Welcome Back, Its Monday and I’m taking advantage of the Government encouraged holiday today, I have the opportunity to close my office on a weekday because the Banks, Post Office and County Administration building is closed as well… Great!
Anyway, I’m going to head for the BOL… Just a quick one day trip to take a load of stuff over that needs to be stored. It’s a long drive for such a short time period but it does allow us to make sure we don’t have any issues. Roof leaks or frozen pipes are always best discovered before we arrive for a full weekend – family and friends in tow…
Oh well, you get a guest article from James Daken today and I’ll be back tomorrow. Have a great one!
Prepper
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PLAYING POOR by James Daken -
I think another dangerous misconception, other than Yeoman farming independence, semi-autos being necessary or even smart, the possible rediscovery of another Alaskan or North Sea oil field or the advisability of staying in a big city to earn a few more bucks is thinking that you will be able to transition from an oil rich environment to a Third World peasant existence at will. Why indeed deprive yourself of life’s little luxuries if you don’t have to? You think you can go from 24/7 electricity, hot running water, a thirty year mortgage and an SUV with never ending payments to living in a tarp lined pit eating beans and walking down to the river for water beating off rabid dogs with a stick at the drop of a hat? Of course you CAN. The average human is capable of supreme feats of mental reconditioning. If forced to. So I imagine almost everyone, once forced, will eventually come to terms with primitive living conditions. But it isn’t a light switch. The process is instant physically but not mentally. There will be a price to pay by not conditioning yourself ahead of time. You will experience quite a bit of stress and that will translate to both physical illness and a mental slow down. Remember back to the most stressful event you ever had. Chances are good soon after you were actually sick. When the Handmaiden Of Lucifer divorced me, back before I began to view wives leaving as natural and inevitable, I was sick for a month with some nasty nasal infection. And I’m almost never ill. When I am it is usually in a limited manner. I also got a bunch of cavities for the first time since I was seven years old using my first allowance to take up part time residency in the candy store. And I got a really weird infection in the back of my throat that swelled so bad I couldn’t drink water. When the doctor drew out the crap with a big horse needle it was a disgusting montage of green, white and red. I have no idea what caused it. I’ve never been that sick before or after. Stress, it’s what kills you.
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As your mind is reeling trying to cope with this change, not only do you get ill but your brain rebels. You don’t know how, but it will. At the very least you are going to experience lack of sleep which will cause lack of alertness. Just the thing when roving bands of bandits are trying to harvest your flesh for the stew pot. You probably think I’m being ridiculous, that I’m blowing things out of proportion. The ancient advice of testing yourself with a weekend without power should point out how unprepared you are and how much stress it will cause. Don’t buy extra camping gear or in any way make special provisions for the event. Just do it as is, with what you already have. And no driving the car to where there is electricity. Even if you are a super survival stud I’ll wager a family member will experience so much discomfort they will endeavor to make your life uncomfortable also. And even if you did pass with flying colors, could you test yourself in other, more uncomfortable ways? I’d wager not. You’ll make do, but the point is your stress level. Everyone advises you to get in shape. Go to a gym, eat right, etc. But they don’t tell you to practice for deprivation. Getting in shape gets you laid and releases endorphins. It isn’t exactly unpleasant. Depriving yourself is a whole other ball of wax. It used to be normal. “Cowboy Up”. If you were a Jarhead, you’ve been there. Perhaps you might be an exception, although I’d wager that the more time that passes the less easy the transition from luxury to poverty would be.
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Living poor might not be necessary right now. But it will be. Far better to practice it now, and learn what tools will make it easier. And when it gets real, you are half way there mentally. But don’t listen to Jim, you never do anyway. I’m almost used to it.
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