Surviving 2009

2009 is going to be a very rough year for some.  Many of these people will be caught completely off guard, and feel like victims.  It's only too late when you have given up hope.  So what am I doing?  I have told my wife and kids to expect tough times ahead, not enough to scare them, just enough to cushion the shock when it happens.  I have tried to tell my extended family about taking some precautions, but they mostly just smile and nod.  Just me being 'funny' again, and that's as far as it goes.  People don't like to be told that they are inside "the box", much less being told how bad outside 'the box' could be.  Talk to whom you can about it, to the exclusion of damaging relationships or endangering your employment.  One more prepared person is one less person who could become a threat.

I have no financial ability to get silver/gold in quantity, but then again, if things get really bad, and I offer some guy an ounce of gold as payment, I just made myself a target.  Get the shiny stuff if you can, but keep it to yourself if at all possible.  Morgan silver dollars, to be held, not spent, yes?  Anyway you can NOT eat gold or silver.

If you do not camp, you should, even if its in the backyard.  I camp as much as possible, and both my kids (tweenies) know how to light a campfire and cook on it safely.  Get a book on wilderness and/or suburban survival.  I personally like Tom Brown and have 4 or 5 of his books.  Internalize this information, from whatever source you see fit, but make it second nature with practice. 

Learn to make a fire before the electricity goes out.  Make bread in a home-made solar cooker, or at least your oven, before the gas for the stove stops being pumped.  Get food you will actually EAT, and stock your larder (basement) with the ingredients for the recipes you should be collecting.  MRE's and dehydrated food are fine for a while, but can cause intestinal distress in some people, as its just so foreign to their systems, and has low moisture content.  Make these recipes while it is still easy and cheap to replace the ingredients.  It's fun, and the kids get to help.  My last 'practice loaf' barely got to cool down!  Even if society does not fall over the cliff, this is good to know for more mundane needs, like blizzards, etc.  Practice setting snare/deadfall traps, just to make sure they work.  Don't kill anything you don't need, but know how when its needed.  Make your mistakes now when its not a big deal, not when your life may depend on it.  Noah built before it started raining.

If you travel a lot, grab the free soap/shampoo, etc. they put in the hotel rooms.  Don't steal, but take what they give you, as you'll get some new stuff every morning from the cleaning staff.  This stuff, and toilet paper, will become PRICELESS if people can't get to Wally-World three times a week.  Get to the 'warehouse store' and get an extra 36 pack of TP, bottled water, feminine hygiene products, whatever you think you'd like to have after a month without the ability to shop.  Just keep in mind, you'll need to reverse-keep-up-with-the-Jones'.  Try not to look like you have something they don't.  Shave, bathe, and launder clothes infrequently.  Go where the masses go for assistance, even if you don't need it or don't plan to take it.  Be where you're expected to, if its work, school or a bread line.  Keep up the appearance that you DON'T HAVE 6 months of food in the basement, or a pocketfull of bullion.

Learn the value of things, not just the price.  A firsthand example of living through collapse is here.  Understand that a litre of vodka is worth 10 litres of petrol, even if you don't drink it.  A carton of smokes could get you just about anything, if you're dealing with the right person.  Learn how to distill questionable water using a teapot and some copper tubing.  Dehydrate, can, preserve, and pickle anything you can.

Get out of major metropolitan areas if you can.  Watch the big cities, from afar.  Any actions which the Government institutes will most likely be put in place in LA, NY, Chicago, etc.  But I could be wrong and they may start small in the less populated places to practice.  Get a wind-up rechargeable radio, maybe one that has attachments to allow you to charge other things off of it.  I have one and its great.  I also have two wind-up flashlights, all of which we put to use in the recent New England Ice Storm.

Only you can make the decision on whether to bug-out, but it might be a good idea to get your essentials in one place, and practice getting everything in the vehicle and out the door within an hour.  Learn how to get around on the side streets and back roads, avoiding highways and interstates.  Boats/canoes are always a good idea.

Get a small safe to put a little cash into, and some official-looking, but fake documents, maybe some food.  Get a larger safe for the rest of it, and your real documents.  If they come, show the bad guys the small safe, let them have "everythign you have" and hope they leave you alone.

Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.