“I know what you did last night…” – You were pondering this idea of your neighbors being the famed MZB’s of the future… Could I be right? I think the more important question is could I be WRONG? I suggest that the fact of the matter is we all have the potential to become MZB’s. The recipe for this distasteful soup is age old. A hungry man will do things that he would never consider doing under any other situations.

   This hunger is what will be the driving force of the coming unpleasantness. We have all read about the golden hordes of desperate people that will flee the cities after the collapse of civilization. Why are they leaving? What would get generally lazy American citizens to get out of the car and begin walking? Food, that’s pretty much it! Don’t let yourself get all riled up over the comment on our laziness, I will include myself in that equation. We as a society have gotten quite pampered over the last few decades and exercise has become a hit or miss issue in our daily lives.

   So, back to your neighborhood. The exciting break in life’s monotony has grow old quickly. With most of the fuel supplies gone now, cars are seen only infrequently and the sounds of generators have all but disappeared. You have some gas left in your gas cans and still have the fuel in your cars tank  as a secret stash for an emergency. However, now the situation has gone from bad to worse as more of your neighbors run low on food each day. Most of the people on your block are spending the day congregated outside in the street, their discussion is mostly surrounding this lack of food. It is becoming apparent who the “Have’s” are  and more importantly which families are the “Have not’s”.

   You being a fore-ward looking and prepared DOOMER, had thought to provide for your own family and even have adequate stores to share with the wayward relative that might show up at the door. You, however didn’t foresee this level of need much less prepare to feed all these people that you scarcely know. You can see at least a couple of neighbors out on the sidewalk at any given time. On several occasions they were making motions to one house or another, it’s easy to see that they were speculating about what others may or may not have.

   Each day brings more knocks on the door with plea’s for food aid. While you were willing and able to give to those that came looking the first week, this week is proving to be a more sobering reality. You have come to grips with the fact that even the deep larder that you stocked won’t last forever and the more you give away the more the other neighbors find out and come looking as well. You realise that this is completely unsustainable, you’ll have to turn them away or they’ll put your own children in jeopardy.

   After discussing your decision to stop the handouts with your wife, you determine that it would be in your best interests to venture out to the street the next time you see the group forming. It isn’t much of a wait and you notice that enough people have gathered that 6-7 families are represented out there. Despite the nagging feeling you have in your gut, you grab an extra jacket to go over the heavy sweatshirt you have taken to wearing in the unheated house. You have ample firewood out back but started to only burn a fire in the stove after dark so the smoke coming from your chimney wouldn’t be as easy to spot. Extra jacket in hand and pistol securely fastened to your belt, you head for the door.

   Since you’ve lived in this house for coming up on 6 years, you can identify all of the men that are gathered on sight but other than nods of recognition and the occasional wave from the mailbox, you scarcely know their names. While no one is acting outright hostile or even unfriendly, the mood is decidedly cool in your direction. A few pleasantries are exchanged and the conversation is resumed around the topic of what might be done to acquire more food. Requests for candles and flashlight batteries are made but no one is volunteering to “loan” any supplies. One of the younger guys said that he had heard of a guy on the next block shooting squirrels, down in the park. An off hand remark was that the guy may NEED to share those squirrels, since they didn’t belong to him anyway! You don’t have to say much or even listen to hard to hear and feel the undercurrent that is growing in these folks.

   The conversation turned to how they were glad that it was spring and the weather wasn’t to cold anymore… Kind of a could of been worse, don’t you think type of thing. On that note, one of the guys turns to you and asks point blank if the smoke he’s been smelling was coming from your place? Not having prepared for that direct of a question, you answer honestly. Yes, you’ve been running the fireplace for a couple hours each night to conserve on firewood… Firewood? You still have firewood?? One guy asked the question but they all were now watching you intently… Apparently it was common knowledge that they had all run out already… At that point all you could do was shrug your shoulders, the damage was done! A few inquiries were made of the group to anyone wanting to host a dinner party that evening but that joke didn’t get off the ground. Within a few more minutes everyone began to excuse themselves, as if they had anything pressing to get back to…

   One neighbor who was walking your direction anyway, came up beside you and spoke softly out of the corner of his mouth. “You will help me out with a little of that firewood won’t you?” he asked. Under other circumstances this behavior would have been almost comical… Unfortunately, in just over a week without formal civilization, you are being forced to decide if you can afford to help a neighbor out with a “little” firewood. The situation was only going to get worse since the firewood pile was directly next to the garden shed where you kept your other supplies… What to do, what to do?

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This isn’t exactly the way I was planning for this post to go but hey I’m going to run with it as I know it is causing me to have to think this through… I hope that it has your mind turning as well!

Prepper

   I’m back, you thought you got rid of me didn’t ya? What’s a guy expected to do, show up at least 5 days a week and share nearly every thought in his pea picken brain? Well, I’m not promising a darn thing, I’ll do my best but sometimes I’ll let ya down… Life, better get used to it!

   On a serious note, there has been a lot of hub bub on the net lately about today’s topic… Although not always referred to as a MZB, it’s still the same thing. Regardless what you personally like to call them – looter, brigand, scavenger, opportunist or even neighbor… Yes, I said neighbor! What’s the thread that could connect all of these different categories… Have’s VS. have not’s!

   Just to kick things off today I’m going to go through my view of the MZB’s that we might find ourselves up against or attempting to stay out of the way of. The typical MZB that survivalist lore has made popular is the motorcycle riding, dirty cannibal that would be the scourge of the countryside in any post apocalyptic world. Is this version of the MZB wrong? Nope, it could happen, just like the fiction suggests. However, I think other possibilities are more probable!

   After any disaster that puts a serious disruption in our national supply lines we will see our world break down quickly. I dare anyone to show me ANY evidence that this wouldn’t be the typical outcome, even here in America! We have a long supply line that covers literally thousands of miles across this nation and to points well beyond our borders. I might even be able to make the case that the people in America would degenerate quicker than the people did in Haiti or Chile did recently. We are a very indulged populous and have a case of the “Entitlement Mentality” to the worst degree.

   We see signs of a moral corruption at all levels of our society and I wouldn’t trust that a disaster would bring us together in any meaningful way. Yes, after 9/11 we saw an up tick in “Patriotism”, which in this country means adding a red, white and blue bumper sticker to our Japanese made automobile. This is nothing more than feel good patriotism and is soon forgotten when the next celebrity sensationalized awards event comes around the corner.

   Hold that tar bucket for just one minute… You thought I wouldn’t see you sneaking up behind me, didn’t you! If you’re the bumper sticker having patriot – GOOD FOR YOU! I bet you had your symbolised patriotism on your rig before anything noteworthy occurred – right? If that’s you, I didn’t mean you and I think you know that… I’ve heard from more than one REAL freedom loving American, how much those Johny come lately’s pissed them off. None of this even really matters as it was just supposed to be a small example of the state of many of our countrymen. Some of the things that I’m going to say these next couple of days are bound to get a few people upset… If that’s the case, I encourage you now to use that emotion for your own good and go get your families long term survival supplies in order so the rest of us don’t have to shoot you when you turn feral!

   Since we all see at least a dozen potential disasters and half a dozen likely to happen disasters, I won’t get bogged down in the specifics. For the sake of discussion we are all facing a new reality, whatever happened left us to depend on ourselves and if we’re fortunate a few trusted neighbors or family members might lend a hand. We have little or no grid power and the grocery stores have closed there doors due to the lack of new supplies and spotty grid power. Fuel for all of our needs is sold out at all of the normal suppliers and a barter economy hasn’t been formally developed for trade beyond the end of the street you live on. So now what?

   What’s your plan? You have a plan, right? Please tell me that you thought to add a few of those $18 dollar, 50#bags of beans and rice to the storage room…? That’s a relief, I was starting to wonder about you? I know how you’re feeling, “at least you can feed your family”. Yes and I know from our past discussions you thought to put in a wood burning fireplace insert to augment that kerosene heater and the BIG closet full of sleeping bags. I don’t know about you but I have most of the same things and feel blessed to not have been killed in the disaster.

   As the uber-smart prepper folks we have proven ourselves to be, we now can rest easy… We’re well fed in our nice warm house. The kids are getting bored but that was to be expected… The solar setup and car battery will keep the XBOX going for quite a while, life’s good! With the exception of not knowing if our extended families are safe, we are in pretty good shape… As long as life returns to a semblance of normalcy in the next 6 months we should be fine. This is America, how long could this last?

   So there you sit, much the way I would be tempted to as well… Smoke rising from the chimney, muffler noise from the generator out back for a few hours each evening. Between the wife and yourself, you’ve found that beans and rice can actually be cooked into something fairly exciting… One family up the block asked for a few gallons of gas for their car so they could drive to a family members house to stay, another borrowed a few staples from the pantry… Pretty quiet on your block, lots of speculation about the gun shots off in the distance but nobody lost their mind and started killing people to steal the last can of dinty moore extra chunky style chili… yet!

   With the first week of this under your belt, life is starting to become mildly annoying. Tensions are beginning to rise as you heard through the grapevine that a couple families on your street are nearly out of food and COUNTING on the .gov getting this fixed – or else! Vehicle traffic has slowed to a trickle and you have decided to save the fuel you have left for running the generator only very rarely. This situation isn’t nearly as fun as it seemed to be at first. That J-O-B is looking better all the time but fear not or on second thought -FEAR- might be more appropriate as this is only getting started… Can you hear it in the distance  – the MZB’s are coming or are they already here????

Prepper

   Today I’m going to attempt to answer an email that I got from a reader a few weeks ago, the best I can. All I can share with certainty is the things that I’ve done. Beyond that we all have to find our own way! Yes, we lean on each other but talk is cheap and each of us has to individually achieve the things most important to them…

The following is the text of the email, my response will follow at the bottom!

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“I’m freakin’ out, I’m freakin’ out, I’m freakin’ out!”

I admit I’m a bit late to the game. Maybe I’m a slow learner or was indoctrinated extremely well. At any rate, my problem is keeping focused. I’ve started prepping in earnest in the past 6 months and I have a huge hill to climb. To make matters worse I have no idea how much time we have (personally I’m praying for at least until the end of this year).

As a result, I constantly go back and forth about what my priorities are. I’m no dummy. I get water, food, shelter, security, but it is a complex problem.

So, why am I freakin’ out now? Well, on a business trip last week I read One Second After. What really struck me is that a former Speaker of the House of Representatives wrote the Fore-ward to a fictional post-apocalyptic novel. Then I coupled that thought with the fact that we currently have Marxists and Maoists in the White House! Who would’ve thunk it? Seriously, it’s like we’re living in a cartoon.

I need food, but if I have food somebody will try to take it. Thus, I need guns! However, I’m not a millionaire and will need ammo. What about water? Oh crap, I forgot to pay off my debt, etc…

For us newbies, could you offer some advice about how to stay on track and not lose focus? I’ve read about the “lists of lists” on another site. It’s probably a good idea, but I have A.D.D. when it comes to that stuff.

It’s possible I’m a nut, but I would think others are feeling the stress of playing catch up.

Thanks for your thoughts.

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   Well, who hasn’t felt this way – just as I thought, no hands in the air. I would even venture to say that if these thoughts haven’t plagued you at some point than you aren’t a serious prepper, much less a devoted DOOMER.

  Simply put the trick that I have found to getting these items stored and projects completed is the same old ”How do you eat an elephant?” question… Right, one bite at a time. So many catchy little ditties have been coined on this type of question that it’s almost cliche… Just take it one step at a time and you’d be surprised how much you can get done!

   All of the areas that were sighted in the email are important – food, water, shelter and security… Which is the most important, only you can decide for sure. Obviously, water is paramount, since we can’t live long without it but after you have one barrel of the stuff stored in the basement, what’s next?

   In my experience many preppers happen into this journey as a spin off from their gun-nut tendencies. Coming from that part of the population myself, it’s tempting to buy lots of guns and ammo and I did! I see more of these preps mentioned on the internet than just about anything else. It is a personal choice but I think that it’s the point in time that a prepper decides to act on their compunction to store additional items for the future that separates the men from the boys.

   Since the emailer brought up the term “Newbie”, I will concede that there are probably folks out there that don’t have enough armament (Security) yet. If this is you, than by all means get out and acquire the basic arsenal of weapons to provide for security and hunting. Let me encourage you though, if you’re a newbie – fight the urge to overdo the guns and ammo purchases. This equipment is expensive and probably is the least likely to be used of all the preps that should be on your list.

   Not only should a prepper fight the temptation to over stock in this area but also DON’T STOP prepping after you have the guns and ammo. In a future post we will discuss the very unfortunate position you would be putting your family in by neglecting the other prepping areas. A shootout with the neighbors is far more likely if you’re limited to a few cans of chili and several dozen firearms.

  There was a mention of the “List of lists”, while I can’t remember where I actually saw this list – survivalblog.com I think? It doesn’t matter, the important thing is the list YOU make. I would say that other than a great deal of time being required, the magic will happen only after the prepper creates a list. It can be called anything you want – goal list, to-do list or whatever but make a list of EVERYTHING you would like to get accomplished. Your list might be completely different than mine so don’t worry about what I still need to get done, focus on your personal list.

   I see these lists as a central part of staying organised but even more than that they are a road map to wherever it is that you are intending to go. If I’m happy with a 1 month food supply and a few back-up reserves for heat, cooking, etc. and you are taking a more broad approach to be self-sufficient for a year or more… See, we aren’t even going to the same place so my list would be completely wrong for you!

  If for no other reason than to get yourself organised, take an inventory of everything you already have that’s remotely related to your preps and use this as the basis for developing a starter to-do list. This exercise will help you determine the FACTS of where you are now. Only then will you have the initial information to get started on the rest of your journey.

   To the point of “I’m freakin’ out”, stay calm! Yes, I think we are in or very close to game over but what does that mean – practically? Game over is subjective as it all depends on exactly what events happen first in the string of dominoes. The most likely scenario would be that we see the .gov continue doing anything and everything to keep us from falling off a cliff. Will they succeed? I don’t see how but their long term self-destructive actions will buy you and I more time to work on our lists. Of course there are things that could change our world overnight and they are closer now than ever before, in my opinion. Still, we should have more time to get organised, don’t fritter it away but acting rash won’t help either. Make the list and set yourself on prioritising what your next steps need to be.

   I believe that once you can clearly see where you are now, it will be relatively easy to start balancing out all the columns. If you have 30 days food but only a week worth of water… See what I’m going for here? If you have the guns covered (we both know you do), than start getting the food, water and shelter up to that level.

   Inevitably, you’ll have a number of big ticket items – generator, solar panels, water well, RV or whatever, this list could go on for a long time. Take these items in stride! Schedule there purchases out over a number of months or years, don’t let them get you discouraged or make your whole plan come out of balance. We all have budget constraints that will keep us in line but with some good focused thought we can identify where our weak links are and go about shoring up those areas first.

   None of us knows with all certainty how much time we may have to get things in order… However, I do know that a year from now that fruit tree that takes 3 years to begin bearing fruit, will still be three years away if you don’t plant it this year… Get out there and do something, don’t allow yourself to go in to the analysis paralysis mode. Everything that you get done now is a check mark on the list, the list will grow and change but it will never get completed unless you keep going!

Prepper

   Welcome to another week in “Prepper Nation”, as usual we have a lot of interesting things to be watching in the news. Will we be told to prep for inflation or will it be deflation this time? Are they coming for the guns after all or should we be more concerned with the legalities of collecting rain water off our roof? All kinds of progress being made here in the land of the free and home of the “Debt Slave”…

   Several emailers have asked if there was any word from KC, our friend at basic training, yet? Yes, my daughter heard from him over the weekend on a short call privilege period, he is doing well! I know he’d be happy to hear that people are thinking about him!

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As usual, we can count on Backwoods Home Magazine for good reading… John Silveira nutshells “Hyperinflation”, give it a look!

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/silveira122.html

Peter Shiff says “Don’t bet on a recovery!”

http://www.lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff75.1.html

Karl Denninger over at Market Ticker says wake up - we’re  already in a depression… Interesting article!

http://market-ticker.org/archives/1993-How-Long-Before-You-Wake-Up,-Politicos.html

This should be filed under what next? Apparently our newest subculture has arrived… I half way expected all of us to be living this way before long but this is a little premature!

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,677121,00.html

This Newsweek 5 part series on whats happened in California’s San Joquine Valley… Interesting “Valley of Shadows”

http://www.newsweek.com//id/211399

In this Business Insider article they report that 70% of age eligible people are not retiring because they can’t afford to!

http://www.businessinsider.com/70-of-the-elderly-arent-retiring-because-they-cant-afford-to-2010-3

The LA Times is describing the US as a fragile empire…

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ferguson28-2010feb28,0,7706980.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+(L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories)

According to the Wall Street Journal our taxes are about to go through the ceiling.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704240004575085484172848358.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_personalFinance

Charles Hugh Smith shows us how are constant pursuit of the lowest price has damaged us beyond anything we might have expected.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjan10/self-destruction01-10.html

Newsweek debates the idea that California is America’s first failed state – Is there really any debate??

http://www.newsweek.com/id/232575

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Prepper

Two basic laws of the Infantryman and how they apply to Preparedness…

Both of these simple rules I learned as a young Lieutenant.  On the face they are simple, but each has a larger context as it relates to prepping.  The first rule applies to water and the second involves “snivel gear” (the Army term for warm/comforting clothing).

Rule 1: Water.  I grew up in the Army before the days of the CamelBak and other hydration systems.  We had high tech devices called canteens (and no we did not carry muskets).  Each soldier regularly carried 4 quarts of water.  You had a 2 qt canteen attached to your rucksack and two 1 qt canteens on your pistol belt.  The rules for consumption were simple and commonsensical.  The first water to be consumed would be from the 2 qt on your rucksack, even though this was typically the least convenient when you were on the move.  The reason is simple. If you are separated from your pack you will still have 2 FULL canteens on your pistol belt.

Rule 2: Snivel Gear.  No matter how cold and/or how wet you become ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS maintain ONE piece of dry clothing (it could be a t-shirt, sweater, poly-pro top, etc) in your rucksack.  Again the reason is simple.  When you are suckin’…I mean REALLY suckin’…knowing that you still have a dry piece of clothing is a HUGE morale booster and gives you hope that when it gets warmer or stops raining you can change into something more comfortable.  When everything you have is wet and you are cold it is infinitesimally easier to give up and quit!

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How does Rule 1 apply to prepping?  In the simplest form it can be useful advice, but let’s consider the larger context.  Here’s a scenario. The power is out (you pick the reason) and you have the following fuels available for cooking; one 20 lb bag of charcoal, a propane grill with a full tank, 2 gallons of gas in a can for your lawn mower and 1 rick of firewood for your fire place.  Which should you use to cook with first?  My answer is none of the above!  I send my kids to the woods across the street to gather as much dead fall as they can carry home.  The reason is simple.  I save my “convenient fuels” for when I need it.  There will be a time when I HAVE to tap into my convenient preps.  The reasons could be illness, security, weather, etc.  As a result, it is important to save convenient preps. The important point is to make every effort possible to preserve your reserve.  Obviously do not take this to the extreme and die of starvation with a basement full of Mountain House #10 cans.  However, I’m not sure it’s a great idea to figure out if you can shoot a squirrel when you are out of Mac-N-Cheese and starvin’ to death.

Rule 2 involves Hope and Morale; both in my view are imperative to survival.  The point here is to pick something (and the something should fit the context of your situation) that you preserve until “the end”.  If you like “Zombie Land”…maybe it’s a box of Twinkies.  It could be a pack of cigarettes, can of food, bottle of Jim Beam…whatever.  The point is; keep something to look forward too.  This will help you maintain morale and look to the future.  If you eat all the good stuff, wear all your dry clothes, shoot up all your ammo, or spend all of your silver too early there is no future.  Quite simply, you will lose hope.

On some level these concepts are simple, but I hope it provokes some thought on how you prep and how you prioritize.

JeSter