the winter one can hang animals in the trees for close to 6 months and they will remain frozen. This is why I prefer the cold (refrigeration) and snow (water) over the warmer climates.
I’d love to witness some city thug trying to catch a squirrel for diner…LOL. Can you imagine that woman with the 6 kids to feed, from the EBT crash video, out there chasing a small animal of any kind?
Sadly many if not most Americans consider “cooking” their meal to involve opening a package and heating the contents. And the heating usually is microwave. I know based on conversations with thousands of women under 40 years old. Many cook and grow food but most have no idea what cooking actually is. And that means they have NO idea how to start with basic products like veggies or raw meat.
People on the cities will likely have to resort to canibalism. They may even eat their own children! It has happened throughout history in sieges.
On a brighter note: My niece sent her kids over for a couple weeks. Today’s entertainment for the 7 and 8 year old was “How to build a solar still to make clean drinking water”. It worked like a charm.
Took the wheel barrow, added a couple inches of dirty water, set a clean cup on a brick pedistal in the center, loosely stretched clean plastic over the top, and held it in place around the edges with close pins. Then we put a small rock on the plastic right over the cup. The sun heated the water that evaporated and condensed on the plastic, which ran down to the low spot under the rock and dropped into the clean cup.
We made enough clean drinkable water for one person to survive on, using a sheet of polyethylene plastic, a brick, a small rock, some close pins, and a wheelbarrow. Pretty cool!
I think one role of heavy gauge polyethylene plastic is an excellent survival prep to have on hand.
At least 250 million Americans will die. There is no bright side.
true dat Barn Cat
BC, William Forstchen in his book “One Second After” predicted a 90% death rate in an post EMP America. More like 315 million dead within one year.
Personally, I think your city folks who are the EBT crowd will die off first simply because once they’ve run out of the food they loot out of the grocery stores, they will be fighting among themselves first to grab whatever stuff is left. Only when everything is gone do I think they will head for the countryside(assuming hunger and physical problems will allow them) and then more of them will die. Unfortunately, the number of folks living in rural areas aren’t much better off, having moved out there for “the peace and quiet.” Only those really into a rural lifestyle will be able to make it for an extended amount of time. Long term? Doubt we will see America survive simply because without our military able to defend us, we are a chicken ripe for the plucking. Remember, the ammo runs out eventually.
I’m wondering if clean drinking water will be a bigger or as big of a problem as food. People who are sick from drinking contaminated water are not going to be in any shape to travel far. No matter how it plays out it is NOT going to be a pretty sight!
@ WhoWuddaThunkIt
I know what you are saying here, and I agree it would be a lot nicer than things are now. However, an EMP is not worth having even if some of us might benefit from it. This is because there are so many people of all ages who rely on electricity to keep them living, and this dependence upon electricity is no fault of their own. Not every one is born with good health, nor go through life accident free. I would hate to benefit from an EMP, while good people who are in hospitals, nursing homes, and in home care have to suffer, because of the lack of electricity.
The sounds of the birds and the squirrels will be a great sound, and I hope we all enjoy them while we can. Once the remaining resources are gone in the major and medium city’s are gone, the surviving gangs will begin to venture out into the suburbs and country looking for food and other resources. Once that happens we can kiss the birds and squirrels goodbye! As for a 50% population die off in 90 days, I just don’t see it. I do however see a 50% or higher die off after the first year.
How about all the reports of “Polar Shift” now coming out from the MSM, and the links to the very active weather changes that have been occurring.
RTP
Ive been trying to inform folks about the magnetic poles shifting for quite some time. The magnet poles shift is a different thing than a axis shift. the magnetic poles have always wandered. however lately that has increased by miles per year instead of inches per year. And on this planet every action is followed by an equal & opposite reaction. I think many folks just want to keep believing that’s nothing is amiss. they don’t want to know the truth. they hate anyone that disturbs their complacent lifestyle.
I’ve wondered about the polar shift. I assume there will be a time with little or no magnetic earth field that shields us from excessive solar radiation. People plants and animals will be exposed at times to high levels of radiation. Food supplies will likely be impacted. As well the radiation will wreak havoc with satellites and communications.
Compasses and GPS may be useless. Can you navigate without those? In a SHTF situation people may sabotage road signs as the Nazis, resistance and allies did in Europe during the war. Follow a sign and you could end up in an ambush. Paper maps may be all that works. Can you find shelter from the radiation?
A massive gassive?
Here’s a very disturbing thought. I’ve seen a couple of articles in the last week or so referring to a weakening earth magnetic field. The field is supposedly weakening at ten times the rate that scientists had calculated it would. That, combined with a large flare aimed directly at the earth, would, I believe, be an ELE event.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2686070/Earths-magnetic-field-weakening-10-times-faster-thought-Western-Hemisphere.html
Sounds and Noises After EMP SHTF – There will be an eerily silence as the industrial complex comes to a screeching halt. You will immediately hear more birds singing, dogs barking, doors closing, leaves rustling, foot steps, crowds talking, people fighting, then gun shots, and more gun shots, then screaming, crying, begging, moaning, domestic dogs will be released or abandoned into the wild and cities, forming feral dog packs attacking the weak people on the streets mauling people, in search for food as well. (Look that YTube Videos) Cujo movie clip 1983 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grDQCjs3WV4 There will be people who have never prepared and out of the gate they will be on the streets begging and crying. People will give up and just lay down for dead on the streets and you will hear the flies buzzing all around the dead bodies. Those will be some of the Sounds we will all hear after EMP SHTF. Be mentally prepared to hear and see this.
And with dead bodies come the disease. If emp hits, head for the hills and don’t look back. Get as far away as you can with food/water/purification methods and keep your head down for at least 2 to 6 months. Disease will wipe out the majority of people.
Most people will die of thirst or from drinking bad water. Most of the rest will starve to the death within 3 months if they survive the violence.
And just what hills are you going to head for? You wont be welcome to trespass in my part of the planet. and Im supposing others feel the same.
national/state forests
The government guys will locate you Quick in the national state forest. thermal imaging will give you away. any fire you make will be spotted. if you walk the same trail twice its very visible from the air. Do this go to a local airport and pay about 2 hundred dollars for a airplane ride over where you thinking of going. those little planes fly at about 1200 feet. you can see everything pretty good. now if you can find someplace that you can walk up a creek to a cavern and ect prepare cold meals & endure for 60 days you might have a chance. Im located in North Central Ark. lots of government land. If someone is bugging out heading for the hills. and ive already been forced to leave my place. If that someone stumbles upon me and mine their shit out of luck. Ill not take the risk of taking them in. and I cant take the risk of letting them leave. Ill not kill to steal their possessions but there are many that would. Most of us including me if forced to bug out will perish. Its not going to be fun.
Yea, part of prepping is working out and keeping you body in shape so you can carry a Bug Out Bag. Hint, Use walking poles to stabilize yourself, and Hiking boots with ankle support. When choosing a Bug-Out Bag, bigger is not always better, as you will try filling it to the rim. Ounces equals Pounds. Put 60 Lbs on your back for a few hours, you will soon realize it feels like a ton. I have gone through several sizes of back packs, and it is smarter to carry more tools and gear then food. Gear like snares, multiple knives, multi-tool, crowbar, water filtration, some clothes mostly sox and underwear, poncho, hat, guns ammo, fire starting tools, cook kit, water bladders, 550 Paracord, Hammock and tarp, wool blanket or lightweight sleeping bag system, sleeping pad, trash bags, sunglasses sunscreen, hygiene, camo cover for hiding. Night vision if you can afford it. Get creative, I bought a hand pull 2 wheel golf bag cart I am going to modify to put a pack on for easy wheeling. Another good transportation tool is a bicycle and a pull cart behind it to carry your load. Bug-out in SHTF is just another word for Refugee. We may all be refugees unfortunately. Adapt by preparing now for the worst.
Yea, part of prepping is working out and keeping you body in shape so you can carry a Bug Out Bag. I posted that Anonymous – before loggin in. lol You get the point.
i am going long jogging strollers. choose carefully…newer ones can fold,(so they fit in the car) and quality varies greatly. the bigger the wheels, the better. most americans are so fat that they won’t be able to walk a mile without this one item. many will end up over a campfire, with that fat oozing into the smokey fire, snappin’ and poppin’ before being consumed by the NEW world order.
well, i hope this doesn’t get double-post, but forgot to sign in earlier and it disappeared. i’m going long jogging strollers. i buy them for less than 30$ at garage sales when i can find them. try to buy the newer ones that fold up so you can fit it into the car. and get the ones with bigger wheels. most americans aint gonna walk a MILE with a 50 to 100 pound backpack on their back, but this ONE ITEM will allow US to be mobile again. many of those fat americans will end up over a smokey fire, poppin’ and snappin’ as the fat oozes out, dripping into the flames…..
I have a game cart used for packing out animals when hunting in the deep stuff. They are perfect as they are balanced, have large wheels, fold up slick as can be when not in use and can carry up to 600 pounds if you know how to load it properly.
This is a really good point about being physically fit post-TEOTWAWKI. With so many Americans being obese, and these latest “immigrants” also being of pudgy size, looks like the casualties from attrition will be very high. This leaves preppers like us in the majority (for the first time.) Check out this site for your preps too: http://www.frontlineofdefense.com/semper-paratus
Make sure your BOB has a folding bicycle.
I am about a C- in prepping, but since I drive around a lot, I always try to pay attention to what kind of vehicles I pass, where small airports are, even things like bicycle shops, etc. If EMP/CME ever knocks out electronics, hoofing it will be a last resort. If “One Second After” is accurate, older vehicles will likely still run. Worst case scenario, I would not hesitate to steal a bicycle to get to my family faster. Old Cessna 150s would likely run too if you want to fly home.
BTW, Mac, just publish the book and I’ll buy it. These stories have been great so far.
that’s why you gotta have a vintage pickup truck with no electronics
Good read. EMP would be a wild ride that is for sure. Probably a quick one but life would cease to be boring in a flash.
Us as Humans have lost a lot of our 5 senses of perception, as all we are conditioned over the last few decades is looking and clicking with a mouse. We will quickly learn our sense of hearing will become very important. Who’s sneaking up on you man or beast. Get a set of binoculars as a force multiplier, as well as an enhanced hearing device, as others across the street plot against you. Jut saying.
Im pretty deaf. However I have this little mongrel dog. She alerts me anytime she hears any noise. With me everything registers. As I travel I notice things. places where animals cross the road. A place where someone climed the fence. litter & trash. What folks around my area normally do. Who drives what. Anything out of place gets my attention. I seen a vehicle go by really slow spotlighting. So I followed them at a distance and waited until I heard a shot. waited a bit and walked up to their vehicle in the dark. two guys where dragging a deer across the field. I slashed all four of their tires and walked away. The law caught them.
@Old Guy,
I too suffer from a major hearing loss from an early age. Funny, how your other senses become acutely honed because of it. I am super observant too- and I can read lips, body language, etc. Most people would never know as I have conditioned my other senses over the years to adapt. I figure we are not missing out on much- hah!
Wait, I thought that’s what all those FEMA MRAP’s were for… aren’t they picking us up and taking us to some sort of summer camp?
🙂
Yeah and they have a pool there too. Only it has a huge ring around it after the Illegal’s bath day on Wednesdays.
Yes they are,they have set up special trains in many areas to take us,damn considerate of em.I hear they will have rifle training/hermetically sealed doors for our comfort and someone mentioned perhaps even hemlock ice cream,finally,we get something good with our tax dollars!
Yay! Icecream!@
Aftermath is a great Rolling Stones album of 1966….Paint it Black, Under My Thumb, Lady Jane, and Ruby Tuesday….it is the Aftermath….
The Aftermath is what none of us is prepared for….brace yourself and look above!!!!
WOW Ugly, that took be back! Had to load it up on youtubular. Where did the time (and my life) go?
.02….
Yes time has flown. Time is not on our side anymore….people don’t realize just how good the early Stones albums were/are….my favorites are Decembers Children, AfterMath, Flowers, and Let it Bleed….
Lady Jane was a very much under rated classic. Love Brian Jones sitar….
Up in smoke with Cheech and Chong?
Great Stones album. Don’t forget ‘ol Jimmy H. “There many here who thing that life is but a joke.”
-Watchtower.
not thing. Think
I always think back to this Stones song cruising with my neighbor in a 69 Camaro, 327, 4 speed hearst.
The Hand of Fate – The Black and Blue Album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKH9enYiFIU
Johnny Cash – I Won’t Back Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8i5NLyXZdc
Perhaps we all should hold onto those LP’s down in the basement after all…..?
Perhaps Stan?!I have a few heavy plastic tubs with albums carefully upright in their covers.I have a original Street Survivors album with flames along with ticket never used due to plane crash,all the Tull albums with the standup/news paper/play bills ect. that came with em in the day,all the great Yes album covers art,Led Zep spinning wheel,you get the idea.Yes,still have a few turntable to compliment the stereo,will only abandon in say a SHTF situation,I do hope decades down the road they are found and enjoyed by a new set of ears!
I have a 20-foot wall of shelves full of LPs, 45s, and 78s. If the solar setup lasts, I might get to listen to all of them eventually. I have rock, country, classical, even Irish and polka music. I have CDs, but most of my LPs have never been reissued on CD.
Got to have my music.
I see a red door and I want to paint it black…
That was a decade before my time but I can still appreciate greatness when I hear it.
All those tunes and albums you guys mentioned were great songs never to be equaled. My favorite anti establishment artist of all time is John Lennon. His Gimme Some Truth and Freeda People are classic rage against this tyrant government. His music is tops for me and my mindset. It also will never be bettered. That is why he was killed. I love John Lennon and his music forever. Rest in Peace John.
I believe the first order of issues would be how to deal with all the people who have done absolutely NOTHING concerning this possibility. We all have friends with varying degrees of awareness and preparation. Where do you draw the line?
Two edged sword for me,want to survive but like our fictional character would stop and help people and realize may get me killed.I will share without starving myself as I personally do not think will last long,will see some horror going down and as I don’t have wife/kids depending on me will enter into fray at my peril,this is OK,have thought about it a long time and for me right thing to do,really depends on each persons situation.I though frustrating still work on folks in a way to prep at least minimally,have actually gotten thru to some people,this is a battle I fight know as the more folks ready when something goes wrong the better,realize some have just given up on that front due to frustration but tis a battle I fight and at moment not deadly battle.
Stan522
How do you deal with people who have done nothing?
I have been the main preparer in my family and I will tell you I would know more about what to do for any incident than those who did nothing. Therefore my commands would carry more weight. I will not accept any argument as to what tasks need to be done. God help them if they say “I am not doing that”. Keep in mind I would know what they can accomplish within their limits. Should you have a better time in the beginning, complacency might set in and they will say, “Why? Nothing has happened”, and will try to debate as to the needed tasks at hand. Not Going to Happen on MY WATCH.
Should you take people under your wing you should lay down the rules early so to have no problems later.
Never tell anyone to do a task that you have never done.
In that case the proper way is to ask if they can handle the job and in some cases lend your help too.
As the Main Prepper you should have the bigger gun. Avoid arguments with other gun toaters.
For the most part others never do exactly what you tell them. I was the foreman on a road construction job. And that was my biggest headache. I was a constant headache trying to get others do do what you tell them to. Part of the problem I was much younger than the old hands. There was a muddy area and the small trees & grass needed to be removed. I told the dozer operators not to get in there with the D8 dozers let the little Tonka toy 450 john deer push it out cause it it became stuck I could snatck it out with the rubber tired backhoe. The next day I had to leave in the middle of the day to take the lowboy 50 miles to another job to get a earth mover. When I got back there where 2 D8 cats aD7 and the little JD buried in the muddy place. I fired them all on the spot. I had to drive 100 miles round trip to get a excavator (track hoe) and dig the dozers out. Those who wouldn’t listen cost the company thousands of dollars in lost time and extra work. After that I was fed up with being foreman. The owners son in law came out and became foreman. That guy was at his wits end. couldn’t keep help. Then we got some green card Mexicans. Those guys would really work. and they followed orders. there was one who had pretty good English. We told hin what we wanted and he kept things running smoothly. That was 25 years ago. I seen the writing on the wall way back then. That will be the problem others will think there smarter than you and your just being a bossy tyrant.
If you wish to survive. You will have to take a hard line.
Ok I always carry a concealed weapon. And If im someplace and someone is being attacked raped robbed ect. they will continue to be victimized. im not the police. and you never know all the circumstances. unless they are trespassing on me and mine its not my business. And If I ever pull my gun I will be cocking the hammer & pulling the trigger.
just hoping you didn’t literally mean cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger. The hammer should already be back, safety on, on a single action gun like the 1911, BHP, etc… and doesn’t need cocking on the others… just a word of advice so you don’t get killed trying to find the time to cock the hammer if you’re being attacked.
Earth’s Magnetic Field Flip Could Happen Sooner Than Expected
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-s-magnetic-field-flip-could-happen-sooner-than-expected/
“but the new data revealed the field is actually weakening at 5 percent per decade, or 10 times faster than thought. ”
“Researchers think power grids and communication systems would be most at risk.
Earth’s magnetic field acts like a giant invisible bubble that shields the planet from the dangerous cosmic radiation spewing from the sun in the form of solar winds”
A strange world to deal with, are you ready????
Is anyone ready Really
No….
Good read. The more I think about this stuff the more I realize I’m not mentally prepared. As I’m reading this I hear fireworks in the distance. I got to thinking, what if this was a s.h.t.f. environment and that was gunshots instead. I would not be able to sleep without knowing where they were coming from and that the threat had been eliminated. The thing is it’s not a matter of if, but when. Let’s see if you folks remember these words to live by. On my honor I will do my best to do my duty, to obey ____ law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically fit, mentally straight, and morally awake. A ____ is trustworthy, helpful, curious, kind, obedient, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. I hope all is well with you folks.
God’s, Boy Scout…;)
Boy Scouts! My son will be starting his Webelos 1 this fall and I’m the pack leader. I hope to teach these boys well.
Great post. If you’re serious about survival, buy a Boy Scout handbook and/or join the Scouts. That’s why it was founded in our agricultural age.
Want to know the really terrible horror of a widespread and destructive EMP?
A map of all the nuclear power plants that could fail after an EMP:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_the_United_States#mediaviewer/File:NRC_regions_and_plant_locations_2008.jpg
Check out what causes a meltdown:
http://visual.ly/what-is-a-nuclear-meltdown
Let’s not forget the spent fuel rod pools adjacent to most nuke plants. When the grid goes down, the water circulating in the pools to keep them cool evaporates. Eventually the rods start to burn, spewing radioactive smoke and other nasty stuff near and far.
jason jones is kinda a lil’ too “gay” reading?
reads like a women is writing it.
if you all wanna read a good shtf read , read “THE ROAD!”
or check out the “joe nobody” Armageddon book series.
puff
The Road is a 2006 novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. It is a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed most of civilization and, in the intervening years, almost all life on Earth. The novel was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006.
The movie gave me nightmares, the basement scene was too much.
ya gotta read the book … it’s a worth while investment.
try to read “the road” book alone in a dark quiet house at 3am.
that will freak you out even more , it is simply terrifying.
the movie doesn’t even come close to the brutal terrifying to read book.
puff
I did read it as well.. it was good.
Read the book after I saw the movie so if that would have been reversed the book probably would have been more shocking than it was.
That book was depressing but good , lesson learned from the book
Keep an adequate supply of ammo on hand even if you have a revolver.
Semper Fi 8541
Same here. I watched it until they entered the cellar and saw all those people that the cannibals had been munching on bit by bit. I stopped the movie at that point and didn’t watch it again for over a year. I finally sat down and watched the entire movie from beginning to end but once again that cellar scene was really tough. You need to finish watching the movie to see what else is in it.
I saw it on DVD. What kept bugging me all through the movie is that NO situation have I read or heard about would cause the scenario they were in. All the plants dead. Trees dead. NOT. Terrible plot device to remove scavenging for plants and roots to keep going.
Like, couldn’t people be growing heirloom seeds in a greenhouse?
And there were way too many cannibals for something that’s years after this terrible event.
Dave,believe many alive in “the Road”due to eating long pig,some scavenging and some,well,raising for lack of a better word.The part of “The Road”never understood was leaving the old storm shelter,would have stayed till picked clean of food excepting what the cart would carry.
The reason he left the shelter was because the cannibals dogs would have sniffed them out and they would have been trapped. When he heard the dogs barking he realized what a trap he was in.
Thanx 02,I missed that,have a copy of book will reread and then if movie will watch again,been awhile.
No. The dogs would have been eaten long ago. What are they even feeding the dogs? People?
Maybe some tough leader would want to keep dogs for tracking. His starving gang would probably eat them anyway.
The background situation is too unrealistic for me.
The best apocalyptic pulp fiction is “Out of the Ashes” by JW Johnstone 1983. You’ll read it and think it’s today.
the guy was like preppernodomus
thank you. great find.
How about “Lucifer;s Hammer”, from the 70’s, as an illustration what happens after to civilization after a cataclysmic event? The message didn’t sink in then. I was in the ” good read, but that’ll never happen” camp. Thirty years later, after the 2008 economic meltdown, it made a lot more sense.
Yes, that is an outstanding series. Problem now though is the series is mostly out of print and the owners of the series won’t print the books that are needed to finish the series. I had the entire series years and years ago but somehow lost them in transit when I got out of the military. I’ve rebuilt the collection to all but two books. Now the two I need are close to the end of the series but they cannot be had for less than $50 apiece. Too much for me! Besides that, the author died before he finished the series so the family hired a writer or writers to finish the series and you can tell it isn’t the original author. Still, a great series.
Another good series is “Deathlands” which started out with Jack Adrian as the author on book 1. Book 2 and onwards it was James Axler (not real name) until he died somewhere in the middle of the series. After James Axler died the series took a dive when other writers were hired to continue the series. If you haven’t read Deathlands it is outstanding until…I don’t know…book 20 or so? It’s been a while since I read the series. When I finished the series I donated the entire collection to Goodwill.
As a SheepDog – there will be lots of decisions Post EMP-SHTF we will have to make. As we witness gangs and predators preying on the weak. Do you get involved and take out the creeps, which then they could turn their energy on you. Or avoid wasting your AMMO to save for your own defense if necessary and just keep moving on? Personally, it will be very hard and difficult for me to just let predators have their way with innocent people. No doubt I will take many predators out, when all humanity diminishes. How about you?
From the wildly popular series, Holding Their Own, to the young adult’s Apocalypse Drift (rated PG), Joe’s fiction titles are enjoyed by preppers and dystopian fans around the globe.
“I always try to work in survival and self-reliance tips into each book. Some folks absorb more information if it delivered in a story-like environment, while others simply enjoy a good, action-packed yarn. Entertainment is the bottom line.” … Joe Nobody
One Second After is fairly brutal, the brit movie “threads” is down right ugly. Could finish threads.
One second after is a good book. A.Americans books are good too. The fact that diabetics would be dead in a month after a EMP woke me up.
So what did you all do on your “Summer Staycation??”
@RTFP – Some folks absorb more information if it delivered in a story-like environment – You mean like the Bible Story Book of Fables. Noah’s Ark was probably one of the first fantasy Prepper stories out there. I get the point, but I would just like to know how Noah kept the Lions from eating the rabbits and gazelle, while all packed in to the one little boat with no escape. Or did he keep them in cages like a slave ship? How did he feed them? Did he talk to them like Dr Doolittle? On keeping the faith and promising hope and change? Sound familiar?
Look at Google Earth and zoom in to 39 degrees 26 minutes 26 seconds North and 44 degrees 14 minutes 5 seconds East. You will see the remains of a boat in a mud slide down the side of a mountain. It is in the right area and is the right size to be Noah’s ark. And the elevation is about 6,500 feet.
The road is a good but depressing read,plkenty of good books about end of the world for different reasons ending.I would say he is doing allright as a story teller but liked my little ending with the attacker better.
couldn’t
I shutter at the thought of how the masses will react to going “cold turkey” when the plug to just their cell phones is pulled. For those raised and programmed on todays technology, fueled by electricity , i.e. iphones/texting, video games, tv, internet, etc., I really don’t know how they will handle it and what kind of threat they will be, within hours of total shutdown. The massive addiction to those forms of mind-candy is uncomprehendable, not to mention, just add to that, when the 1 in 4 can’t refill their psychotropics, and the 1 in 2 can’t refill their basic Rx…
I have always kind’a laughed at this concept of mindless “Zombies” running around stark raving mad and totally out of control, but we might very well witness, up close and personal, such a phenomenon, on a massive scale. How just those withdrawals manifest, is anybody’s guess, but compound that with one, then two, then three meals missed in a row, now that’s when it will be time to lay low, very low, out of sight, if possible, until the initial hyper-crazy storm passes over.
The bright side is that, the “real” sound of Silence, the natural sound of Nature, at some point, after the human screams initially subside, will be deafening. The downside to that is that most Americans won’t be able to handle it, because they’ve never heard that before, for any extended period , let’s say, over 5 minutes.
Most wont be able to take it, a lot of women breaking down literally crying and confusion. I don’t need a phone and have a basic one. We can cook and clean without power so the people that need it and big city people are going to have real problems and will all be taking to each other while a huge group is robbing everything for a free for all. No police driving around and a few engines possibly working, it could be a hit or miss with the cars being on rubber. I dont know and many of us really are not 100 percent sure. I wouldnt be hiking anywhere, you going to need water and supplies. Im staying home and going to be ready.
Im with you,
Not going anywhere except maybe up the road to trade for a goat or two.
Clint,many men will be crying also,some just in total breakdown for all the chaos but some like me as I lose friends ect.,will still site thru the tears if need be and bandage those that needed while supplies hold out.I have put the bottle down but have a few quarts of Jack in hiding,may not be the best time but sobriety at least short term will be over when I have a safe few moments to meself.
Oh I agree with you men crying too no doubt. Women are just a tad more emotional when something major happens. I could of cleared that up.
I got ya’s Clint,just want folks to who are perhaps new know they can have emotions,just hopefully put to the side when either you or someone elses life is counting on ya’s.I have dealt well with a bloody car wreck getting someone to safety(gas leaking/no emt’s there yet)and in a way was terrified but functioned.I did afterwards have a adrenaline rush puke but was told by a statey cop tis normal.My greatest fear is not freezing when someone trying to kill either me or some innocent and bullets flying,can live with pissing myself ect. as long as I function.With my probably going to die attitude trying to end some horror may make it easier,really don’t know how one can prep oneself for that without just being in that situation.I am the stupid sob you read about in the news trying to end some bad situation and dying in the process,just hope my efforts will not be in vain.I will if somehow end up caring for others take a much more guarded approach to bad situations,but till then….
I enjoy reading any book in the apocalyptic genre. Although I thought this story was a little “rough” and needed some additional editing, I am still enjoying it.
Here are a few y’all might find interesting:
Alas Babylon By Pat Frank ( Classic and fantastic)
Holding their own series by Joe Nobody ( Really enjoy )
Going home series by A.American ( I met this author at a survival expo and he was really nice )
Wool series by Hugh Howey ( really good! )
Earth Abides by George Stewart ( Another good one )
The Old Man and The Wasteland by Nick Cole ( completely raw, original and a must read! )
Not a drop to drink ( Can’t remember the authors name)
I love to read and I always learn something new that I didn’t think of or plan for…Happy Prepping y’all!
Looks like a american has actually tried some of his preps.
Texas,”Not a drop to drink”,though probably not what you had in mind but Samuel Coleridge comes to mind,ancient mariner and all!
And I must add, A New World Series by John O’Brien. It is outstanding! http://www.anewworldseries.com
I’m finishing Forsaking Home by A. American now and will go to Vol. 2 Bk. 2 of Grid Down, Reality Bites (another great series). Don’t forget 299 Days series as well. Another good one.
Thanks everyone,
Thanks for the tips, I will look into getting those today! Years ago, it was so hard to find books in this genre, but thankfully now we have a lot to choose from!
If you enjoy reading that kind of stories, get and read;
As Wind In Dry Grass by H. Grant Llewellyn and Shut Down by W.R.Flynn. Both are good stories of when and after the SHTF. They’re two different scenarios of how things initially begin, and the endings are different too, but in the stories, many of the scenarios and events are similar.
Authors are special in that they can project imagery allowing you to feel empathy, fear and suspense. But like many works, this one is also a pure work of fiction.
All those people who keep on talking about ‘bugging out’ and migrating untold distances are in for a surprise when they really learn how much a good amount of water,supplies and ammo weighs.
Face it, you have to cover x amount of miles, probably on foot and heavily weighed down by your pack, weapons and other items. Even at a good clip, in good weather and in excellent physical condition, most people can only cover 15-25 miles a day. Now think about how thirsty, tired and hungry you are going to be after that. Makes me tired and thirsty just thinking about it.
The book (and movie) The Road is actually a better work of fiction as they don’t fill in all the details of how the Apocalypse transpired; your mind had to do that part. What it did teach you is that humans are really just animals when subjected to the worst adversity and yet, humans are also at their very best when things are at their very worst. We are a unique species, indeed.
I still say the best advice has been given by several on this site many times already: Form groups with diverse talents and skillsets. And don’t be caught out there with a simple revolver with one or two bullets…that isn’t going to cut it.
Failing to plan, is planning to fail.
@Soc
The Viet Cong fixed the problem of heavy transport over long distances by loading bikes with hundreds of pounds supplies, and “walking” them down the Ho Chi Minh trail like a pack mule.
Slow, but it worked.
Socrates,though I agree that person with 2 rounds in the revolver probably better off then 85% of the population in terms of a defensive weapon,would gladly be wrong about that.
Bugging out will most likely just prolong the inevitable, definitely not the best option especially if your on foot.
Have gone over the whole thing more than a few times.
Only a handful of circumstances that it would be more beneficial than staying put, and the only truly survivable scenarios involve a vehicle loaded with supplies and an iffy trek. The survivability depends on where we end up going and what everyone else is doing.
An even better book is “Powerless” by Richard Smith.
This website gets whackier and whackier.
How can you tell? Everything is getting whackier and whackier.
Shoot, you ought to be around here when it gets dark outside.
And when a few drinks are poured!
@GH,
It’s a full moon this weekend when the loons come and play.
On the other hand, that is the price of Freedom, people can believe what they want here and say it!
There is a reason SHTF Plan is the #1 prepper sight! Not Rawles or “Mr. Prepper”.
You guys’n gals are great!
hey … food for thought and a lil’ warning.
ya’ll might wanna seriously buy some more top off your ammo this week and oil your rifles and guns up for action.
there’s talk of a obama directed counter coup in wash d.c. , meaning obama and his handlers jump the gun on all those trying to take him down and call for the midnight black bag arrest and extradition to dhs black jail sites all those who oppose barry obama’s reign of Zionist fascist Dicktator terror.
7/20 is just 10days away.
just food for thought as i see obama going full nuclear before he’ll give up the white zio-whore house in wash dc.
cornered beasts like obama are dangerous and unpredictable.
it’s better to be ready than not.
puff
Like Hitler’s “Night of the long knives”.
Links? I don’t doubt it…he is a psychotic bastard.
Buy more ammo? I will have to hire 3 people to carry it all as is.. a coup you say? Wouldn’t that be a kick in the ole nutsack for bath house barry?
ummmm … “sigh” … forget it.
Sorry if this is a stupid question but what happens on 7/20?
TALK….yup, that’s about all most americans can muster. while our country BURNS, americans TALK!(and MOST don’t even do THAT!).
americans will always do the right thing, but only after exhausting ALL OTHER POSSIBILITIES! winston, or margaret, can’t remember which one said it, but it is SO appropriate.
I keep seeing people refer to 7/20 as if some event is predicted…? I know no one has a crystal ball, but whats the importance of this date?
tried to post links and they keep getting dumped.
The irony is that the well-prepared will be extremely outnumbered by many, many thousands-to-one. The many thousands will be everything from the street thugs, to the once average and now suddenly desperate town or city dwellers who did not bother to prepare and who will FINALLY look up from their electronic toys to realize we have ALL been thrown into the same stone-aged and hostile world. This does not even begin to take into account the local, national and INTERNATIONAL (U.N., etc) armored forces who will also have both military orders as well as their own personal and family needs that will motivate them to go full-out to the dark side of humanity. Does anyone REALLY think they can find a well-stocked, fortified and camouflaged hole to live in until civilization returns (which won’t be likely for generations to come, if then).
Just look at how many people cannot even read a map or fix their own car. I grew up driving cross-country in cars with no computers, GPS, knowing how to read road maps, planning for LOOKING for gas stop locations ahead of time and having the spare parts and tools to fix my car in the middle of nowhere. People now panic when they are lost or out of gas or broken down just a block from home or a gas station. BETTER HAVE THEIR APP! Only they WON’T. Even if a smartphone works, most apps rely on Internet connections for functionality. So, SURVIVAL? The average person will do for survival what they do with their car. Ask, beg, then rapidly go out of control and into panic and desperation. Ugly comes fast. “Ugly” will be much more prevalent than “lucky” or “prepared” or ESPECIALLY “SAFE”. Face it, we only THINK we know what we need to be prepared to face when “SHTF”.
Don’t get me wrong. those such as Jason in this story, who prepare and who are vigilant, are both wise and well meaning. In a way it reminds me of the thought that, after all the hype of 9/11, I thought it would be a good idea to have a generator. After a severe ice storm, the realization set in that, if my house is the only house on the block with lights on, that might make my house a target. Even otherwise nice neighbors could come to resent such a thing when their house is cold or their food is spoiling. Of course, gas stations will not operate, so I would be advertising that my garage or my shed contains gasoline – a valuable commodity. In the end, would I have been better off if I was comfortable or if I was hungry and shivering?
I imagine in a post apocalyptic scenario, even the most avid preppers, especially those with families, may look out at the world closing in on them, see the horrors of humankind reverted to ruthless animals and start to wonder if they really should have stockpiled 50,000 rounds of hollow points or just enough to provide a humane exit for their loved ones. While not a nice thought, I truly do not think any story of this nature is honest if this factor is not entertained. Only in Hollywood will you find a “Rambo” who can take on the world and live in caves and make dinner, shelter and toilet paper out of mulch and leaves in the woods (which reminds me how I hear so little from preppers about the packs of wild as well as once-domestic animals that will be roaming the landscape).
One thing I appreciate in this story is the self-defense aspect of Jason’s experience. I earned my black belts (plural) beginning in the latter days of Vietnam. Effective street fighting, defense against knives and guns. How to use what is around you as a weapon. Sticks, broken bottles, your feet, elbows and fists, rocks – even the pen in your pocket (mine with its sharp and sturdy metal point makes a most effective penetrative weapon in a fix – and the security checkpoints will hand it RIGHT BACK to you after it goes through the metal detector). Only in the most realistic of movies will you see that a gun or a knife fight so often turns into a grappling match. Those almost always go to the ground. It would suck to have some thug pinning you down as your mind realizes in horror that you know how to shoot him and even have hundreds of bullets, only they are now well out of your reach (By the way, men. Teach your wife and children that, if the time comes that you are physically fighting off bad guys, to run AWAY from you and towards help and safety, rather than trying to help or being close enough that it takes your attention AWAY from the attackers). And face it, in a street fight, the person you are facing has likely been beaten, shot, stabbed and worse, probably on PCP or some other substance that will short circuit a “prepared” person’s mind when their best shot or best kick/punch is delivered and the bad guy just keeps on coming. By the way, if a person is serious about self defense, find a good martial arts school. Not one of these store fronts where they wear pretty outfits and lots of padding on a thickly padded floor. Go somewhere where you get hit, punched and kicked full contact -HARD-onto a hard floor because it is THERE that you want to experience what that feels like and learn to cope with it and not on the street in a life and death situation. I was sparring students one day with my arm in a cast. One of the students thought I was crazy for doing that. I asked him what would happen if I got into a REAL fight and had an injury and WAS NOT prepared for that (which actually DID happen to me years earlier). An enemy as the Cobra Kai mantra went) WILL SHOW NO MERCY. In any fight, ESPECIALLY a knife fight, expect to see your OWN blood and LOTS of it. Most people do not handle that well, especially the first few times. Blood will make any weapon, including a gun, slippery as hell. Floors too.
Hey, I am enjoying your story. I imagine Jason is one of the smaller percentages of preppers that would still be ok if he could NOT get to his bug-out bag. Just imagine the shock people who find their prep items gone, missing or stolen/confiscated will react…or NOT react.
Anon,hard to find good “combat contact” training in many areas,there is plenty of info though on net on common items as a weapon.I had someone work with me and a friend,he was buds with friends older brother and a combat vet with a pretty damn high training background.His advice when we started about knives I liked the best,his first advice,run like hell if you have no gun and can shoot em,we went on from there but the run like hell always stuck with me as he was very serious about that if a option.
Krav Maga is good. Israeli gutter fighting. MMA is an excellent choice. My youngest son: https://ww w.youtube.com/watch?v=nVMmJmSNI6c Taught this boy fighting since he was about 4 or so. He is the guy coming out dancing. Both my sons are excellent in self defense.
Carry a 45 caliber for the meth heads as the round was built special for that. Anyone that has used the 45 against others will tell you you never have to shoot them twice.
02,have looked for qualified Krav Maga(i.e. contact combat),hard to find in my area,searched the Krav maga alliance(?) and another site recommended and no luck my area.
Escrima and silat have been quite effective for the southeast Asians, as these systems start with weapons and move to hands, feet, knees, elbows and teeth! The Moros (Mindanao) were trained in the use of bladed weapons and sticks from childhood, and the adult fighters were probably hopped up on some chemicals, making them very dangerous for our Constabulary.
For myself, i look at documented experiences of people like Selco and others from war zones as examples. That said it brings a very valid ring to your statement about 50,000 hollow points or just enough for a humane exit, believe me there are many scenarios where that may well be the better option.
Kinda going with the prep for the worst, hope for the best approach for now, its all i can really do and there are any number of small SHTF moments that can happen, even simple stuff like loss of income, weather temporary or longer term, or extreme weather, has been more than once i was glad i had something extra stuffed away just in case.
Kula, with the gov stockpiling ammo and the 2.2 billions rounds a month the amerikan citizens are stockpiling as well, if war/pandemic/emp happens there should be literally tons of guns-ammo laying around for some time. That is just my opinion, I could be wrong but there seems to be a lot of Rambos out there that are going to break out their tacticool weaponry and wind up deadernhell laying in the streets with 20 loaded high cap mags in their taticticool vests.
That would be me less a tactical vest,will though be trying to do right by people,not marauding/stealing.That said,govt. mercenaries dead lying around would certainly if able grab any usable gear.
Prayer and Faith can Defeat Anything.
http://www.heartcom.org/PattonPrayer.htm
http://www.heartcom.org/PattonPrayer2.htm
Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations.
The irony is that the well-prepared will be extremely outnumbered by many, many thousands-to-one. The many thousands will be everything from the street thugs, to the once average and now suddenly desperate town or city dwellers who did not bother to prepare and who will FINALLY look up from their electronic toys to realize we have ALL been thrown into the same stone-aged and hostile world. This does not even begin to take into account the local, national and INTERNATIONAL (U.N., etc) armored forces who will also have both military orders as well as their own personal and family needs that will motivate them to go full-out to the dark side of humanity. Does anyone REALLY think they can find a well-stocked, fortified and camouflaged hole to live in until civilization returns (which won’t be likely for generations to come, if then).
Just look at how many people cannot even read a map or fix their own car. I grew up driving cross-country in cars with no computers, GPS, knowing how to read road maps, planning for LOOKING for gas stop locations ahead of time and having the spare parts and tools to fix my car in the middle of nowhere. People now panic when they are lost or out of gas or broken down just a block from home or a gas station. BETTER HAVE THEIR APP! Only they WON’T. Even if a smartphone works, most apps rely on Internet connections for functionality. So, SURVIVAL? The average person will do for survival what they do with their car. Ask, beg, then rapidly go out of control and into panic and desperation. Ugly comes fast. “Ugly” will be much more prevalent than “lucky” or “prepared” or ESPECIALLY “SAFE”. Face it, we only THINK we know what we need to be prepared to face when “SHTF”.
Don’t get me wrong. those such as Jason in this story, who prepare and who are vigilant, are both wise and well meaning. In a way it reminds me of the thought that, after all the hype of 9/11, I thought it would be a good idea to have a generator. After a severe ice storm, the realization set in that, if my house is the only house on the block with lights on, that might make my house a target. Even otherwise nice neighbors could come to resent such a thing when their house is cold or their food is spoiling. Of course, gas stations will not operate, so I would be advertising that my garage or my shed contains gasoline – a valuable commodity. In the end, would I have been better off if I was comfortable or if I was hungry and shivering?
I imagine in a post apocalyptic scenario, even the most avid preppers, especially those with families, may look out at the world closing in on them, see the horrors of humankind reverted to ruthless animals and start to wonder if they really should have stockpiled 50,000 rounds of hollow points or just enough to provide a humane exit for their loved ones. While not a nice thought, I truly do not think any story of this nature is honest if this factor is not entertained. Only in Hollywood will you find a “Rambo” who can take on the world and live in caves and make dinner, shelter and toilet paper out of mulch and leaves in the woods (which reminds me how I hear so little from preppers about the packs of wild as well as once-domestic animals that will be roaming the landscape).
One thing I appreciate in this story is the self-defense aspect of Jason’s experience. I earned my black belts (plural) beginning in the latter days of Vietnam. Effective street fighting, defense against knives and guns. How to use what is around you as a weapon. Sticks, broken bottles, your feet, elbows and fists, rocks – even the pen in your pocket (mine with its sharp and sturdy metal point makes a most effective penetrative weapon in a fix – and the security checkpoints will hand it RIGHT BACK to you after it goes through the metal detector). Only in the most realistic of movies will you see that a gun or a knife fight so often turns into a grappling match. Those almost always go to the ground. It would suck to have some thug pinning you down as your mind realizes in horror that you know how to shoot him and even have hundreds of bullets, only they are now well out of your reach (By the way, men. Teach your wife and children that, if the time comes that you are physically fighting off bad guys, to run AWAY from you and towards help and safety, rather than trying to help or being close enough that it takes your attention AWAY from the attackers). And face it, in a street fight, the person you are facing has likely been beaten, shot, stabbed and worse, probably on PCP or some other substance that will short circuit a “prepared” person’s mind when their best shot or best kick/punch is delivered and the bad guy just keeps on coming. By the way, if a person is serious about self defense, find a good martial arts school. Not one of these store fronts where they wear pretty outfits and lots of padding on a thickly padded floor. Go somewhere where you get hit, punched and kicked full contact -HARD-onto a hard floor because it is THERE that you want to experience what that feels like and learn to cope with it and not on the street in a life and death situation. I was sparring students one day with my arm in a cast. One of the students thought I was crazy for doing that. I asked him what would happen if I got into a REAL fight and had an injury and WAS NOT prepared for that (which actually DID happen to me years earlier). An enemy as the Cobra Kai mantra went) WILL SHOW NO MERCY. In any fight, ESPECIALLY a knife fight, expect to see your OWN blood and LOTS of it. Most people do not handle that well, especially the first few times. Blood will make any weapon, including a gun, slippery as hell. Floors too.
Hey, I am enjoying your story. I imagine Jason is one of the smaller percentages of preppers that would still be ok if he could NOT get to his bug-out bag. Just imagine the shock people who find their prep items gone, missing or stolen/confiscated will react…or NOT react.
The usage of ex-marine in this story is incorrect, “Former-Marine” is the correct term.
Semper FI,
(Marine Corps. Retired)
Did I read that his map highlighted his B.O.L.? Beginners mistake that’ll get your family killed. Standing ready in Daytona
Read it again. Map takes him home.
WOW…This is Too strange to be a coincidence….Please view this youtube video and pass it on….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiJBCxc0soM
California city now handing free pot out to poor.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/pot-luck–berkley-dispensaries-now-required-to-give-free-marijuana-to-the-poor-170035152.html
Kinda disappointing followup…
I thought Jason woulda pulled a Roadhouse move on him or at least stabbed him with his spork.
No,he used his karambit on attacker!
cant make the stupid stop
h t t p://www.inquisitr.com/1343779/targets-gun-ban-proves-to-be-absolute-rubbish-as-assailants-attack-stores-customers/
@VRF
We live in Minnesoros and have a few neighbors who work in the Target home offices.
#1. Target was started by/is controlled by the Dayton Family, of which Mark Dayton is the Geo. Soros sponsored Gov. of Minnesoros. Mark Dayton is a complete Commie Lib. He’s another Mike Bloomberg.
2# Beside not allowing legal guns into their crappy stores, Target does not allow their employees to say “Merry Christmas” or The Salvation Army to set up outside, during the Christian Holidays.
3# According to one of my neighbors, it is “unwritten policy” that all hiring managers are to hire either Muslims, or Homosexuals as a priority before anyone else.
4# Target makes huge donations to the Demoncraps and works hand and glove with other Lib supporting companies like General Mills, also based in Minneapolis.
Hey thanks for that heads up
I dont shop there, never really did, think I dropped the wife off there a time or two for a bathing suit or something like that
Like I have said before a store with the name of Target? and no guns or ammo? I got no use for any store that doesnt cater to my White Male Gun Loving American Standards
they can kiss my ass and any money I have left in my wallet
I treat Wal-mart and all the other big box stores pretty much the same
what I do find hilarious is these stores that tout being a gun free zone , and later get robbed by thugs with guns and no law abiding gun owner comes to their aid and very well should boycott all businesses that hold these anti american views ..
if they want my buiz, they batter have what I want what I need , and have the ability to keep their noses out of my fuckin business and what i do that is perfectly legal in this country ..start making up rules against my freedoms and i’ll be fine with makin up rules on where not to spend my hard earned dollars with
NONE of these stores like wallyworld or targe’ have what i am looking for,
Cabelas, Levi, etc, thats where I shop. They are building a target here, kmart and wallmart can barely keep their doors open as it is, be fun to watch them ALL struggle one the new store opens,
And now that all the small local owned business that had similar varieties are gone good luck is all i can say.
Cabelas is pretty cool store!!Thumbs up Kulafarmer!!
Wally world does carry reasonably priced ammo,me,despite trail buy on net for best deals but if you want cash and carry wally world works.
I would give you TWO thumbs up if I could
Unless there is some kind of round up of the citizens, I think we will bug in. I think the home will be easier to defend during an EMP. If hiding is called for, then it is BOL time.
don’t get married to THAT idea. i can think of a FEW reasons why you WON’T be able to “bug-in”…i too am stuck at home, because my ex lives here, and unless it really hits the fan, she’s got rights to kids too. but i DO think about some of the unlikely scenarios that would make me “roll out”.
h tt p://www.businessinsider.com/ed-klein-hillary-clinton-inner-circle-despicable-2014-7
@everyone…I was trolling our local news to post here when I came across this article: The Summer of Supermoons.
“The full moons of summer this year — July 12, Aug. 10 and Sept. 9 — will all be Supermoons, as NASA calls them.”
Read more: http://www.wtae.com/national/the-summer-of-supermoons-is-here/26893510#ixzz37ANZgrYq
As I look up and take delight at nature’s wonders…I will think of all of you here and pray for our salvation both here on this Earth and for our soul’s in the next.
We are already suffering the effects of EMP, Enemy-Military-Personnel, from Central America.
“American Thinker” has a huge article titled “Importing Revolution” which is shocking.
Like most of us here, the article sees the border crisis as more than a move to increase the Democraps base and goes on to explain how Hugo Chavez used similar tide of Aliens to stir up violence and maintain control.
If I lived in the American South West, I would be forming a “Community Defense Unit” asap…..maybe we all should?
I’m as ready as can be and I’m tired of waiting. Let’s get the party going! EMP the entire world!
After watching the 4 seasons of “Walking Dead” Series over the 4th weekend. I learned your greatest tools to carry for survival will be (besides water,fire,food groups) is a big knife, multiple guns, and a whole hell of a lot of AMMO. Lots and Lots of AMMO Filled in High Capacity Magazines. Lots. I am going to repack my Bug Out Bag accordingly.
Also it will be very important NOW to acquire many “PAPER MAPS.” Detailed Maps of your immediate area, Large detailed Paper maps of your county, and your State, as where to find water, ponds, railroad tracks, trails, back roads, terrain, woods, large tract of vacant land to hid out in. Rivers to kayak or canoe to find remote spots away from the population, and where wild food can be found, and lakes connecting lakes. Go to Google Maps and print out your area showing the satellite view with terrain. You will be amazed at all the walking trails, bike trails and many other access points to areas besides roads. Get to know your areas today, get out there ans hike and explore them. Also a good place to bury caches of food, ammo, etc, today for tomorrow. Know where the closes places are on the maps to find fresh water. And keep these maps in your Bug out Bag.
Guess who’s coming to dinner?
Unless the person is your next store neighbor or lives down the road from you, the possibility of them knocking on your door is small.
Many would still cling on to, “All is Safe” till it really goes south and when they finally realize, they would have to run the gauntlet to get to safety.
Time, distance, mode of travel, geography and what type of passages exist. Roads and bridges. Maybe a fast boat along the waterways.
Spencer Tracy and Sidney Portier?
just something for you to think about over the weekend
Imagine what WHITE GENOCIDE would be like…
First you would open the borders of ALL white countries and ONLY white countries.
Then you would bring in hundreds of millions of non-whites and urge white people to intermarry with them.
Then you would chase down any area where white people are not a minority saying ‘this area is too white; it needs more Diversity’.
This would be done ONLY to white people and ONLY to white countries.
Oh wait… this is already happening!
Those doing the above say they’re “anti racist.” What they are is anti white.
Anti racist is a codeword for anti white.
Diversity is a codeword for white genocide.
Sounds like something that the UN did to Europe, and now plans to do to the US:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-18519395
Maybe Obammy is now following the UN Playbook. Why else would all of the so-call “youth” stream over the border in a coordinated invasion? Not to mention the vast number of MS-13 gangbangers in this horde. Not all of them are toddlers!
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/382483/adult-illegal-immigrants-posing-children-enroll-high-school-ryan-lovelace
I’ll apologize now for what I’m about to say. While this may be a good read, I have little time to waste on fictional characters in a fictional setting while a dark reality is beating down my door. In all likelihood, this scenario won’t happen “one day I went to work and,…”, especially while the Southern border invasion has already begun. I doubt it will be nukes either. Shit like this comes way later, after we’re already beyond fucked.
What’s more likely is the slow rot and further descent into the Banana Republic State. If these ILLEGAL scumigrants keep flooding in with their diseases, bad habits and criminal elements, we’re more likely to see an outbreak of some nasty shit. This will be followed by more bad shit as the CDC declares PANDEMIC! and we enter into a full blown state of National emergency. This will be closely followed by more economic downturn and the unleashing of hot tyranny in a neighborhood near you.
You think 2 billion bullets is for fun? You think militarized police in mobilized armor is for kicks? You think NORTHCOM fully activated is just for practice? You think the NDAA provisions 1021 and 1022 is just some words on paper? You think ISIS is organic? You think Ukraine just decided to have a revolution one day? You think the Middle Yeast Infection is on fire without a Western hand of involvement? Can you tell if it’s real world or exercise?
We’ll see soon enough, but I put the EMP bullshit on the back burner a while ago. Sure, prepare for it, but I ain’t fuckin countin on this one.
@Joe
100+
I’ll keep posting this quote for as long as I can.
ACCORDING TO MARINE GENERAL JOHN KELLY, COMMANDER OF SOCOM, THE BORDER CRISES, “THRETHENS THE VERY EXCISTENCE OF THE UNITED STATES”.
Now if anybody is in a position to know this, it is Gen Kelly. The article can be found on the websites of WND and/or Renew America, 3 days ago.
joe as a fighter and trainer let me suggest to you that the best way to knockout an opponent is with a combination. IF it was me and I wanted to bring down the USA it would be emp, pandemic, military lock down, nuclear detonations, and a ground invasion. Body, head, body, body, left hook, lights out.
i hear a lock(padlock) in a sock is an EXCELLENT weapon. i have taken to carrying one when i walk or ride my mountainbike. when i’ve forgotten my sock i remember my belt will come off in a hot second, and can be very effective deterrent to all but the most-determined. also google “the bag trick”…be careful out there….head on a swivel, peeps, it’s coming!(the MATH says so!)
take boxing lessons and wear sap gloves. Anything you grasp can be taken away and used against you.
problem is..most that are planning on assaulting another are going to come armed..with a gun
no match for a #2 master lock in a sock
Depends where you live I suppose VRF. If BCOD lives in UK…
no, it’s worse than that for ME, .02….i live in so cal, the land of fruits and NUTS! just remember, i’m talkin’ ’bout NOW…in SHTF, EVERRRYYYBODY will be armed to the teeth.
thats a good point, but im sure some criminals in a country that doesnt allow personal protection , still have weapons such as a gun, or something that could kill easily
Worked at a federal prison for illegal immigrants for 3 years, in the medical unit. One morning had a small riot between guys from 2 states in Mex. One group took the padlocks off their storage cubicles one night, tied the locks in the toe end of their socks and used them as weapons in a coordinated attack about 6 am. The wounds were pretty horrific! Those socks/locks weapons are worth making!
I like that,
Middle yeast infection,,,
Funny stuff.
All this stuff is not good at all.
Just the fact that these SOB politicians are running the country at a deficit year after year is enough to make even the heartiest soul uneasy, personally i think the only reason things arent already coming unglued is because so many people are clueless as to reality.
***** H7N9 UPDATE*****
the flu has pretty much dropped out of the headlines
but it’s still out there
Additional case of bird flu brings total to 436 this year in China
http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/medical_countermeasures/331142-additional-case-of-bird-flu-brings-total-to-436-this-year-in-china/
and the EBOLA outbreak shows no signs of abating any time soon
Ebola deaths surge in Sierra Leone and Liberia: WHO
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/11/us-health-ebola-idUSKBN0FG0JQ20140711
Joe,anything could kick off a quick bad times instead of the slow crawl we are at now.Yep,the story is fiction but gets folks thinking/exchanging ideas/plans ect.,that can only be a good thing in my book.Hell,all of us could die natural causes/accident before it lights up,till then will work on things,exchange info.,oh,and also enjoy the day.My contribution tomorrow will be on water filter system and whether seems to work or bathroom my new best buddy!
“Shilligan’s Island”
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful slip
That started with a healthcare bill
When Democrats started to trip.
The boss was a wiley lying man,
The Senate weasely without cure.
The whole country set sail that day
For a ruinous 5-year tour.
The implementation started getting rough,
All the deadlines for fixing were crossed,
Now we find out that OWEbama knew
2.5 million jobs were lost, 2.5 million jobs were lost
The lies abound in the core of this uncharted healthcare hell
With Harry Reid
Pelosi too,
The Community Organizer, and his wife,
A healthcare czar
Sebelius’ web site in the can,
Here on Shilligan’s Isle.
So this is the tale of our socialists,
They’re here for far too long a time,
We’ll have to make the best of things,
Witnessing a constitutional crime.
Harry Reid, and Pelosi too,
Are never going to rest,
To make the others pay for their,
Socialistic healthcare test.
No insurance, no doctors, no hospitals,
Not a single practitioner to see,
Like England and Canada,
As socialist as can be.
So join us here each day my friends,
You’re sure to step in a pile,
from Politicians who will soon be cast away,
Here on “Shilligan’s Isle.”
OK VR,that is pretty damn good,that said,time to do a few small gigs and then collect water for filter test,as stated before my results will be posted tomorrow.
If you like this story.
You can get the straight poop on how to make your own electricity and be self sufficient too.
Oh and for transportation after an EMP attack or a CME I would suggest you buy an older car (before computers) so yours is NOT computer controlled, that way there is NO computer to fry. I have an old 1976 Chevy Truck and would not sell it for 5 times it’s value.
Check out how to make your own power at:
http://www.iplantosurvive.info
Bugging out in any crisis has it’s own dangers. Consider staying put as an option during a crisis. As a matter of fact, plan for it, because you may have no choice in the matter, due to unforeseen events.
Has anybody seen any good news recently? I’ve been looking real hard and can’t find any. If I was a commie I’d be grinning from ear to ear.
I dont think I will be bugging out , until its a last resort..I have home court advantage and know my area blind folded , and where all my water sources and live game sources are , Plenty of resources to at home that I could not pack on my back and “walk out”
so unless a Nuke power plant ( one not too far away ) decides to blow or go all red lights and all , I ll stick tight ..if the area goes from bad to worse , I’ll deal with that than
VRF good plan. I am thinking after my wife dies, (thyroid meds gone) IF I am still alive from rummaging through houses/pharmacies trying to find the meds to prolong the inevitable, I will probably head back to the mountains of Idaho/Canada from where I was raised. Home court advantage is a biggie and I have many friends/acquaintances there.
.02 my daughter has no thyroid either. I’ve got at least 3 yrs. of synthroid packed away and will keep buying in case it gets weaker with age. By then hopefully we’ll have sheep or pigs. We’ve already worked out the issues with making our own thyroid meds.
molon labe
WIprepped: Could you share that info by any chance?
PKLL
I agree I wont leave unless it a last resort. And ill burn it as I leave. I have pack animals so carrying essentials wont be a problem. and that pack animal can become food if it comes to that.
Old Guy,why burn it?Might provide shelter for some poor soul down the road.As I have stated before,unless you steal from me I die utilize all my goods if you can including if safe eating me or at least feed me to your dogs,hell,I am a organ donor!
That’s just the reason for burning it. Ill nor leave unless it a last resort. If im forced to leave that will mean my adversarys are to many. Any poor soul down the road has no business trespassing. if im unable to remain anyone who could be able to stay at my place is a no good. Ill not leave anything behind that can be used against me. another thing is if I burn it the temptation to return will be gone. 90% will die and the sooner that occurs the better for those who are left. I could well be part of that 90%. however ill do everything I can to try and make sure my grandchildren survive.
Old Guy,my point is may be someone elses grandchild whose caregivers died could use shelter after the main blowdown,you shoot up/dissipate whatever the bad guys to get out on the road good chance maybe someone nice and caring finds shelter in home,but,is your home(unless bank owns it),so,do as you see fit.
Its mine all paid for. where debt free don’t owe a penny
Alex Jones is right about at least one thing
the world is indeed a “prison planet”
The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/11/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-nsa-is-total-population-control
and yet ANOTHER incident
Anthrax probe reveals new incident with bird flu, widespread safety lapses
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/11/us-usa-anthrax-idUSKBN0FG1PO20140711
I wanna read Stephen King’s THE STAND
I don’t wanna live it
Hate to tell the author but 25 miles out from Chicago doesn’t begin to get close to the rural area surrounding the city …. 40+ miles more like it …. the Chicagoland is over 100 miles north to south and westward 70 miles can be justified …
yep and the mental sickness of the Chicago influence probably tries to do a good job of contaminating that entire state
There’s Chicago and there’s the whole rest of the state … the City of Chicago doesn’t even carry weight within Crook County like it used to …. the Daley Power Machine is long gone …
h ttp://www.truthrevolt.org/news/miami-dade-police-urge-residents-arm-themselves-after-possible-budget-cuts
Looks like Miami police cant defend the people and are suggesting people arm themselves.. whodathunkit?
What is the significance of 7/20????
I know a few of us are wondering that
A lot of smart people here getting prepared for the inevitable. If you can try to get some pragmatic information that is guaranteed to help save you’re bacon. This is not complicated. But some out there are depending on Uncle Sam and superman to bail out the water when the Titanic is going down. Don’t want to scare you, but you should, by now, have that feeling that TSHF is around the corner. Did you know that a half million plastic coffins, each designed to occupy four luck citizens have been manufactured and strategically placed around the country. How’s that for your strategic location. This is serious sh;t and obviously the government is concerned that too many dead bodies just lieing around the streets might cause a panic. Wow, let’s keep things tidy. So when, not if, the perfect storm hits and you’ve got a quarter roll of toilet paper in the house, some beer in the refrigd and peanut butter in the cupboard. OK, that’s about average for most in your neighborhood. Basically you will be dealing with the zombies or becoming one in a few days. Why? Because a part of your significant anatomy was fully shoved up that place which will be looking for toilet tissue or a page from a comic book real soon. Your fault partner. The SHTF when you least expected it. Listen up. You won’t be sorry. You have to be crazy not to be a prepper. Don’t wait until the SHTF. But don’t try to convince the people who believe the single bullet theory that took away Kennedy. All the political and economic indicators point to the inevitable conclusion that sooner, not later the S will HTF. If you’re intelligent enough to understand the acronym you have the possibility of mitigating the nasty circumstances your politicians have created. The citizens voted these mentally disturbed beings into office and are partially responsible for the deadly mess they are faced with. Now you want to know how to survive. Or maybe your head is still deeply stuck up your own ignoble orifice, and you actually think that Uncle Sam is going to be there to change your pants when the SHTF. No, no, when you find yourself starving you’re going to need uncle spam not Sam, and much more. Get a manual written by a Russian who survived the implosion of the Soviet Union. This is written for Americans who are about ready to be left up the river without a paddle. Believe me, this is cheap or free at AMAZON, it’s called Yankee Anti-Zombie Survival Manual, it gets right down to facts, 101 rules to save your self and family. This Russian has seen and smelled TSHTF in his own country. Only experience can be transferred. Read and survive. Your brain is your greatest asset, use it with the information provided.
So what I know about human nature and pack mentality makes me believe that it would generally speaking take much longer, my guess is a few days, before people realized the magnitude of the situation and overcame the normalcy bias of a rule of law mentality. Most people don’t have it in them to steal much less pull a gun and rob someone with a full stomach. To start panicking and rioting so soon would require them to know what they are dealing with because except for those killed in disasters cause by a power failure the first few hours after an EMP would be quite peaceful.
That being said…the author acknowledges that this was the protagonists perspective as well…realizing and acknowledging what many pontificators forget…shit happens and individual situations might vary.
Still, I take issue with the suggestion that the mugger was a law abidding citizen untill the power went out 30minutes earier! I mean how many people with so poorly formed a conscience carry a gun. I carry a gun because I want to be prepared to defend myself and others, others carry because they are intent on commuting crimes, but I think few people carry who neither have an intention to do harm or to do good set in their mind. Its much more likely that the mugger was already a felon, perhaps one that had never committed armed robbery before but a felon nonetheless who simply decided to use the panic as a smokescreen.
Great story so far. But there is no way to walk either west or south out of Chicago without traversing a high-crime area. Also, Huntsville is about 250 miles away so no way you’re walking there in 4 hours. Maybe driving. Cant wait for the next installment!
Can’t even drive there in four hours using the available interstates going that direction …. that west edge of Illinois was totally by-passed by the interstate system …. they revolted back in the 1970’s and declared themselves an independent nation ….
I drove truck and to avoid the weigh stations I traveled Illinois hwy 3 a lot between cario and saint louis
A grid down means 124 nuclear reactors all go awol at the same time. No backup power, no core cooling, no spent fuel pool cooling, all controls fried. And those are just the ones in the USA. This would unleash an extinction level event. No amount of prepping will matter. Imagine hundreds of fukushimas all at once.
You guys been sniffing that hopium again eh?
Anybody here got the balls to admit what will happen to all the nuke plants in an EMP attack?!?!?!?!?!
Right….we’ll all have a few days,couple weeks at most. Prep all you want,but when them hot damn rods start ta cookin’,we’ll all be begging for a quick 9mm to the temple.
Ok,back to your fantasies,forget this post 🙂