 
### BUGGING IN:

### What To Do When TSHTF and You Live in Suburbia

### By

### RAYMOND DEAN WHITE

### Smashwords Edition

### Copyright 2016 Raymond Dean White

### ISBN-13: 9781370922444

### DEDICATON

### To my parents and grandparents, who taught me the value of self-reliance from my earliest years. Many times they thought I wasn't listening, or paying attention, but I was and I remembered.

FREE BOOKS

### You can get FREE BOOKS by visiting my website and signing up for my Newsletter/mailing list. I'll never spam you or share your information.

### http://www.raymonddeanwhite.com

### REQUEST

### Reviews are the staff of life for Independent Authors. Without them we disappear like fog on a sunny day, like rainbows after the rain, like your first, and usually tragic, love. You get the idea. We live and die based on the number of starred reviews we get. Our lives as writers are in your hands so please go to your favorite book retailer and write a review. What the hey, write several, tell everyone in the known universe about how much you like my books. And that way when you feel like reading a new book of mine it will be there to entertain you.

### Thank You.

### TABLE OF CONTENTS

### Forward

### Chapter 1: Stop and Think
### Chapter 2: Water is Life

### Chapter 3: Power and Lights
### Chapter 4: Sanitation and Hygiene

### Chapter 5: Food Preparation and Appliances
### Chapter 6: Other Kitchen Necessities

### Chapter 7: Food—Long Term
### Chapter 8: Fresh Foods

### Chapter 9: Security
### Chapter 10: Skills, Bartering and Alternative Economics

### Chapter 11: Transportation
### Chapter 12: Shelter and Clothing

### Chapter 13: Health and Medical Supplies
### Chapter 14: Other Necessities

### Chapter 15: Foods and Medicines Overlooked Earlier
### Chapter 16: Communications

### Chapter 17: Get Home Bags
### Chapter 18: Every Day Carry and Other Items You Need

### Chapter 19: Entertainment and Morale

### FREE BOOKS

### Preview of The Dying Time: Impact

### Preview of After The Dying Time

### Preview of TAP DOUBT: Your Next Drink of Water Could KILL YOU

### Preview of AMERICAN JIHAD

### Preview of MISSING AMANDA

Forward

### Your electrical power fails due to a storm, terrorist attack, EMP or other catastrophe. Hyperinflation leads to an economic collapse and food and medical supplies stop flowing to the cities. A pandemic spreads death around the globe.

### These are not relatively localized disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, ice storms or floods, where you know help is on the way and all you have to do is hunker down and tough it out. These are nationwide or perhaps global disasters that will disrupt food, energy and water supplies. Hospitals are overrun and government may well cease to function. The upshot being, no help is coming, at least soon and possibly never.

### What will you do to keep yourself and your family relatively secure? I ask you that, using the words "relatively secure" because you will not be able to keep anyone safe in such scenarios. No one living in or near a city will be safe.

### This book offers specific advice and instruction, as well as general guidelines you will have to tailor to your unique circumstances, to help you keep your family as relatively secure as possible. You will learn what to stock up on, what skills you should endeavor to acquire, and what actions you must take to give your family a chance at surviving the disaster and chaos that may strike at any time.

### If you live out in the country this book may be useful to you, but it is intended for those of us who live in or near cities.

### We don't have wells for water. We don't even usually have backup electrical power, or a large garden, or chickens. We are dependent on a centralized utility and food distribution network that can and does fail. To date those failures have been temporary, though some have gone on for weeks or months. Failures have been local or regional and folks living there knew help was coming from "outside."

### But what if help isn't coming? What if you have nowhere to go that is more safe and secure than your own home? What if bridges are down or highways clogged with stalled vehicles and you are forced to stay home? How would you provide for your family? How would you protect them?

### If you have ever entertained those questions, this is the book for you.

Chapter 1

### Stop and Think (Panic is death)

### Unless you are in extreme, immediate danger—someone is shooting at you, the building is falling down on you—the first thing you should do in any disaster is not panic. Take a deep breath or two and THINK. Take stock of yourself, your available resources, and your immediate situation.

### Are you injured or okay? Are you trapped in a structure or able to move about? Are you at work or with your family? If you aren't with your family do you know where they are? Do you know what happened or have things gone to hell and you have no idea why?

### Do you have a stock of food and water at home? Do you have a bug out bag (BOB) or Every Day Carry (EDC) bag in your car? Do you know what those are?

### Is the power still on? Are phones and radios and televisions still working? Are transportation networks (roads, subways, trains and planes) still functioning? Are people rioting and looting?

### Now, think about the plan you and your family made to reconnect if you aren't together when The Shit Hits The Fan (TSHTF). Then act according to that plan.

### What plan?

### The one you are about to make. After all, your main duties to your family can be summed up in two words: provide and protect. Planning is the _first_ step in doing that.

### Gather your family around and discuss different things that can happen and what each one of them should do in such circumstances. DO NOT LECTURE. DISCUSS.

### If you have young children try to make a game out of it. What do we do when the tornado siren goes off? If the fire alarm sounds? Draw an evacuation map of your house or apartment and discuss the fastest way to get to safety. If you live in an apartment your children need to know where the nearest fire escape or stairwells are and when to use and when not to use the elevators. Start with small emergencies and work up to big ones. Try hard not to make it scary or when the crisis happens your children may panic and run around screaming instead of thinking and recalling your plan

### At the risk of being labeled, "That weird guy next door" talk to your neighbors. You can and should form a plan to help each other. This is especially true if your children attend the same schools or day care centers. Remember, there is strength in numbers.

### So you can see you will have several plans. Fire, flood, tornadoes and terrorist attacks are all things that can and do happen swiftly and with little or no warning. Well, okay, unless you get hit by a flash flood they usually take some time to develop, but you get my drift. Even an economic collapse you see coming can occur virtually overnight once the financial panic sets in. For an example of that, see Argentina in 1998.

### One of the worst case scenarios is an EMP -- an electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear weapon detonated high in the atmosphere, or by a strong coronal mass ejection from the sun. There will be no warning. Suddenly almost everything electric will cease to work. The power grid itself will fail. Transformers will explode and start fires. Planes may fall out of the sky. Cars made after 1974 will probably not start and if they are running when the pulse occurs they will likely stop. Unless you have a really old car or motorcycle or a bicycle, you and your family will be on foot. And that, in and of itself, is a good argument for bugging in.

### There will be no internet, no computers, no TV, no radio—unless you have a HAM set and maybe not then, no cell phones, no landlines, and in very short order no civilization. All because every computer chip and transistor not protected by a Faraday Cage will be fried. This will be one of the most difficult situations to plan for because it requires extensive preparation and more than a little good luck to survive.

### Another worst case scenario is a global pandemic. A new strain of avian flu with a two-week incubation period and an 80 percent mortality rate starts in Asia, or in Tyson Farms in Arkansas, and spreads throughout the world. Aside from a massive asteroid or comet strike, or the Yellowstone Supervolcano blowing its top and sending us all back into an ice age, a global pandemic may be the toughest event to survive.

### The reason I say that is because any cooperative strategies you may have formed with your neighbors will break down the first time one of them coughs. But then, any plan, now matter how well thought out or how much time you and your family spend practicing, is unlikely to survive long in any situation involving complete societal collapse. There's a saying in the armed forces. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy."

### That, however is no excuse for not having a plan, because without one you will have chaos. So you should make as many plans as you can and have backups for them, because if you THINK about these things, and TAKE ACTION to prepare, you will at least have an "insurance policy" superior to those who haven't. As the old saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

Communications (Ignorance is death)

### The second thing you should do, after a disaster happens and you calm down, is to begin gathering information about what is happening outside your immediate area. How widespread is the damage? How soon is outside help likely to arrive? What SHTF scenario are you dealing with?

### Why, you ask, after going on about the importance of thinking and planning, would I begin a discussion about surviving a disaster with communications? Because if you don't know what's happening out in the world, or even outside your immediate neighborhood during a catastrophe, you can't know the right things to do—you can't know which one of your plans to implement.

### If you are hit by a hurricane, tornado, earthquake or some such relatively localized event you can be sure help is coming, maybe not soon, but sometime. You can then plan and act accordingly. You can turn on your EMERGENCY RADIO -- if the power is out and the battery is dead you can use the hand crank to charge it up -- and find out what's going on.

### The model I use is the _Kaito Voyager Pro KA600_ which cost about $75 and is available from _Amazon, NitroPak, Good Ideas for Life_ , and numerous other places. I have two of them. One is out and handy for daily use. The other is, along with its transformer and power cord, safe inside a metal popcorn can Faraday cage.

### This radio is powered by AC, 3 AA Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries, a hand crank, and a solar panel. It picks up FM/AM/Long Wave/Short Wave and NOAA weather alerts. It has an Alert Mode that will automatically activate the radio to inform you of any hazardous weather conditions or warnings.

### It includes a calendar, alarm clock, sleep timer, humidity meter and thermometer and has a standard USB jack for charging cell phones or laptops. To top this off, it only weighs one pound.

### I'm sure there are other, better radios out there, but this one looked pretty good to me and so far it functions well.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Kaito-Voyager-KA600-Digital-Emergency/dp/B0051QJJ1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374380232&sr=8-1&keywords=kaito+voyager+ka600

### If the emergency you experience is an EMP or similar societal collapsing event you can still use this radio (the one you had in a Faraday Cage) to listen in on shortwave and pick up HAM broadcasts that can inform you of the extent of the disaster, or of things you can do to survive it. You should get one or two emergency radios that have backup power sources and use rechargeable batteries.

### Two-Way Radios

### In the absence of cell phone communications, two way radios, or walkie talkies, can be invaluable for staying in touch with family and neighbors to coordinate a common defense, or even just to schedule a meeting to discuss what happened and implement the proper plan.

### The long and short of it is, in order to base your decisions regarding your family's survival on good data, you must have good information about what is happening outside your immediate neighborhood. The old saying among computer geeks was GIGO—Garbage In Garbage Out—and the same applies to you. Bad information or no information equals bad decisions.

### Therefore, I heartily recommend getting some form of two-way radio (in addition to a pair of emergency radios) and learning how to use it.

### M.D Creekmore, of _The Survivalist Blog_ , has the _Midland GXT 1050VP4_ two-way radio pair with an alleged 36-mile range, and optional rechargeable battery packs and that's good enough for me. Range depends upon terrain and whether repeater towers are available and functioning. They are $68.92 from Amazon.com.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001WM73P0?ie=UTF8&tag=ccsb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001WM73P0

### You also might want to research _TriSquare TSX100 AND TSX300_ radios as well as _Yaesu_ and other handheld HAM sets.

### HAM Radios

### If you are going to use a HAM radio you will have to get licensed by the FCC. Why should I let the Feds know I have a radio and where I live? And if TSHTF who will care if I have a license? Because HAM's are self-policing and those who will be on the air after, say, an EMP, will be those who are prepared for such an event. They will be security conscious, so few, if any, of them will answer your call if you do not have an official call sign. The test is inexpensive and, with a little study, easy to pass. You do NOT have to learn Morse Code now. It may be a good idea to know it, but it is no longer required.

### A decent local range HAM Mobile that can be used as a base station is the _Icom IC-V8000_. $214 plus another $37 for a 12-foot coaxial antenna. It has 75 Watts of output power, which most experts say translates to roughly a 25-mile range—depending on terrain and if the repeater towers in your area are working.

###  http://www.gigaparts.com/store.php?action=profile&sku=ZIC-V8000

### _Yaesu FT-250R_ VHF handheld HAM 2m Transciever with desktop charger is $163 on Amazon

###  http://www.amazon.com/Yaesu-FT-250R-Amateur-Transceiver-Desktop/dp/B004H5MSNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374422098&sr=8-1&keywords=yaesu+ft-250r

### _Kenwood TM-281A_ is a cheaper ($125 + Antenna) alternative to the Icom V8000. 65 Watts and comes with a Weather Alert Function that scans the 1050 tone from NOAA.

###  http://www.gigaparts.com/store.php?action=profile&sku=zkw-tm-281a

### I'm sure you've caught the drift by now. Thinking and planning backed by good information will help you and your family to survive situations that will kill less prepared people. More on Communication later.

### Chapter 2

### Water is Life

### I live in the desert southwest where we often get less than ten inches of rainfall per year; but I don't care if you live on the banks of the Mississippi River or Lake Superior. Securing a supply of potable water is the single most important thing you can do for short or long term survival in a SHTF scenario.

### The three basic requirements of life are, in order of importance, air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. Shelter comes into the mix too but since you're bugging-in shelter is already accounted for.

### If your air is bad and it's NOT just a short term problem like volcanic ash fall or dense smoke from a forest fire, then we're all dead anyhow so why waste time preparing for it. (If it IS smoke or ash then a gas mask or even a wet bandana can help you breathe until the air clears).

### Those of us who live in towns or cities don't spend much time thinking about water until it comes time to pay the water bill. We just turn the tap and wah-lah, water splashes out. Theoretically, it's clean, potable water, though I've lived in cities where my wife and I drank bottled water because the tap water gave us cramps and made us ill. Nonetheless, for most of us water flows effortlessly from a tap.

### So what should you do if you suspect your water supply might fail?

### First of all, fill up every container in your house or on your property. Fill bathtubs, sinks, buckets, pots, hot tubs and swimming pools. And once your pool and hot tub are filled put the covers on them to reduce evaporation and keep critters and debris out. Remember also that your hot water heater has 40 or 50 gallons stored in it.

### Second, if you have time, get to the store and buy as much bottled water as you can. Pick up several gallons of unscented bleach too. It will come in handy for water purification.

### As a kid I lived in a small town in Kansas where the water was pumped from a community well up into a water tower and from there was gravity fed to the homes and businesses in the town. Most municipal systems are still gravity fed and thank God for that because when the power goes out the water keeps flowing -- until the tanks or reservoirs that feed the system run dry. Then your world attains a whole new level of desperation.

### You know your family needs water for drinking, cooking and cleaning, but you probably don't realize how much water you use. The average family of four uses about 400 gallons of water per day. You can look at your water bills and see what your total consumption is. Now, don't freak out. In an emergency situation you will only need a fraction of that because you won't be running the dishwasher or the clothes washer and you won't be taking long, hot showers. You also won't be flushing your toilets. In fact, when the water stops flowing out your taps, you won't be using your toilets as anything except an emergency drinking water supply. Don't worry, it can be made potable. The gross out factor will still be there but so what? It will be safe to drink.

### When my wife and I lived in Las Vegas the tap water gave us such bad cramps we switched over to Arrowhead bottled water. For the next 2 ½ years we spent an average of $30 per month on drinking water. Then I started thinking about what would happen if even that tap water supply failed and I could no longer get Arrowhead or any other bottled water at a grocery store or Costco Warehouse.

### The first thing I did was purchase ten cases (35 16.9oz bottles per case) of bottled water as that was all we had room to store. That comes to about 46 ¼ gallons. The two of us drink about a gallon and a quarter per day. Oh boy, I had a whopping 37- day supply provided all we did was drink -- no cleaning ourselves, no cooking or washing our dishes or clothes. Yikes!

### I went to Sportsman's Warehouse the next day and bought a 55-gallon water barrel that came with a siphon pump. I also picked up a couple of bungs and a bung wrench for the barrel. Total outlay was about $65.

### Water Purification

### Now I started getting serious. We had a 14,500-gallon swimming pool and an 800- gallon hot tub. I researched how to make that water potable and the simplest answer was unscented bleach or Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide Tablets ($12.95 for a packet of 30 from REI). Now, 30 tablets would purify seven and a half gallons of water. Doing the math revealed it would cost me $1,381.00 just to purify my hot tub water with Chlorine Dioxide. As for the pool, well, you do the math. I opted for the unscented bleach, knowing I could always boil the water if I had to.

### According to the EPA, during an emergency you should filter murky water through a clean cloth, coffee filters, or paper towels, or let it settle before pouring off the clean water. You should boil it for one minute -- though if you live at any altitude above 3500 feet I'd double that boiling time. Let the water cool and store it in clean, sealed containers.

### <http://water.epa.gov/drink/emerprep/emergencydisinfection.cfm>

### If you can't boil the water you can use ⅛ teaspoon (8 drops) of unscented liquid household bleach for each gallon of water. Mix well and let stand for at least 30 minutes.

### The State of Washington advises using 5 drops per quart or ¼ teaspoon per gallon, then mix it and let it stand at least one hour before drinking. Both sites tell you to be sure the household bleach you are using is free from any perfumes, dyes and other additives, i.e. unscented, since those additives can be toxic They also advise using bleach that is between 5.25% and 8.25% chlorine so read the label.

### These methods are sufficient to kill almost anything in the water that can harm you.

### The trouble is, boiling water takes time and fuel, the latter of which is certainly going to be in short supply, unless you live near a forest, and using bleach makes the water taste like, well...bleach. I've read that letting the water stand, while stirring it occasionally, will let the chlorine evaporate, but if the water is left standing open it can be contaminated again with insects, bird droppings or the microbes on dust. I've also read that pouring the water back and forth between containers will help evaporate the bleach but I do not know if that works as I have never tried it. It _will_ aerate the water and make it taste better.

### Water Filters

### Then I started researching water filters and purifiers and found a better alternative. I made the decision early on that I did not want a filter with any moving parts because such things eventually wear out and must be replaced. So I looked into gravity fed devices and after a few days surfing the survival and Prepper websites I narrowed the choice down to two -- the _AquaRain model 404_ , stainless steel with a three-gallon capacity and the _Royal Berkey_ , also stainless steel with a 3-gallon capacity. Both units can be used with either 2 or 4 filters and with 4 filters both can produce 24 gallons of filtered and purified water per day. These are the only two filtration systems I found that are legally allowed to say that they _purify_ water instead of just filtering it.

### There is a long, detailed explanation as to why this is so but I am not going to include that information here. Instead I'll give you the links and you can look it all up for yourself. Here are some links for the AquaRain.

### <http://www.internet-grocer.net/aqua.htm>

### http://www.myaquarain.com

### <http://www.nitro-pak.com/aquarain-drip-filter>

### And here's a link for the Royal Berkey.

###  http://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkey-water-filters/systems/royal-berkey.html

### Suffice it to say, both of these units have been extensively field tested in places such a Haiti after the big quake where they literally filtered and purified raw sewage to potability with no ill effects on the first responders using them.

### I went with the _AquaRain Model 404_ with 4 filters, not just because it was a little bit cheaper at $309 vs $358 for the _Royal Ber_ key, but also because I liked the fact that they did Independent Laboratory testing with fully expended filter elements—that is elements that had been cleaned so often they were abraded to 10% below their end of life tolerance and then exposed to contaminated field water prior to testing. Every single filter so tested passed the stringent EPA standards for a bacteria and cyst _purifier_. That kind of rigorous, above and beyond testing was a clincher for me.

### In addition, their filters can be cleaned and reinstalled up to 200 times allowing you to purify literally thousands of gallons of contaminated water before needing to replace them. When my wife and I lived in Vegas I used our AquaRain every single day for more than year and a half and never even had to clean the filters once. Of course I was filtering Vegas tap water—the stuff that made Jane and I sick—but once I started filtering it...no problems. Tasted like real water. Within a single year my AquaRain had paid for itself. I should also add that the AquaRain is 100% Made in America.

### Now, if TSHTF, I know I can purify any conceivable water in sufficient quantities to meet our needs indefinitely, or at least so long as I have water available to purify. And as for the manufacturer's recommendation to replace the filters every six months when in regular use so the carbon remains "activated" well, I figure once the carbon "deactivates" I'll taste the difference in the filtered water and so far I haven't. So, like many companies, I think they are covering their butts and trying to sell more filters.

### I should add that I have recommended this water purifier to numerous friends and acquaintances and they all, without exception, love it.

### Get Home Water Filters

### Yeah, all this water filtration and purification info is great, but what happens if TSHTF and you're not home. That's what a Get Home Bag (GHB) is for and I'll be covering those in depth later. But an invaluable tool in any GHB is a portable water filter/purification device. In my case it's a _LifeStraw_.

### I have a Get Home Bag in every vehicle and every one of them contains a _LifeStraw_. Man, I'd have killed for one of these things in the long ago days of my backpacking adventures. No boiling. No chlorinating. Just stick one end into the water supply (one guy even stuck it into his own urine) and suck and you get potable water. They are available at most sporting goods stores or even places like Walmart for around $19.95.

### LifeStraw filters water to 2 microns which will remove 99.9999% of bacteria such as E Coli and Salmonella as well as 99.9% of protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. It will filter 1000 gallons. Here's a link.

###  http://eartheasy.com/lifestraw-filters/index.html?gclid=CJKShK6Jy8oCFRCqaQodEN0Grw#lifestraw

### Update

### As great as _LifeStraws_ are I have replaced mine with a slightly more expensive ($29.95) version called the _Survival Filter_. Be sure you check these out because they seem to be a truly superior product. They filter to .05 microns (four times better than LifeStraw). The filters are cleanable and can be reused. And it has a good flow rate of seven ounces per minute. And you can dip a water bottle or rinsed out Pepsi bottle into a stream or lake and screw it onto the filter so you can stand up and drink instead of having to belly down to sip. Here's a link.

###  http://www.survivorfilter.com/products/survivor-filter?utm_content=bufferbc2dc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

### As someone who once suffered the deprivations of Giardia I can tell you it's something you do not want to experience. The _Survival Filter_ is a must have that can prevent illness or death from contaminated water until you get back home where your AquaRain or some such other filter resides.

### Rain Catchment Systems

### Where we currently live we can expect an average of 10" of annual rainfall and 4" of snow falling on our 2000 sf roof. That translates to roughly 11,200 gallons of fresh water annually, which just might be enough to allow us to maintain our garden and fruit trees and survive.

### Such Rain Catchment systems are an excellent idea for anyone who doesn't have easy access to a well, pond, spring, stream, river, or lake. Here's a link to a Rain Collection Calculator.

###  http://www.rainharvestingsystems.com/Services/RainCollectionCalculator.aspx

### One of the questions people most often ask about water on prepper websites such as the _American Prepper's Network_ is, "How much water should I store?"

### The EPA recommends a minimum of one gallon per person per day so use that as a rule of thumb. I maintain our supply of ten cases of Arrowhead bottled water, plus our 55-gallon drum of filtered water. That gives my wife and I roughly 100 gallons or a 50-day supply of actual, ready to use, drinking water. We still have an 800-gallon hot tub, which, theoretically, could stretch our drinking water supply to 450 days, but we would be forced to use some of it for sponge baths and at least a half gallon a day for cooking and for other cleaning purposes. Realistically, I think we'd have a nine-month supply.

### Add in our Rain Catchment System, which is a work in progress as I continue to add IBC's (Industrial Bulk Containers—large square or rectangular plastic container inside metal cages) whenever I can afford to do so, and I think we have a decent chance. My starter container was a 300-gallon tank from my dad that he didn't need. But my ultimate goal is to be able to store up to 10,000 gallons at once, because when we do get rain here it comes down hard, and fast, and may not come again for months.

### You must decide for yourself, how much water is enough. Regardless of what you decide, I wholeheartedly recommend you buy the best water filtration system you can afford. Water is life and it's no place to skimp.

### Wells

### Of course the best way to insure your family has water is to drill a well but most people living in the suburbs can't do that because it's illegal. Here in Arizona anyone can get a well permit if they live on a minimum one-acre lot and the well location is at least 100 feet from their neighbor's septic system. That is unless they live in one of Arizona's Active Management Areas—mostly comprising the metropolitan corridor between Phoenix and Tucson.

### So, if you live in a city or a suburb you probably will be prohibited by statute from having your own well. The key in such a situation is to know how your city gets its water supply and where that water comes from. Many cities have reservoirs, while others rely on pumping water from deep wells. Relatively few towns or cities have true gravity fed systems or artesian wells. Consider yourself extremely fortunate if you happen to live in one of them.

### If you are lucky enough to live somewhere you can have a well and you decide to put one in you still need to do so with an off grid pump, solar panels and rechargeable batteries so you will have water if the power fails. You should, as a backup, be able to hook up a generator powered by gasoline or propane or natural gas to your well pump to insure a continued supply of water. If your well is shallow enough (opinions vary widely on what that means) you can install a hand pump and not worry about electricity at all. Most well designed hand pumps can deliver water from a static head depth of 150 feet though some can draw water from 325 feet. Static head is the distance from the water level in your well to your pump outlet. Note that your well could be seven hundred feet deep and the submersible part of your hand pump could be at five or six hundred feet so you would be drawing water from there but so far as the lifting capacity of the hand pumps is concerned it is only pumping water from the static head level. Here are a few links about hand pumps:

###  http://www.resilientdesign.org/hand-pumps-an-option-for-back-up-water-pumping/

###  http://flojak.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAuremBRCbtr-1qJnKi-4BEiQAh0x08C2sf2zHxM0rt7xgcQPDQHOJ0ekIj_Tg-A4Xguu-TawaArrS8P8HAQ

### <http://www.simplepump.com/?refid=kp>

### http://bisonpumps.com

### http://waterbuckpump.com

### I'm not certain about the _resilient design_ or _flojack_ pumps but I know that the _Simple, Waterbuck_ and _Bison_ pumps can be used to pump water into a pressure tank for delivery to your house directly through your existing plumbing system.

### If you live back East or somewhere with a high water table (let's say you're in an area where you can't have a basement because you'd hit water) you might be able to drive a well with a sandpoint. If I lived in such an area, I'd be tempted to purchase a sandpoint and keep it on hand in case TSHTF. With some lumber, rope, a weight (such as a fence post driver) and a pulley you could rig a tripod and drive an emergency well. I won't go into the process here but Google Sandpoint or Hand Dug wells.

### Water Storage

### I've already mentioned cases of bottled water, spas, bathtubs, hot water heaters and (yuck) toilets, but unless you live next to a lake or river, the best option is a swimming pool. When we were in Las Vegas we had a 14,500 gallon in ground pool with a cover. Now frankly, the cover was there to allow the pool to heat up faster in the Spring and cool down slower in the Fall, thus extending our swimming season by at least two months every year. But that water could have been filtered through our AquaRain device for drinking.

### How much water you can store depends upon your ingenuity and circumstances. If you live in a small apartment, you'll be playing by different rules than someone in a single family home on a half-acre lot. But storing water under your bed, in your pantry, in your closets is still possible. If you have a basement or live in a building with storage lockers, well...there you go.

### The EPA recommends storing one gallon of water per person per day but in a desert environment, especially if you have to any work outside or if you do not have air conditioning, I think that wouldn't even cover your drinking requirement. Forget about cooking, washing yourself, your dishes or your clothes.

### I recommend storing about three gallons per day per person, which I think is a lot closer to realistic. My three gallon per person per day formula allows ½ gallon per day for cooking, ½ gallon for cleaning and two gallons for drinking (which I'll agree is probably overkill). But it's far better to have too much water stored than too little.

### Note: There is some overlap in water consumption that reduces the required amount. Washing dishes or clothing, for example, is a "communal" activity where water is shared. Heck, in the days before electricity and running water people shared _bath_ water. Men first, then women, then children, then infants. By the time they got around to washing the infants the water was pretty dirty--thus the expression "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

### By today's standards that sounds gross but consider their reasons. Hauling enough water to fill a wash tub was a lot of work. Heating enough water for a bath was a lot of work and consumed a lot of fuel (mostly wood for the fire). If you are getting the idea that simple bathing took, yes, I'll say it one more time, a lot of work, you can understand why bathing was infrequent (Saturday night bath).

### In any event the main thing to take away here is to store lots of water, more than you think you will ever need. When I stored my first ten cases of Arrowhead water I put them on the floor of a coat closet and stacked them five high. The cases on the bottom seemed to take the load just fine but I've decided to not stack them more than three high from now on. I'd hate to find the bottom case collapsed and leaking some day. Also, being in an interior closet kept the water in a cool, dry and dark environment, all of which is good for anything in plastic.

### Cisterns

### I'm putting cisterns in their own section because they are one of the cheapest and best ways to store water ever invented. They can be sited underground or above ground, made from plastic, metal or concrete and their size is limited only by your wallet and local ordinances. Should you be so unfortunate as to live in an area controlled by Neo-Nazis...um, I mean HOA's, or restrictive covenants, you may have other hoops to jump through.

### Even if you are blessed with a well you should have a cistern because having one means less wear and tear on your deep submersible pump. Here are a few links:

###  http://www.tank-depot.com/productdetails.aspx?part=N-40635&gclid=Cj0KEQiAuremBRCbtr-1qJnKi-4BEiQAh0x08ER6e2PFzzp8BtaIRjn4Qfla_rkcmQcbSjLthZLSD5kaAr868P8HAQ

###  http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/2724/2500-gallon-plastic-water-storage-tank-42040?gclid=Cj0KEQiAuremBRCbtr-1qJnKi-4BEiQAh0x08G-qXBMqLSJxJl6QHPTPzWxHb5_neAw6C88-iwqLrbcaAkij8P8HAQ

###  http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/homestead-cistern-zmaz78mjzgoe.aspx

### Many rural people here in Arizona live in areas where they can't drill a well for various reasons (most of them being the expense). Some places you can't bring in a well because there is simply no water. Those folks live on what is called a water haul system, which just like the name, means either they haul water to their homes—pickup trucks with IBC containers in the beds are a common site around here—or someone with a water truck hauls water to them. All of these people have cisterns and some have several. 1200 gallon tanks are fairly common.

### My personal preference is for an underground cistern as it is less susceptible to damage (from bullets or vandals for example) is not as visible and therefore is less likely to draw complaints or unwanted attention from neighbors or looters, and because being underground the water inside it will stay cooler and be less likely to breed harmful bacteria (most of whom only thrive in temps above 75 F—giardia excepted. The cistern can be recharged by well pump, water haul truck or rainwater. It can be drawn with a bucket and rope, hand pump or small electric pump. The advantages far outweigh the costs because, as I said at the beginning of this chapter, water is life.

### Water Trucks

### One additional way to store several thousand gallons of water is to own a water truck. I used to drive a 6,000-gallon water truck and I'd love to have one just like it today. Think about it. Your home, probably your entire neighborhood, is short on water. You fire up old Betsy, drive down to the local lake or river, hook a gasoline or propane powered generator up to a submersible pump and refill your water truck. You come back home a hero.

### Okay, if the situation is bad enough where most everyone is running low on water you'd probably better have an armed escort, but being able to pull 4-6,000 gallons at a time beats the hell out of hauling smaller amounts and making dozens of trips.

### Now, if my financial resources were unlimited (HA!) I'd have a well, a cistern, rain catchment AND as swimming pool. Sigh, we're saving up for a well and, as I mentioned earlier, growing our rain catchment system as we can afford to do so.

### I will spend the maximum I can afford to provide my family with a safe, dependable supply of water because, repeat after me, water is life.

Chapter 3

### Power and Light

### Without electricity, civilization as we know it does not exist. That may not apply to you directly if you're Amish, or Hutterite or Mennonite—though even they will be seriously impacted. But for the rest of us, no power literally means the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI).

### What did you do the last time your power went out? If it was nighttime, you probably stumbled around a too dark home until you grabbed a flashlight, hoped the batteries weren't dead, and went to check your circuit breaker box. Of course many people keep their cell phones beside their beds and just by turning it on have a "flashlight" to use. If no breakers were tripped you probably went outside to see if your neighbors had power. Finally, you picked up a phone and called the power company to report the outage, then waited for the electricity to come back on.

### We've all done that, some of us more than others—think Hurricane Sandy in 2012 or Katrina in 2005. In both of those storms thousands of people were without power for weeks or months. I know people who have been without power for several weeks as the result of ice storms. And in the aftermath of Katrina there was widespread looting and chaos as civil order disintegrated. Preppers call that a Without Rule Of Law (WROL) scenario and it's pretty much the worst case after The Shit Hits The Fan (TSHTF). Yeah, yeah, I know. We Preppers love our acronyms.

### What most folks think about doing if the power doesn't come back on within a few hours is using a portable electric generator that runs on gasoline, propane or natural gas. There are a number of excellent, durable generators that can provide short-term emergency power, but before we get into restoring power let's discuss emergency lighting and batteries.

### It's Dark Inside

### The lights go out. All power is off. You grab a flashlight and the batteries are dead.

### Here are your alternative lighting sources. You should have virtually all of these things on hand and if you don't...get busy.

### Matches—great for lighting candles or a gas stove but try holding a lit match while finding and changing batteries in a flashlight. I use regular old _Diamond_ wooden matches for most uses but I also have several boxes of _UCO Stormproof, Waterproof and Windproof Matches_ for emergencies. Check them out and get some. You do have to be a bit cautious using them. The non-igniting part of the matchstick is on the short side. (I can just see a Corporate bean counter saying, "If we cut off ¼" from each matchstick we can make X more matches without effecting our matchstick cost outlay"). Since these matches burn for 15 seconds they generate a _lot_ of heat and you can char your fingertips. They are, however, just the thing if you need fire in wet, windy conditions.

###  http://www.amazon.com/UCO-Stormproof-Matches-Waterproof-Windproof/dp/B00345Q1WE

### I just stumbled across these _Elite Forces Survival Waterproof/Windproof Matches_ on the _Pioneer Living_ website. Just from the photos and description I can see they have a longer matchstick—therefore safer to grip. I ordered some and they are terrific. Much less heat to fingertip ratio.

###  http://www.pioneerliving.net/store/fire-starters-survival-lighters/full-tang-tactical-knife.html

### And _Nitro-Pak Preparedness Center_ has these _Coughlans Windproof Storm Matches_ which also look excellent and they are less expensive. They are NATO approved.

###  http://www.nitro-pak.com/emergency-prep/camping-supplies/camping-supplies/storm-matches-nato-approved-windproof-and-waterproof

### All of these matches are great for camping as well as for emergencies.

### Cigarette lighters--even non-smokers should own a few.

### Fireplace lighters--just long-nosed butane cigarette lighters. An absolute necessity. Almost nothing beats them for lighting a propane grill or a wood fire in windless conditions.

### Candles--now we're getting somewhere, especially if you have the 100+ hour emergency candles like these from The Ready Store.

###  http://www.thereadystore.com/emergency-preparedness-supplies/light-and-communication/115-hour-readycandle

### White gas, butane, or propane lanterns—Okay in a very short term pinch (so you can change those blasted dead batteries) but not intended for use inside due to carbon monoxide and other such problems.

### Electric LED lanterns--excellent, but again think dead batteries. These will light up a room and this model comes with a hand crank as a backup to its batteries. Some are even solar powered to keep the batteries charged.

###  http://www.thereadystore.com/emergency-preparedness-supplies/light-and-communication/6-led-dynamo-lantern

### Oil lamps -- much better, but unless you can go whaling (oh, I am so bad for even thinking that) or live near a defunct fast food restaurant, you will eventually run out of oil to burn.

### Your emergency radio (from Chapter One) which should have a hand cranked or solar/battery powered light.

### Flashlights--okay, you think we've come full circle, but I'm talking about solar powered or hand cranked flashlights. Yeah, there are such things. The best one I've found is the _Solar Hybrid Flashlight_ from either _Good Ideas for Life_ or _Amazon.com_ \--see links below. It holds a charge for 3 years, 5 years with battery backup. It provides 10 hours of light on a single solar charge, is a very bright LED light (40 lumens), is waterproof up to 80 feet, and it floats. Best of all, it comes fully charged.

### I have several of these flashlights. One in each vehicle and one in each bedroom as well as the kitchen and living room. They aren't all aluminum _Maglights,_ so you can't use them as a club, but they are reliable.

###  http://goodideasforlife.com/products/emergency-essentials/light-and-communication/solar-hybrid-flashlight

###  http://www.amazon.com/Hybrid-Powered-Flashlight-Emergency-Battery/dp/B001NTT45Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1373473626&sr=1-1&keywords=solar+flashlight

### Headlamps--basically a flashlight you wear around your head, keeping your hands free. Sure, you'll _look_ like a Grade A dork, but function beats fashion in any survival situation and these little gems are great. Mine, a cheap little _Black Diamond Gizmo_ ($19.95 from REI), uses 2 AAA batteries that I can recharge in my solar battery charger. It only weighs 2 ounces, has a high and low beam that illuminates up to 50 feet on high and 15 feet on low. It lasts for 6 hours on high and 75 hours on low. Best of all, they leave your hands free to do whatever you set out to do when you started traipsing around in the dark.

### <http://www.rei.com/product/825732/black-diamond-gizmo-headlamp>

### Maybe if I was spelunking I'd spring for the much fancier and more rugged $500 model, but so far this one has been terrific. I keep one of these in each vehicle and in the master bedroom. Did I mention they are hands free?

### Solar powered light bulbs--Leave these _Nokero N200 Crestone_ three-way Solar bulbs in the sun for a couple of days to put an initial charge on them and get up to eight hours of light. They cost about $15 each but that's comparable to any LED household bulb. I'll admit I haven't tried them yet but I will simply because they are such a good idea. Here's a link to one from _Emergency Essentials_ , but you can also get them on Amazon.

### <http://beprepared.com/nokero-n200-solar-powered-light-bulb.html>

### Nokero also makes a _Shavano Pro_ model that is twice as bright as the Crestone. It goes for $27 and is said to be their rugged outdoor version. The Crestone, however, is the best selling solar light bulb in the world and is frequently used in third world countries. Reliability and having a track record counts in my book.

### http://store.nokero.com

### Rechargeable Batteries

### Now for a quick word about rechargeable batteries, without which most of your flashlights or lanterns will be useless. I use _Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH_ batteries for AA and AAA needs. I also have D and C cell sleeves that I can insert the AA's into for those items requiring D and C batteries. I chose these because they get outstanding reviews from users and can be recharged up to 1500 times, giving them a long useful life. The AA's are rated at 1900-2000 mAh (milli-amp hours) and the AAA's are rated at 750-800 mAh. As an added bonus they have a very low self-discharge rate. I've used them for years now and they are the best rechargeables I've found. That does not mean they are the best, just the best I've found, okay? There may be others that are better out there.

###  http://www.amazon.com/eneloop-2000mAh-Typical-1900mAh-Position/dp/B0058N6JUE/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1373473427&sr=1-11&keywords=eneloop+batteries

### Unfortunately, _Eneloop_ does not make a 9V battery so for 9V applications I use _Tenergy Centura_ Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. They are also low self-discharge and have a 200 mAh capacity (which is apparently good for 9V batteries). _Tenergy_ claims they can be recharged 1000 times and that they maintain 85% charge after one year of storage and 70% after two years. _Tenergy_ also makes actual D and C cell rechargeable batteries, which would outlast AA's in sleeves.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Centura-Self-Discharge-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B003QUNYQI/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1373473029&sr=8-12&keywords=tenergy+rechargeable+batteries

### Rechargeable batteries are virtually worthless unless you have a way to recharge them. I have several plug-in style rechargers but my absolute favorite is the _Ansmann 5207123 Energy16_ charger. It has worked flawlessly for the past six years charging D, C, AA, AAA and 9v batteries. It will charge up to twelve AA and four 9v batteries simultaneously (thus the 16 in its name). I got mine from Amazon but it's unavailable there now so here's a link from _CCI Solutions_.

###  http://www.ccisolutions.com/StoreFront/product/universal-battery-charger?gclid=CjwKEAiAmOymBRD0_evS4aTh2hUSJAB7FkhypkYZgJ7TKcJUZtKuBQDPdQrAxElbdsTgRpjJwZo98BoC7Z7w_wcB

### Okay, so plug-in rechargers won't do you any good if the power is out. That's why God invented solar battery rechargers. I don't have one of these yet, mostly because I've researched them to death instead of saying to hell with it and just buying one or three. The reason I say one or three is because I haven't found one yet that will recharge all the batteries types I use—D, AA, AAA and 9v—as well as my Kindle Fire and other devices that can be recharged via USB cables. The leading candidate so far is a combination of three devices:

### First up is the _Instapark® Mercury 10M Solar Panel Portable Solar Charger_ with Built-in Dual USB Ports for iPhone, iPad & all other USB Compatible Devices, such as my Kindle. It comes with a 5200mAh Battery Pack.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZSE6TM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AU5MW0P13QZ5V

### Hooked to that via a USB cable is a device that will charge my AA Eneloop Batteries, which are, by a large margin, the batteries I use most.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UAG776/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A4UCFL9LU89NR

### Next is a stand alone device that will charge D, C, AA and AAA batteries.

###  http://www.amazon.com/C-Crane-SBC-11-in-1-Battery-Charger/dp/B001BKS3Z2/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1423696983&sr=1-2&keywords=solar+powered+battery+charger

### Frankly, I've been tempted to simply buy three or four of these 11-in-1 chargers since they are relatively cheap and let it go at that.

### And finally, the main reason I don't have one of these yet is because my wife and I are working toward purchasing a whole home photovoltaic array large enough for us to go off-grid entirely, in which case my _Ansmann_ will do all the recharging we need.

### UPDATE: I bought the _Instapark Mercury 10M Solar charger_ and the _Eneloop battery add-on_ and I've tested them and they work well together. The Instapark will also charge my cell phone and Kindles. Now when we get around to doing whole home solar we'll have some backup. Preppers have a saying that sums up how we feel about backups. "Two is One and One is None."

### Gasoline Generators

### Okay, let's get back to you, standing in the dark with your headlamp on or solar hybrid flashlight in hand. If you have a generator, you'll want to fire it up.

### We'll assume you've maintained it well, oil changed, air filter clean, and kept a gasoline preservative such as _STA-BIL 22214_ or _PRI-G_ in the tank so it will start when needed.

### We'll assume it's a gasoline model since they tend to be the least expensive and most common. We'll touch on propane, natural gas, diesel and solar generators later. I am not going to get into wind or micro-hydro generators as they will be almost nonexistent in the suburbs or in cities. Now, I live in the suburbs, albeit of a fairly rural town (population about 35,000) and some of my neighbors have wind generators—it is windy as all get out here in Kingman. But we don't have an HOA and our city planners are well aware of the benefits of wind energy. Unfortunately, most of you won't be in similar circumstances. If you CAN do it, go for it. If you are "allowed" to, maybe you get one and install it after TSHTF when no one will complain about it, or be around to enforce a complaint. But I digress.

### We will further assume that your power has not failed as the result of an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP), because if it has and your generator has a push button solid-state electronic starter, and no pull start option, you are hosed. Being an intelligent, far-sighted kind of person, your generator has a pull starter and is so well maintained it starts on the very first pull.

### You run a power cord into your house, plug a six-way outlet strip into it and then, because you made sure it put out enough Kilowatts to handle your load, you plug in your fridge, your freezer (if it's as separate unit), a lamp, and, if your generator is pure sine wave rated (which you also made certain of before buying it), your computer and your TV. You even have an empty slot left over in case it's hot and you need a fan plugged in, or you use a CPAP to sleep, or need to plug in your battery charger to recharge your AA's.

### Do not get cute and try to back-feed your circuit breaker box as you could feed power back onto the grid and electrocute some poor lineman who's trying to restore power. You can, for about $600-$900, have an electrician install a transfer switch and hook your generator up to your breaker box so it starts automatically if the power fails, but that is beyond the scope of our discussion.

### Congratulations! You have just restored power and civilization to your immediate family.

### You have also told everyone within a three-block radius that you have a generator, because even a "quiet" generator is surprisingly loud in the eerie stillness following a blackout. So now you need to secure your generator to something very solid with a heavy chain and padlock.

### Your best course of action now may be to share your power with your neighbors by running heavy-duty extension cords to their homes. Note: they must be heavy-duty extension cords preferably 8 gauge or larger because if they aren't it will place too heavy a load on you generator and could damage it. Further note: such cords are stiff, heavy, difficult to handle and expensive! I've seen a YouTube video by _LDS Prepper_ (who I have great respect for as his information tends to be sound) wherein he said he ran extension cords from his generator to five neighbors—allowing each of them to run a fridge, freezer, TV, sump pump and lights and if I heard right they were all able to do this simultaneously. All with one 5 kilowatt generator.

### If you do that you will need to reduce the number of items you have plugged in and set a schedule because your generator won't run several refrigerators or freezers all at once. For example, you run power to each of your two closest neighbors and tell them that they can only run their refrigerators, a sump pump, if you need them, and one lamp. Each family can only run them for one hour at a time and then must wait for two full hours while your family and your other neighbor each get a turn. If they, like you, have a separate freezer they can plug it in for one half hour during their allotted time. This should be enough time to allow their appliances to keep their perishable foods from going bad.

### Another, and cheaper, alternative is to take everything except meat and dairy products out of your fridge and stick them in a cooler along with ice from your ice maker. Then you offer to share your fridge space with your neighbors. Also, if you have any spare LED bulbs, loan them to your neighbors to reduce the load on your generator. LED's burn brightly and use a fraction of the power of a standard incandescent or fluorescent bulbs.

### In exchange for sharing electrical power, your neighbors will agree to supply a fair share of gasoline for running the generator and will help you defend it from thieves. I've heard that, after Katrina, homes running on generators were often looted by marauders, their lawful inhabitants, terrorized, injured or killed by the gangs. So take precautions. When the power goes out the world changes.

### Note: these arrangements are best worked out in advance of an emergency. So get to know your neighbors and talk about contingencies with them. This is how Mutual Assistance Groups (MAG's) are formed. You will only be that nut from next door until the power fails, then you magically become that genius from next door.

### One thing everyone who has been without power for prolonged periods of time agrees on is that it is better to have a generator, any generator, than none. So let's get into types and features.

### When it comes to the experts, they usually agree when it comes to generators, you get what you pay for. I've owned cheap generators in the past and am pleased to say all of them worked well enough when I needed them. They were all obnoxiously noisy and gulped gasoline like they were hooked directly to a refinery. None of them put out pure sine wave power and that did cause a few problems with my older computers. All of them were heavy and awkward to move around. Even though none of them ever let me down—that is, when I needed emergency power I had emergency power—they all wore out fairly quickly, in spite of being well-maintained. I will never get a cheap generator again because these units taught me what to look for in a quality generator.

### For any internal combustion engine generator (gasoline, diesel, propane, or natural gas) you are looking for cast iron or stainless steel cylinders, overhead valves, the ability to automatically adjust the rpm to the load, quiet running (sub 65 db at twenty-five feet,) the capability to run on multiple fuels, inverter technology good enough to produce a pure sine wave for your sensitive electronics, a normal running capacity of _at least_ five kilowatts, an automatic shut off switch when low oil is detected and, as always, Made in America if possible. A fuel gauge, hour meter (showing accumulated run time), and a power meter (how much is being used and how much is available) are also nice to have, as is a large fuel tank—so you don't have to get up in the middle of the night and refuel.

### If you are not concerned about EMP's, whether caused by nuclear explosions or massive solar flares, then go ahead and get an electronic ignition. I'll stick with a pull start, also known as a recoil starter. And, unless you're getting a large capacity stationary generator, you'll want one with a wheel kit. You do not want a generator that draws power from your home when it is not in use to keep its starter battery charged (no standby load). That's why, as part of routine maintenance, you start it and run it for half an hour or so once a month and is also why you do want one that charges its own battery when it is running (called onboard starter battery charging). Better quality units run at lower RPM's (1800) when at load, than cheaper units (3600). Lower RPM's mean less noise and less wear and tear.

### A liquid cooled generator will last longer than an air-cooled model because it is thermostatically controlled. It will also run quieter because such units usually come with solid housings and mufflers. They are also usually much larger (10 KW or more), not portable, designed to run your entire house, including A/C, and are really expensive.

### You want one with at least a two-year warranty and a local dealer network with a good reputation for after-sale support. This won't matter if TSHTF but otherwise it will.

### Smart users, who want to get the best performance out of their generator while minimizing wear and tear will use _AMSOIL small engine synthetic oil_ and platinum spark plugs. Also, keep in mind you shouldn't be running your generator constantly--only long enough to keep the food in your freezer and fridge good.

### People who need CPAPs or other such devices that require long term power should invest in a rechargeable battery bank, charge controller and inverter that can provide power to their device while the generator is off line.

### That's the basics. Now for some specific models that meet most or all of these criteria. I am not presenting these in any specific order of preference.

### _Honda eu6500is_ has a superb reputation for being super quiet, fuel efficient, and for producing stable enough power for the most sensitive electronics. It puts out 6500 Watts at full load and is rated at 5500 Watts normal load. Though it has an electronic ignition it also comes with a recoil starter. It will run for 4.7 hours at its rated load and the fuel tank holds 4.5 gallons of unleaded regular gasoline. It is 50 State compliant which is critical if you live in California or any other state with uber-jerk regulations.

### It does not come with multiple fuel capacity, so to run it on propane or natural gas you would have to buy and install a conversion kit, which will undoubtedly void the 3-year warranty. It cannot be connected in parallel with another generator. It may be one of the best gasoline generators available but it is terribly expensive for a portable, retailing for about $4000.

###  http://www.wisesales.com/eu6500isa-honda-generator.html#.Ud486ha0LHg

### Honda makes several smaller and less expensive generators that have excellent reputations. The _EU2000_ i, at $999, is Honda's most popular generator. It is also very quiet.

###  http://www.wisesales.com/eu2000ia-honda-generator.html#.Ud5Cjxa0LHg

### The _Yamaha EF6300iSDE_ is almost perfect. It's quiet, has all the bells and whistles, and comes equipped to run off gasoline, propane or natural gas. If it only had a recoil starter instead of a transistor controlled ignition (TCI) I'd buy one in a flash. I still might do so if I can figure out how to get a spare TCI to put in a faraday cage. It also runs about $4000, which I consider a negative.

###  http://www.yamaha-propane-natural-gas-generators.com/ef6300isde.htm

### _Multi-Quip_ portable generators have a good reputation. The _GA-6HA_ is a 6kW model (5kW continuous) that has a recoil start, Honda GX340 engine with low-oil shutdown and automatic idle control, and delivers smooth enough power to run computers. It will run for 5.5 hours on a full tank. It is designed for use on construction job sites and in service trucks so it can power high usage items like worm drive circular saws, submersible pumps and air compressors. It costs $2650.

###  http://www.contractorsdirect.com/General-Tools/Portable-Generators-5000-7000-Watts/Multiquip-GA6HA-GA6HEA-Portable-Generators

### _Robin Subaru Generators_ also have a good reputation. The _SGX7500E_ model will deliver 6700 Watts continuous, is safe for computers, has low oil shutdown, an hour meter and only costs $1690.

###  http://www.rahayugenerators.com/portable-generators/subaru-sgx7500e-6700-watt-electric-start-portable-generator.html

### There are about a million other generators so do your own research if you don't like any of the models I've covered. For example, you've decided you want one of the 10kW plus whole-home, stationary generators from _Honeywell_ or _Kohle_ r. Good for you. Go for it.

### Fuel

### Now for a word about fuel for your generator. Gasoline is the most common fuel and is one we are all familiar with. So long as the power is on at your neighborhood gas station it's readily available. One problem with gasoline is that it's highly flammable, which can be an advantage if you decide you need Molotov cocktails. A second problem is that it breaks down over time and will gum up orifices in such vital engine parts as carburetors and fuel injectors. _Sta-Bil, Pri-G_ and other preservatives are expensive. Another problem with gasoline is that cold starting requires use of a choke. That is why most auto-starting generators don't use gasoline. Still, it is the fuel for most portable generators, so figure out how to safely store it, stock up, and use it up and replace it every six months. Most folks accomplish this by filling up their cars with it.

### Propane (LP gas) is usually cheaper than gasoline and is the fuel commonly used in more expensive, stationary generators, often in rural situations where people already have large propane tanks. Propane lasts almost indefinitely and burns cleaner than gasoline or diesel, which increases durability. The main problem for propane is that if you live in an area where it gets below 10 degrees F, your generator may not start.

### Natural gas is the cheapest fuel and is often used for stationary generators. It burns clean. If it is available in your area, it's a good idea to convert your gasoline generator to run off it and propane. With the turn of a valve you can still run your unit on gasoline.

### Diesel is the fuel of choice for most high quality, long-lived, stationary, expensive generators. This is what hospitals and other large facilities and organizations, including the military, use for backup power, though smaller models are available for home use. It burns dirtier than the other fuels and the fuel can gel below freezing temps (usually far below), which means costly additives. On the other hand, if you are an eco-tinkerer, you can run one on biodiesel or virgin or waste vegetable oil. I have an acquaintance who used to run his on waste vegetable oil he picked up for free from his local McDonald's and Burger King restaurants. Sta-Bil also makes a fuel stabilizer for diesel.

### From a SHTF viewpoint, the main problem with any generator that runs on any fossil fuel is that when you run out of fuel they make a great anchor.

### Back in my grandparent's day, some ingenious daredevils generated their own electrical power by building small, wood or coal fired, steam generators. Some even ran their cars off such devices. If you are interested in doing that Google it, because I don't know enough about such things to even begin to discuss them. Unless you are intimately familiar with operating steam pressure boilers, I have a one-word warning for you...BOOM!

### Solar Generators

### I define a solar generator as Solar panels tied via a charge controller to deep cycle batteries. From there the power runs through an inverter and extension cord to your house. I confess a complete and total bias in favor of these devices.

### Advantages: First, it's not dependent on fossil fuels. So long as the batteries are properly maintained, they should last for at least ten years. You can even buy extra dry batteries and the acid to charge them with for when your original ones wear out. Second, the sun shines long enough in most places in this country, even in winter, to keep the batteries fully charged. Third, monocrystalline solar panels often come with a 25-year warranty and even though they can be damaged by large hail or storm debris they are tough. Fourth, the system is totally quiet. Fifth, there are no moving parts, to break down. Sixth, here in Arizona it's sunny almost 24 hours a day. Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. We do have this thing called nighttime when the sun is down, but in the summer it can be so blasted hot at night it feels like the sun is still up.

### Disadvantages: First, some places get socked in by weather with such dense clouds and for so long, that your battery charge can't be maintained by solar alone. Second, unless you store spare parts in a Faraday cage, the system can still fail after an EMP. The panels themselves should be okay, as should your batteries, but any solid-state electronic component such as your inverter, charge controller and diodes will be fried. Third, while it isn't noisy, a solar array of any size is highly visible and fairly screams, "Hey, we have electrical power and probably other cool stuff you bad guys might want."

### One of my neighbors, who lives on a one-acre lot, placed his array in his block fenced back yard making it pretty much invisible. But if you can't hide your array you need to have a plan to defend it, much like the one for defending your gasoline generator mentioned above.

### Since I live in the virtually cloudless desert SW the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. You must decide for yourself. I favor multiple backups so I have a solar generator that I built myself and a gasoline generator converted to run off either propane or natural gas and a plan to build a whole home solar system.

### I had several reasons for building my own solar generator. Saving money was one of them, but I also wanted to learn the technology in a hands-on way. Plus, if I did it myself, I could design it to be easily expanded by adding more panels and batteries.

### I started small, with only two _Trina 245 watt_ 24 volt panels, a couple of 12 volt deep cycle RV batteries (100 amp hours each) wired in series for 24 volts, one 3000 watt pure sine inverter, one 30 amp 24 volt charge controller, one 30 amp smart charger for the batteries, one _MC 4 MMF branch connector_ , an inline fuse kit, a couple of _SB350 connectors_ , about 50 feet of 6 gauge wire, and a few miscellaneous parts such as the angle brackets I installed on the South side of my house to bolt the solar panels too (I used a ground mount system). My total outlay was about $1900, almost half of which was for the inverter. I could have built it for around $1200 with a cheaper inverter. The system provides me with between 2500 and 2900 watts of power so I can't come close to running my whole house on it. But I can run my fridge and freezer, a few LED lights, my CPAP machine, and computer on it. When not using my CPAP to sleep (severe apnea) I can substitute the 56" Sony XBR Flat Screen TV.

### My backup to this system is a Honda eu2000i which is also tied to the battery bank.

### For those of you who aren't into DIY Solar there are companies making portable solar generators that can run your fridge/freezer, a lamp or two and your TV or CPAP. These generators are also less expensive ($949 and up) than the one I built. Here are some links for you to check out.

### http://www.bepreparedsolar.com

###  http://www.wagan.com/index.php/news/wagan-solar-cube-best-in-class.html

### And for a real eye-opener, though God knows how expensive this thing will be, I give you the Ecosphere Power Cube--a whole home system with a lot of built-in flexibility and that can be moved to another house or locale should you need to do so.

###  http://www.ecospheretech.com/environmental-engineering-technologies/powercube

### Here's a link to a whole house solar system with backup batteries. It's also grid tied with a transfer switch. It costs more than $34,000 installed, but that doesn't include the tax credits allowed by the Federal Government and by many States, which should reduce the total outlay to closer to $20,000. This is the kind of system I drool over.

### http://www.powerstationflex.com

### Warning: if you are on Social Security or are one of the many low income Preppers out there you may not be able to use the tax credits because you may not earn enough income to have to pay taxes. Also, installing one of these will add value to your home and may increase your property taxes.

### Tesla has come out with a "Power Wall" battery that can work with solar or regular grid power to lessen your energy bill. If working on grid power, it stores the charge up at night during low rates and supplies it to your home during the more expensive rate for daytime and evening power.

### Reviews are mixed on this product and while I was initially very excited about it I've backed off and am now undecided. I think Tesla is on the right track here but I'm not sure if they're there yet. Here are a few links so you can research it yourself.

### <https://www.teslamotors.com/POWERWALL>

### <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2483553,00.asp>

###  http://www.catalyticengineering.com/top-ten-facts-about-teslas-350kwh-powerwall-battery/

### Wind Generators

### I'm not going to say much about wind generators, in spite of having built more than one and had personal experience with them. They can be a good option for some people but if you've Googled the subject or looked into it on Pinterest you'll discover all you need to know.

### I don't currently have one and don't plan to get one. My reasons are simple. They can be quite noisy, are unreliable to keep my batteries charged and they break down. I live in a windy area but for me solar is simpler and better.

### One word of caution if you decide wind is for you. Do not ever mount one on your roof. The noise and vibration will soon drive you crazy. It's like the frame of your home becomes a drumhead with the generator pounding out the beat. 'Nuff said.

### The No Electrical Power Option

### Finally, here's a word about going without power. While I've stated that, to us, electrical power IS civilization, and it certainly makes our lives more convenient, there are those who choose to live without it—think Amish, or Mennonites or millions of people living in third world countries. Our own ancestors explored the world, settled new continents and built civilization without electrical power. The farm I spent my formative years on didn't get electrical power or running water until I was almost old enough to start school. So, while having electricity is certainly desirable and convenient, it isn't necessary for survival or civilization. Those who survive the initial chaos of a grid down scenario will be those most able to adapt to change.

### There are numerous businesses such as _Lehmans_ that sell a large variety of non-electric tools and appliances. Again, Google can be your friend.

### www.lehmans.com

### DISCLAIMER

### I AM NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY OF THESE BUSINESSES IN ANY CAPACITY OTHER THAN THAT OF CUSTOMER. I OFFER THESE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED EITHER ON MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE PRODUCTS OR MY HAVING RESEARCHED THEM EXHAUSTIVELY.

### Chapter 4

### Sanitation

### Seriously? Why is sanitation the next topic? Because, unless zombies are kicking down your door or some intensely nasty natural disaster is piling on, the most likely way you'll die in a post-SHTF world is from infection or disease (Typhus, Cholera, Dysentery and Typhoid fever to name but a few). So now that I've cleared that up...

### You've restored power to your home but the problems keep on coming. Now there's no water flowing from the taps. Even though you filled up every conceivable container before your water supply failed, you cannot afford to waste potential drinking water by using it to flush toilets. You may have a bit of trouble getting this idea though to your wife and children, especially if you have a teenaged daughter, but you really must do so.

### This is doubly the case if it looks to you like power and water services may not be restored for several days, or weeks, or ever.

### "So where do we go if we can't use the toilet?"

### My wife and I have a sort of port-a-potty we got during her last hospital visit. It's basically a "chair" with a toilet seat that has a plastic lined bucket suspended under it. It works fine.

### If you don't have one of those, I suggest a five-gallon bucket with a trash bag lining its interior and a toilet seat on top. Throw the TP in with it when you're done. If you have powdered chlorinated lime, wood stove or fireplace ashes, sawdust, kitty litter, or even some dirt, sprinkle some on top of the waste before you close up the bag to control the odor. Now is when bleach, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, and waterless hand cleaners can be a lifesaver. Here's a link to an excellent sawdust toilet for indoor use.

### <http://www.appropedia.org/How_to_make_and_use_a_sawdust_toilet>

### If all you have to do is number one, use a specific area out in your back yard, hopefully down hill from your pool. That area will soon start to smell, but a good rain will deodorize it. If the odor gets too intense cover it with dirt or ashes.

### Alternatively, you can save urine in a jar, jug or bucket (with a top to seal in odor) and then pour it around your fruit trees. It's both fertilizer and an animal repellant.

### If the emergency goes on for more than a week you may consider digging both a privy hole and a burning pit. You will use the burning pit for burning any trash you can't recycle into something useful, as well as for the truly disgusting, yet necessary, job of burning your human waste. Nasty as this is, it's far more sanitary than letting it pile up, and remember, the garbage men won't be coming around.

### You might want to pick up a copy of:

### _"It's a Disaster...and What Are YOU Going To Do About It_ ," by Bill and Janet Liebsch (which can be downloaded as a PDF document)

### Or

### The Army's " _Field Manual 21-10 (Field Hygiene and Sanitation)_ "

### Or

### Download the PDF document " _Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment_ " by the Hesperian Foundation.

### All of them have great information, but " _Sanitation and Cleanliness_ ..." may be the most useful because it contains the best outhouse plans I've ever seen.

### Here are some links to emergency toilets:

### <http://beprepared.com/essential-gear/sanitation.html>

### <http://www.nitro-pak.com/emergency-prep/sanitation/toilet-s>

### Take a look and you will definitely get the idea. Hopefully you will never have to build an outhouse, but knowing how to do it right could be invaluable.

### There are other indoor options such as _Incinolets_ and Composting toilets but most of us in suburbia wouldn't be able to get permits to install such devices. Such a shame that good ideas can be quashed by bureaucratic idiocy.

### Toilet Paper: you can't have too much, but unless you own a warehouse it's bulky and takes up a large amount of storage space. The average person uses two rolls per week and, as a rule, women use more than men, so figure out how much you should store accordingly. If you switch over to one of the alternative methods discussed below, TP makes a great barter item.

### Eventually, no matter how much TP you have in stock, you will run out. Perhaps by that time you will have access to running water or at least plentiful water again and can use a garden hose to clean yourself off. Old paperback books, phone books, newspapers or any other relatively soft, absorbent paper can be substituted, but when the TP runs out it may be better to bite the bullet just start washing your rear end the way most of the rest of the world does—with your hand and lots of water. I'm only semi-joking here. There are other alternatives to TP.

### Mullein leaves are broad and soft. Seaweed works. In the long ago years (ancient Rome) people used damp sponges on sticks (from whence came the expression, "getting the shit end of the stick"). More recently folks used rags and had a 10% bleach solution in a container next to them in the outhouse. Women also used "pee rags" to stretch the supply of TP. A hot water bottle could work to hose off your rear.

### I've heard that a recycled dish soap bottle makes a good bidet/flush bottle, though the first few uses can be awkward. It sounds like a very good idea though. I'd try it before using my hand. Likewise, spray bottles, though they'd be difficult to maneuver in place.

### Hypothetically, the absolute best alternative to TP I've seen is the _Peri Rinse Bottle_. It looks a bit like the dish soap bottle, or a Suave shampoo bottle, but the pop up top has several small holes at the tip to deliver a light spray (use WARM water). Women use these, after childbirth, to clean the perineum and to irrigate other places that may be very tender after giving birth. They are, in essence, a hand-held bidet. Again, they look like it could take some getting used to. I am seriously going to get a few of these things. They are cheaper than TP and might even make a good barter item.

### <http://zanashop.sharepoint.com/Pages/PeriBottle.aspx>

### Anyhow, get your behind thoroughly clean and use a terry cloth hand towel to dry yourself off. If you've done a good job and the towel looks clean, simply hang it up to dry for reuse. If you see any "left overs" finish wiping yourself clean with the towel, then dip it into the 10% bleach solution you keep in a covered coffee can or other sealed container. Boiling these cloths with a bit of bleach and agitation should be sufficient to clean them. Hang the towel outside to dry in the strong UV sunlight.

### If I ever find myself in such dire circumstances (out of TP) I'd try a solar shower. The long hose with the nozzle tip would be much easier to manipulate in place. After looking at several models of peri-bottle I am wondering why no one ever thought to use a smaller version of the solar shower type hose and nozzle with one. Perhaps I should patent the idea. :)

### If you have water to flush with but are out of TP check out this _Biffy Bidet_ (the hand held model with the warmer looks like an outstanding idea).

### <http://www.biffy.com/?gclid=CNjw7vz-rLgCFYaDQgodERUAAw>

### In the Middle East and Asia many bathrooms do not stock TP. Instead they have a water tap with a hose (basically a hand held bidet) attached to it, and the toilet is a hole you squat over. These are also relatively common in Europe. World travelers often come to prefer bidet-style toilets over the American style.

### While all of the above options use some water the peri-bottle doesn't use very much.

### Update: I got a couple of peri bottles and tried them out. I can state that, at least for me, the peri-bottle doesn't work very well. I'd still have to use a rag and some bleach to finish up.

### Septic Systems

### Not many people in Suburbia are on septic systems, but just in case you are you need to know how best to maintain them. All of us who use septic systems know not to put meat, or grease, or dairy products like butter down the drain. The stuff will build up along the perimeter of the pipes and eventually need to be cleaned out, which is a nasty task, best avoided.

### My wife and I solve this problem by letting our dog lick such items off our plates, pots and pans before we wash them. If you aren't blessed with a dog you can just wipe the remains off with a paper towel or, since you'll soon run out of paper towels, a re-useable rag.

### However you manage the job, don't put any animal products down your drain. In fact, don't flush anything that isn't easily biodegradable. Feminine hygiene products, cigarette butts, bleach, coffee grounds, cotton swabs, and even Kleenex can plug up your system. Flushing harsh chemicals, like many toilet cleaners, can kill the bacteria responsible for decomposition and lead to backed up, overflowing septic systems—a really bad thing that is expensive to fix.

### Even heavy rains can saturate the soil so your leach field can't drain, which again can lead to backed up, overflowing systems. There's not much you can do about heavy rains except minimize, or better yet entirely stop flushing until your soil dries out so your leach field can start operating again. (If your keep flushing you won't like the results).

### Many experts say if you have a septic system you shouldn't have a garbage disposal since overuse can lead to clogs. I'm on septic and I have a garbage disposal, but I also compost virtually all vegetable waste for use in my gardens so our disposal isn't used very often. Seven years and it hasn't been a problem so far.

### We are also fortunate in having an oversized septic system that easily handles all of our waste without needing a lot of maintenance. Once every few months I flush some _Roebic K-37, RIDX_ or some other bacterial maintainer down the toilet and that helps regenerate any bacteria I killed using bleach in the washing machine or toilet cleaner. Some folks flush spoiled buttermilk down the drain which adds the right bacteria to your system, but I try to avoid putting any meat, grease or dairy product down the drain. Here are a couple of links to septic system maintenance products designed to keep those little bacteria in your system healthy and happy.

###  http://www.rid-x.com/septic-tank-system-products.shtml?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=septic%20systems&utm_campaign=Septic&gclid=CjwKEAiAluG1BRDrvsqCtYWk81gSJACZ2BCeOG5WbSOWxrpUcGCt1UAUIdk8eEDRUxbPrHQ3ViE-KBoCg8Lw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

### <http://www.roebic.com/k37-septic-tank-treatment.shtml>

### If your system, after all your loving care, still clogs up and you can't call a plumber because, well, TSHTF and there are no plumbers available, you might be able to fix the system with something called _septic system shock_ —which is reputed to dissolve clogs and restore flow, but this is a last ditch effort. Here's a link.

### <http://www.septic-1.com/septic-care/>

### I found a terrific article on septic system care and maintenance on wikihow that's well worth reading.

### <http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-Septic-System>

### It's never a good idea to plant trees or shrubs near your septic system. Roots seek water and will find a way in, clogging your lines. Then, if you don't have a roto-rooter the only cure for the problem is to dig up the line, cut in to it, remove the roots and patch the line. Do this once or twice and you will kill the tree just to avoid the problem.

### One thing we who are on septic systems often don't think about is how to avoid compacting the soil over our leach fields. This means don't drive over it, park your RV on it, build a shed, concrete patio or above ground pool over it. If the leach field can't drain the system, it will back up into your house.

### Like any other tool, and you can think of a septic system as a waste disposal tool, if you take care of it, it will take care of you.

### Dishes, Pots and Pans

### The simplest answer to doing dishes in an emergency scenario where conserving water is your first priority is to use paper plates and disposable plastic utensils. (The environmentalists among you are having a cow right now. Too bad. Better to be environmentally irresponsible for a couple of weeks than to waste water that could save your life).

### If it's winter time and it snows where you live melt snow for dishwater. Likewise, if it's rainy and you can easily resupply the water used for dishes.

### In desert environments people have scrubbed their dishes, pots and pans with sand, wiped them off and said good enough for thousands of years.

### If you absolutely have to do dishes with water here is a way to do so without wasting much.

### First, scrape the debris off the dishes and pans OR let your dog lick them clean (our Weimaraner eagerly volunteers for this duty).

### Next, fill a one pint or smaller container with hot soapy water that you heated on a camp stove, your wood stove, on a grill in your fireplace, on your outdoor grill, in a solar shower, in your solar oven, or even over a candle.

### Place the container in a corner of your sink (unless, of course, your sink is still full of water you may need to drink) OR in a plastic tub.

### Use a wash cloth, or better still, a plastic scrubbie to wash each dish and pan. I am always amazed at the number of dishes I can do with so little hot soapy water--scrubbies hold lots of soapy solution.

### Dip each cleaned item in a separate tub (or on the other side of your double sink) that has a couple of inches (no more) of plain water in it. Then give each item a final rinse with a spray bottle. Some folks recommend a weak bleach or vinegar solution here. I don't think either is necessary unless someone in your family is ill or you suspect the dish rinse water of being contaminated with protozoa.

### You can also use the hot water in a solar shower for the rinse. At our mountain cabin (rustic, no running water) I often simply used the solar shower to rinse the dog drool off the dishes—no soap at all (am I imagining it or are all the women reading this cringing right now). It worked fine. Mechanical scrubbing action and hot water are all that's required, unless your dishes are greasy—and the dog can usually take care of that.

### Place each dish in a rack, cover with a towel and let air dry, or you can set the dish rack out in direct sunlight as the UV will sterilize the surfaces. A bug free solar food dehydrator would be perfect for this use as it would prevent insects from getting on your clean dishes.

### The left over water can then be used to wash dirty hands or to water plants.

### Baths and Showers

### Except for a sponge bath or even better, a spray bottle bath, forget baths. They use too much water.

### My wife once told me that the $15 I laid out for a _Solar Shower_ for our cabin was the best money I'd ever spent. She was right. Nothing beats a hot shower when you're filthy. Few things are better for morale than being able to get clean.

### The only drawback to the _Solar Shower_ is its limited water capacity so instruct your family to take "Navy" showers to conserve the water. Do so by getting wet, shutting off the water, soaping up, then turning the water back on and rinsing off. We could usually both get clean on a single, four-gallon, solar shower full.

### Unless you have extra tall bathroom walls it is easier to use a solar shower outside. The reason is that you need to hang the shower bag high enough above your head to get good flow through the nozzle. Alternatively, you can shower sitting down. Just don't try hanging the bag from the shower head in your bathroom--it's too heavy and could break your shower head off.

### My wife and I took hot outside showers in temperatures that were below freezing without getting too cold. We rigged a tarp as a shower stall to keep the wind off us.

### Get a Solar Shower. Just be sure you get one with a good solid handle that goes all the way across the top as this distributes the weight of the water (much more durable). Your family will love you for doing so if TSHTF. Nitro-Pak has a couple of very good ones, including an insulated model.

###  http://www.nitro-pak.com/emergency-prep/camping-supplies/showers/5-gallon-solar-shower

###  http://www.nitro-pak.com/emergency-prep/camping-supplies/showers/deluxe-4-gallon-sun-shower

### Eventually, you will run out of bath soap. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I remember my grandmother making hers from scratch with tallow she rendered from animal fat and lye. It was, in a word, harsh. God forbid any of it got in your eyes.

### There are several excellent books on soapmaking but the best book I've found is:

### _"Smart Soapmaking_ " by Anne L. Watson.

### I like it because it contains several recipes and has simple, easy to follow directions for beginners. She uses handheld electric blenders but if you have a hand crank model (remember mom's old egg-beaters?) you shouldn't have a problem. Here's a link to her book.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Soapmaking-Traditional-Luxurious-Handcrafted/dp/0938497421/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374259050&sr=1-2&keywords=soap+making+books

### Learning how to make your own soap could be a valuable skill when TSHTF because people who didn't have your foresight will always want soap. Here's a useful link for soapmakers.

###  http://www.booksforbetterliving.com/2013/03/bbl-diy-make-your-own-soap/

### Both Lehmans.com and Amazon.com have a variety of hand cranked kitchen tools that will be useful whenever electrical power fails.

### Feminine Hygiene

### Stock up on _tampons and pads_ and anything else your wife and daughter tell you they might need. Better yet, let them do the stocking up.

### I strongly suggest you check out the Ladies Section on the _American Prepper's Network Forum_. If you're a man you aren't allowed to post there but you are allowed to read what the women are posting and there is a ton of good information there.

### <http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewforum.php?f=92>

### In the thread titled _Tampon/Pad Self-Sufficiency_ many women recommend something called a _Mooncup_ , or _Menstrual Cup._ They are made of flexible silicon, inserted into the vagina where they collect the monthly flow. They are then removed, emptied, cleaned and reinserted.

### http://www.mooncup.co.uk

### Perhaps the most popular such cup is the _Diva Cup_ though there is a much cheaper model on the market now called the _Blossom Cup_ that is getting great reviews including claims that they are more comfortable and work better than the Diva Cup. Here are the links.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FAG6X0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FAG6X0&linkCode=as2&tag=bds2016-20&linkId=BF4EPAVXDWCNH6BJ

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V51Y2BG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00V51Y2BG&linkCode=as2&tag=bds2016-20&linkId=R7XQO4PSF3TZAPWY

### My wife is post-menopausal so we don't have to prep for this, but talk about a potentially great barter item. My wife says she wishes she'd known about these when she was pre-menopausal

### Other women recommend sea sponges or cups other than mooncups.

### <http://gladrags.com/category/33/Menstrual-Cups-%26-Sponges.html>

### Cleopatra was rumored to have used sea sponges, but sponges, like anything else of this nature that is to be reused must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Most women use a vinegar solution for this purpose.

### "On the rag" as the expression goes, allegedly comes from women using _homemade cloth sanitary pads_. Many women still do because they find tampons or sponges or cups uncomfortable and prefer soft cotton to disposable pads. Here's a link about making _Homemade pads_.

### <http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/sanitarypads.htm>

### Here is a great article written by a woman on the subject of prepping for feminine hygiene.

###  http://www.backdoorsurvival.com/how-to-prep-for-feminine-hygiene-needs/

### And here's a link to her 99 cent book on the topic.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RHAG258/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00RHAG258&linkCode=as2&tag=bds2016-20&linkId=CA7MRAA6GKWN3PY2

### If you're a woman you should be able to take it from here and you know FAR more about these subjects than I do. If you're a man who is planning on stocking up on these items for your wife and/or daughter, I'm sure you're smart enough to talk this over with them first. Women can have INTENSE preferences on this subject. Their bodies...their rules, enough said.

### Okay, not enough said, even though this is off-topic. It turns out tampons and disposable sanitary pads make good bandages for bleeding wounds. Just tape them on with duct tape. Since the first World War tampons have been used to plug bullet wounds until better medical care could be obtained. They also make great tinder for starting a fire and can be used to filter debris and muddy stuff from drinking water. They don't purify the water, just make it more palatable. Sort of a multi-tool. That manly enough for you?

### Laundry

### First, get some clothespins, then hang up a clothesline. Strong UV from direct sunlight will sterilize the surface of your laundry, which also smells fresher when hung in the open air. My mother hung clothes outside to dry even in winter. First they froze stiff, but then the action of sunshine and wind dried and de-iced them. You can also hang a clothesline indoors if you simply must. The point is, you don't have electrical power or propane to waste on a clothes dryer.

### A quick note about clothespins, get good ones with strong steel springs. The lightweight things you can find in Walmart or Amazon from China do not work well unless you put two or three times as many pins on the item as would otherwise be required. Even then they fall apart easily. The plastic ones break when it's cold out or after they've been beat up by our intense AZ sunshine. I've seen vintage clothespins, made of hardwood and with tough steel springs on Ebay, but nowhere else. The really old fashioned slotted type (mostly now made new in China) split too easily.

### You must assume you won't have running water, at least for long, if you live in a town or city. Where will the power come from to pump the water into those towers or reservoirs? And who will be there to flip the switch? Few suburban areas enjoy gravity fed water all the way from source to tap.

### Therefore, you will wear clothes much longer between cleanings than we do now. Water will have to be hauled from some remote location and hauling water is no fun. Ask any farm boy or girl. Laundry will be done in a wash tub, a bath tub, or even a five-gallon bucket. A well-cleaned and disinfected toilet plunger will likely be the agitator for your new "machine" and you will supply the agitation (and probably generate some of your own along the way). You will also want a separate tub and a separate plunger for the "rinse" cycle—especially if you are washing toilet wipe rags. A better plunger designed specifically for laundry is available from Lehman's and here's a link.

###  https://www.lehmans.com/p-4444-breathing-hand-washer.aspx?show=all

### Laundry detergent is much less necessary than we are led to believe. As old timers knew, it is the mechanical action of agitation and water sloshing that actually cleans the clothing. Soaps like _Fels Naptha_ are useful for removing stains. This doesn't mean you can't use your favorite detergent, just that you don't have to do so to get clean clothes. Whatever detergent or soap you use, make sure it works in cold water and, to be fair, some soap usage may reduce the required agitation time. However, using too much soap, as most of us do when doing laundry, means using much more water for rinsing. After all, you need to get the soap out.

### In the final analysis, the less detergent you use the better and you will eventually run out anyhow. There are several recipes for making your own laundry detergent, but virtually all of them depend upon supplies such as washing soda (not baking soda), borax and some actual soap like _Fels Naptha or Ivory_ \--supplies that will eventually fail. If you stockpile these basic ingredients, you can make your supply of detergent last for a very long time. Here is a link to how to make your own detergent. I only use ¼ cup on very dirty loads and as little as two tablespoons for normal loads.

### <http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm>

### Hint: If your clothes are wet and muddy, hang them on the line until they dry then beat the mud off of them before washing them. You will use much less water that way.

### Do you remember wash boards? You do? Whoa, you must be as old as I am. They are available at Lehman's Country Store.

### <https://www.lehmans.com/p-2641-lehmans-washboards.aspx>

### If you choose to get one they will require getting used to, as they can be hard on your knuckles. The ones with the spiral crimp (glass, tin or brass) sound better than the galvanized model with the traditional "V" crimp, as they should be easier on your clothes and hands. The glass model is touted as superior to the others since it won't corrode, but I'd wonder about breakage. Caution: using one of these things is hard work. My grandmother only used hers when she had to get stains out.

### And now (as Monty Python, used to say) for something completely different. I originally intended to place this next topic in the chapter on Security, but on second thought decided it belongs in the discussion of Sanitation.

### Disposal of Dead Bodies

### This is the topic everyone avoids in every "How to Survive" book I've ever read. Only Stephen King's "The Stand" dealt with it in detail and that was a work of fiction. (But oh what superb fiction). My own "Dying Time: Impact" also dealt with the subject.

### In any long term catastrophic calamity there will be hordes of dead bodies. This could be true even in your own neighborhood. If you leave them to rot, your neighborhood will soon smell like an abattoir. According to the World Health Organization, provided the people died of trauma or natural causes it is unlikely their bodies will foster the spread of diseases like cholera or typhus. But if they did die of a disease that illness will spread as insects, rodents, and even stray cats and dogs feed on them and come into contact with you. Flies, fleas, mice and rats are especially good vectors.

### So, how do you get rid of dead bodies? There is only one safe answer. Cremation; but that takes so much wood or other fuel it is unlikely you will be able to do it unless you have a large fire already burning out of control nearby—in which case you might have other priorities.

### That leaves burial. You'd better hope you have access to a backhoe and a large plot of land at least 200 feet from any water source and downwind of your area. If you can find a large amount of lye or wood ash, it will help keep the stench down and speed decomposition. Do not dig the pit so deep you encroach on the water table.

### Another alternative, horrible as it may sound, is simply removal. This is the least labor-intensive method, lacking the aforementioned backhoe. First, pick a large building with tight windows and doors in a deserted area--and as people flee cities in search of food and water there WILL be empty buildings and even blocks. Second, after you have thoroughly scavenged the place for anything useful, start transporting dead bodies to that building by any means at your disposal. Wear gloves and dust masks or bandanas when handling the corpses. A good dose of mentholated ointment on your upper lip will ease this difficult task. Third, when you've removed all the dead you can, seal the building's doors with chains and padlocks, and put up a sign warning others what is inside.

### If you suspect that outside help may arrive someday, those authorities will want to ID those bodies. So, if you have the time to spare and can stomach doing so, try to write down the names of all the victims you can find ID on.

### In any hot, dry climate, the bodies will mummify. In moister, cooler climates they probably won't but at least they will be out of sight and, if you've picked a building downwind and that seals well, odorless.

### As an aside, if any of the dead got that way at your hand—let's say some bad people attacked you and your neighbors, trying to steal your supplies—there are two considerations for dealing with their disposal. First, if you really do believe outside help is on the way, cremate your enemies to destroy as much forensic evidence as possible. In this way the authorities may never be able to link their deaths to you. Even better would be to dissolve their bodies in plastic tubs of hydrofluoric acid a la " _Breaking Bad_ " but unless you're a chemist that's probably out.

### Cannibalism

### And now a few words about cannibalism. If you would even entertain such a notion, I don't want to know you.

### Chapter 5

### Food Preparation and Appliances

### People can live for three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Yet food is often the first thing folks think about when preparing for emergencies, so stock up on items you and your family like to eat. Few things are more demoralizing after an emergency occurs than being forced to eat foods you don't enjoy or simply aren't used to consuming. In fact, a change of diet can upset your entire digestive system and lead to problems you really don't want to deal with in an emergency.

### Preparation

### Before we discuss the kinds of foods you will store, let's talk about food preparation. For the most part that means cooking, which, unless you're using a solar oven (good idea) will require you to make a fire (unless you've stocked up on _self-heating MRE's_ —also a good idea). Even if you've restored limited electrical power to your home you probably can't cook on an electric range without seriously depleting your batteries. Those things are power hogs. Much more likely you will be using a microwave (less power usage) or a propane or charcoal grill (outside only, for God's sake), or a wood stove, white gas or butane camp stove, your fireplace, or even a "camp" fire in your backyard.

### Since we've already mentioned the need for a stockpile of matches and fireplace lighters, let's move on to other useful fire-starters. Magnesium/flint and steel types work in all conditions. I prefer the _Gob Spark Armageddon Fire Steel_ to any of the others I've tried. It's waterproof, in that water doesn't harm it and it'll work after you dry it off. It's windproof, though you should always place your tinder in a sheltered area to keep it from being scattered by wind. Mine came with a palm scraper to use when striking the 5500 degree sparks and I use it, rather than the back of my hunting knife or the can opener blade of my Swiss Army knife because it's less likely to scatter my tinder.

### I also favor the _Gob Spark Armageddon_ over others because the handle design makes it easier to use and because it has no moving parts—as opposed to a _Blast Match_. Get at least one and use it a few times. You'll be shocked at how easy it is to start a fire this way. I've been using mine to light my propane grill. In a SHTF scenario I plan to use it just to conserve my supply of matches. I got mine from www.FireSteel.com.

### <http://firesteel.com/gobspark-armageddon-firesteel/>

### You can also use fire gels, fire sticks, road flares, magnifying glasses, steel wool and a 9 volt battery, and about a million other ways to start wood, coal or charcoal fires. I am excluding the use of fuel-type accelerants such as gasoline or even charcoal lighter fluid because you have better uses for them. Besides, if you start a charcoal fire with either of those it tends to flavor your food and who needs that?

### If you use a charcoal grill get a "chimney" type charcoal starter. Look for one that is made of stainless steel, holds a minimum of five quarts of coals, has holes on the sides of the canister to allow good air flow and has a "stay cool" handle. The _Weber Model 7416 Rapidfire Chimney Starter_ is widely recognized as one of the best and it's one of the cheapest. Win, win.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7416-Rapidfire-Chimney-Starter/dp/B000WEOQV8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374291836&sr=8-3&keywords=charcoal+chimney+stainless

### Tinder

### If you have to start a wood fire you need good tinder. The cheapest and one of the best I've ever used is dryer lint. Seriously. My other favorite is cotton balls with a bit of _Vaseline_ smushed into them. These will burn longer and hotter than dryer lint. Sparks from your Gob Spark will often light either up on your first try. The old standbys of dried grass, pine needles or wood shavings work well too, but you might have to work at it a bit harder. Fire was one of our very first tools--probably only rocks, broken branches and pointy sticks came before it. It remains one of the most essential, so give yourself plenty of different ways to start one.

### Cookware

### Cast iron cookware rules. It wipes clean, is indestructible, and once you get it properly cured and start using it you won't want to go back to anything else. Yes, it's heavy, and yes, if you're not careful you can break your glass top range with it (for reasons previously mentioned you won't be using that glass top electric range anyhow). But you only have to buy it once so long as you don't wash it with soap and let it rust, and it heats evenly. You'll either get some and fall in love with it or you won't. If you don't, eventually you'll be bartering for some cast iron cookware. Enough said.

### If your water is off, use up your paper plates to reduce water consumption. I should mention to those of you who are environmentalists that saving the planet at this point will come a distant second to saving yourself and your loved ones.

### Stoves, Ovens and Other Ways to Cook

### My wife and I are fortunate to have an excellent gas range and oven, which we can "easily" convert to propane. The oven part may be a bit tricky as it uses electric igniters only—so we will have to replace or re-plumb that valve and possibly go back to matches, my fire steel, or a long-nosed butane lighter, though our generator should provide enough power for the electric igniters.

### We also have several alternative ways to cook:

### A 6 burner propane grill that is a bit of an energy hog.

### A _Bayou Classic SP10 High-Pressure Outdoor Propane Cooker_ that we use for both water bath and pressure cooker canning, to avoid overheating our home.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000291GBQ/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002PY7ZZW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GYQ8SYNF42JZHEY2TWG

### Seven of those twenty-pound propane bottles—all recently refilled. And if I lived in the country instead of suburbia I'd have a 1,000-gallon propane tank at a minimum.

### A kettle-style charcoal grill and four, forty-pound bags of briquettes, plus the Weber chimney fire starter referenced above.

### An ancient _Coleman_ , white gas, two-burner, camp stove and a few cans of white gas.

### A more modern butane camp stove and four extra butane bottles.

### A wood burning fireplace, that, because of its small size, would be difficult to cook on.

### A couple of "Cooking Bags" that require no fire or electricity, just water and a heating tablet, to warm up canned food. These won't really cook anything, but they'll warm them up enough so you aren't eating cold food.

###  http://goodideasforlife.com/products/emergency-essentials/food-water/portable-cooking-bag

### If push comes to shove, I'll use my rock bar to carve out a fire pit in the backyard and cook over wood coals and open flame, though I'd probably end up burning dead cacti and trash and windblown debris, since there just aren't many trees around here. I guess we'd end up eventually scavenging wood from abandoned houses.

### I intend to buy, or build, a solar oven as it's sunny almost all the time here. If I decide to build rather than buy, I'll likely make the heavy duty model shown in the link below.

### <http://www.wikihow.com/Make-and-Use-a-Solar-Oven>

### Otherwise, I'll probably end up purchasing one of two commercially made Solar Ovens. Either a _Global Sun Oven_ (below -- the current front runner) or a _Sport Solar Oven Combo_ , which is large enough for two good sized pots. $199.95 from Emergency Essentials. This model is wider than the Global Sun Oven below but is only half as deep. It also only weighs 10 pounds, so where I live I'd have to anchor it down to keep it from blowing over. However, it is specifically designed to maintain moderate 210 to 260 degree cooking temperatures so it's kind of like a crockpot. With the reflectors temps can get up over 300 but they say that can damage the oven. It is made in America. Here's the link.

###  http://beprepared.com/sport-solar-oven-combo.html?gclid=CNXhm6aevbgCFQHZQgodE0YABw

### The _Global Sun Oven_ is also Made in America. It has a sterling reputation and comes recommended by _Kellene Bishop_ and others. It's $279 from the Solar Oven Company in the link below. It comes with a couple of baking pans, one or two pots, a dehydrating and preparedness kit, and a turkey roasting rack. It's deeper than the Sport Solar Oven above and weighs 21 pounds, so it should be more stable in the high winds where I live. It is designed to meet 70% of the needs of six to eight people in developing countries where they must rely solely on the sun. It is also designed to boil, steam, roast or bake foods at temperatures of 360 degrees.

### http://solaroven.co/solar-ovens/global-sun-oven.html?ab=0#/

### Solar Oven Update

### Surprise, surprise, I ended up getting an _All American Sun Oven_ , instead of any of the above, though it is virtually identical to the Global Sun Oven—so much so I wonder if one of the companies bought the other one out. It's made in America and I love it. I got it at a special discounted price via a bulk buy through the Las Vegas Preppers Meetup group for a hair over $200. It came with 2 graniteware pots, 2 graniteware pans, a self-leveling rack, 3 dehydrator racks and a couple of cookie sheets.

### I'm still learning to cook on it but have had no problems so far, though my first loaves of bread came out lop-sided because I failed to level the oven correctly. I've made soups, casseroles, baked pork chops, roasted chicken and brownies with excellent results. I've baked blueberry/zucchini bread, one of my favorites, it came out great. Using this oven sort of like using a non-electric crockpot. Just load it up, point it at where the sun will be at mid-day and when you get home from work dinner is ready. Foods that need to cook at higher temperatures (350-400 degrees) will require aiming the oven at the "moving" sun every hour, but that's it. The same goes if you want your food cooked "faster."

### It seems to be impossible to overcook food in this oven. There's probably a scientifically valid explanation but I don't know what it is—just that food stays tender and moist. I was always drying out the pork chops when I fried or baked them on our gas stove. Baking them in the Sun Oven is now my preferred cooking method. Oh, I just baked a pork roast with sliced apples and apple juice in it and it came out fall-apart tender and delicious.

### But what if it's cloudy? What if it's winter with its short days? The makers of the _All American Sun Oven_ (as well as numerous reviewers) say that so long and you can see a shadow the oven will cook your food.

### At 22 pounds it remains stable even in the high winds around Kingman, Arizona. I could keep on raving about it but I need to stop now before I dislocate my elbow patting myself on the back for being smart enough to get one of these. Here's a link:

### <http://www.sunoven.com/all-american-sun-oven>

### Chapter 6

### Other Kitchen Necessities

### Pressure Canner

### If you plan to prepare and store your own food (and you should) there are a few items that qualify as "must haves."

### First is a good quality pressure canner. I use an _All American Model 921 Pressure Canner._ Not only is it arguably the best, but it's made right here in America. I liked that a lot. I also like that it does not have a gasket seal to wear out and that it is built to be handed down from generation to generation. I got mine on _Amazon_ for $199, but shop around.

###  http://www.amazon.com/All-American-921-2-Quart-Pressure/dp/B00004S88Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374295533&sr=8-1&keywords=all+american+pressure+canner

### You will also need proper canning tools, jars of various sizes and rings and lids to fit them. Many canners recommend _Tattler lids_ that can be reused for a lifetime. I got some because they are a great idea, but since I'm fairly new to canning I've elected to stick with traditional metal rings and lids so far. I prefer the wide mouth jars because it's easier to pour or ladle whatever I'm canning into them, so I use the wide mouth rings and lids more than the regular size.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Tattler-Reusable-Mouth-Canning-Rubber/dp/B0055PU5DC/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1374295835&sr=1-2&keywords=tattler+reusable+canning+jar+lids

### Whether you are a novice or expert canner " _Canning Granny_ " is one of the best blogs around for those who want to learn anything and everything about canning.

### http://canninggranny.blogspot.com

### I'm also a huge fan of _KatzCradul's_ and _BexarPrepper's_ videos on YouTube.

### <http://www.youtube.com/user/katzcradul>

### <http://www.youtube.com/user/BexarPrepper>

### There are probably hundreds of "How To" books on canning. The two I use most are the _Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving_ and the _Ball Compete Book of Home Preserving._

###  http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Blue-Book-Guide-Preserving/dp/0972753702/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1422821713&sr=8-4&keywords=ball+blue+book+of+canning+and+preserving

###  http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422821713&sr=8-2&keywords=ball+blue+book+of+canning+and+preserving

### Once food is properly canned it will last for years without refrigeration, though, as with all food storage, it should be kept as cool as possible and away from light and heat. Most book say canned goods will keep longest in temperatures of 50-70 degrees F—a really good argument for keeping them in a root cellar. (During our long, hot summers here there isn't anyplace in my house outside of my fridge cooler than 76—ever).

### Pressure Cooker

### Next up, and absolutely critical, is a seven-quart pressure cooker. Note, do not confuse these with a pressure canner. A pressure cooker cooks food much faster than standard cooking methods, while keeping it moist and tender. Because it cooks faster it saves you fuel, whether that "fuel" is electricity, gas, propane or wood. It also preserves more nutrients and locks flavor in. It takes the place of a rice steamer, or a crockpot and performs their functions better. We have a _Kuhn Rikon model 3344_ (Swiss made because I couldn't find a decent American made one). My wife says she prefers it to our microwave for heating casseroles, especially rice casseroles, and meats. I made the best, melt-in-your-mouth, pot roast dinner I've ever tasted in it (Sorry, Mom).

### <http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004R8ZF>

### Most folks who use them frequently say to avoid the cheap models. I agree, but if you must get a cheap one I know folks who like the _Fagor_ eight-quart model. I would avoid anything made by _Presto_ since I don't personally know anyone who has had one who would buy another. But then I don't know that many people, so take what I have to say about Presto with a grain of salt.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00023D9RG/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0000717AU&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=15D7W5QM0BYP971J65P7

### Vacuum Sealers

### The next item on your list of "needs" is a vacuum sealer. My _FoodSaver GameSaver_ model paid for itself within the first two years. We were always throwing out freezer burned meats until we got one and started using it. Now I vacuum seal everything. Blanched vegetables from our garden, filet mignon, hamburger, fish, chicken, dried goods like spaghetti (with the jar attachment) and boxed goods like Rice-a-Roni, flour, rice, and on and on. We even vacuum sealed our most important documents. (More on this later). Removing oxygen from food that is being stored makes it last much longer (as does keeping it away from heat and light).

###  http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-60416-FoodSaver-Jarden-GameSaver-Silver/dp/B00495RSGG/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1374298107&sr=1-2&keywords=gamesaver+deluxe

### I'm not going to go into all the other brands of vacuum sealers out there because my research convinced me the GameSaver was the best deal for the money. I got it because it has a reputation for being rugged enough for use in the field when hunting. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't gone hunting for years, but I can see a time coming when I will, of necessity, start shooting Bambi and his big brother Elkbi again. There are plenty of Thumpers running around on the homestead too.

### One thing I just started doing is vacuum sealing meals in jars. I know, sounds weird, huh? But you can do soups, stews, nuts, beans, rice, flour, candies, pasta—the list is almost infinite. Check out some of the meals you can vacuum seal on my Pinterest page—the _Dehydrated and Dried Foods and Mixes board_.

###  https://www.pinterest.com/raywhite961556/dehydrated-and-dried-foods-and-mixes/

### You will need bags or rolls of plastic from which you can make your own. I get mine from _Sorbent Systems_ because they seem to be more durable than the ones I got from FoodSaver and because they cost much less. Another win-win, which is good because vacuum sealing is addictive. I still also use the _FoodSaver rolls_ so I can custom make bags to fit longer items. I know some folks who vacuum seal ammunition and guns, but I haven't done any of that yet.

### http://www.sorbentsystems.com

### Grain Mills

### People have been grinding grain with stones to make flour to bake tortillas or bread for thousands of years. As I've alluded to repeatedly, no matter how much flour (or anything else) you store you will eventually run out of it. So, if you eat bread or bake anything you will need a grain mill. There is no doubt an electric mill is more convenient than a hand mill. But if the power goes off, and stays off long enough for you to run though your stores of flour, you will have to grind your own by hand. A hand-cranked grain mill beats a manos and metate any day. Stored wheat berries will last longer than stored flour. If you get a flaker attachment you can grind oat groats (which store longer than rolled oats) and dried beans. Wheat berries are also much cheaper than flour.

### The important point to take away here is **you can make your own flour**. Therefore, you can bake your own bread, and in a survival situation, bread is the staff of life.

### Most preppers recommend having both electric and hand-cranked models. I think that's a great idea, but if you can only afford one, get the hand-cranked model. My research into these items covered different types of materials for grinding burrs and plates, different handle types, hopper capacities, warranties, how adjustable the "grind" was from coarse to fine to powdery, and what kinds of grains or even beans and nuts could be ground. My conclusion was that, even though this is probably another one of those devices where you get what you pay for there is at least one adequate mill for under $100. Let's start with that one.

### The _Victorio VKP1012 Hand Crank Grain Mill_ is $59.95 plus $6 shipping from Emergency Essentials www.beprepared.com.

### <http://beprepared.com/victorio-hand-grain-mill.html>

### It features cone-shaped self-aligning, cast stainless steel burrs, grinds wheat, corn, rice, barley, oats, peppercorns, dry grains, spices and any other non-oily seed (no sunflower seeds). It is adjustable from coarse to fine, though to get truly fine flour for baking cakes and such you need to make more than one pass through the grinder. The hopper holds two cups of grain. The manufacturer claims it makes about one half cup of flour per minute (like sugar or corn meal consistency) and more than double that on the coarse setting.

### What they don't tell you is how fast you have to turn that little wheel to get that much flour in a minute. In practice, to make three cups of fine flour seems to take about thirty minutes and can leave your arm feeling "used." It is easier on your arm to run the wheat berries through on the coarse setting first, then do it again on the fine setting. A few people tried to compare it with electric flour mills but that isn't fair—of course the electric mills are easier and faster and probably grind a finer flour—unless you don't have electrical power.

### The most common complaints lodged against this inexpensive model were that the clamp needed to be retightened a few times during grinding and that small seeds tended to clog in the hopper. Retightening the clamp gives your arm a break from grinding and tapping on the side of the hopper is usually sufficient to clear a clog. Regardless, people who use this little mill tend to like it.

###  http://modernsurvivalonline.com/preparedness-equipment-victorio-vkp1012-hand-operated-grain-mill/

### The combination of low price and good reviews makes this a decent buy in my book. It's made in Taiwan and comes with a two-year warranty from the manufacturer. Not "made in America" is a huge reason I haven't already got one of these.

### Choosing the right grain mill is a very difficult topic for me since I have not yet bought one, know I need at least one, and am totally torn between laying out around a thousand dollars for one of the alleged Cadillacs of the grain mill world ( _GrainMaker or Diamont_ ), getting the very affordable Victorio above, or going somewhere in the middle ( _Country Living Grain Mill, or Wonder Junior Deluxe_ ).

### Right now I'm leaning heavily toward the _Wonder Junior Deluxe Hand Grain Mill_. It "only" costs about $220, can grind almost any seed or grain, corn or bean, dry or oily, including coffee and even peanuts into peanut butter. It gets fantastic reviews from several people whom I respect, notably _Kellene Bishop_ of www.PreparednessPro.com, _M.D Creekmore_ of www.TheSuvivalistBlog.net, _Lisa Bedford_ aka www.TheSurvivalMom.com. It's Made in India by craftsmen who have been making grain mills for more than 100 years. Not made in America, but still well made.

### http://www.thewondermill.com

### The _Country Living Grain Mill_ is highly regarded by all who use it. Aside from the grinding plates, which will eventually wear out, it is supposed to last for generations. It's a bit pricey at $429 plus shipping. Spare grinding plates, which most folks would never need, are available for $109 plus shipping. There's little doubt this is a top quality item. It grinds from cracked wheat to pastry flour in one pass. It has a flywheel type handle that make grinding easier on your arm, and the flywheel had a vee notch so the grinder can be hooked via a fan belt to a motor or bicycle. It won't grind corn or beans without purchasing and installing a separate augur so it's not as flexible as the Wonder Junior Deluxe, but customer testimonials are glowing.

### http://countrylivinggrainmills.com

### The _Diamont D525 Grain Mill_ is rock solid, with all cast iron construction. It weighs 55 pounds, but people who use it say it grinds easily because of the heavy fly wheel type handle. Mother Earth News raved about it as well they should since it costs $850 at a discounted price. It's manufactured in Denmark. Because it is made of cast iron it should outlast any mill made from aluminum (such as the Country Living or Wonder Junior), which is good since the Diamont comes with a lifetime warranty. I'd note here that those other mills should last a lifetime as well. The Diamont is easily motorized, has a large hopper. It has as options plates to either grind the finest flour or coarser plates for cracking livestock grain. All plates are adjustable for finer or coarser grinds. Like the Country Living Mill, it is not as flexible as the Wonder Junior, which can grind virtually any seed.

### http://in-tecdiamant.weebly.com

### The _GrainMaker Model 99_ is made in Montana and all of its parts are manufactured in America. it is built out of steel and stainless steel and comes with a lifetime heirloom guarantee on the entire mill **including the burrs**. This is the only mill I know of that offers such a complete warranty. It's a work of art that, with easily interchangeable augurs, will grind anything--just like the Wonder Junior. It costs $650. It grinds flour more fine than any other hand mill because it's burrs are machined and therefore are sharper than the cast burrs of the Country Living or Diamont Mills. It is easily motorized or run from a bicycle. To top it off, this machine is very easy to clean. Customer reviews are simply outstanding. The company has a reputation for excellent customer service to back up its best ever warranty. This is the one I want because I know it would be a once in a lifetime investment that I could pass on to the next generation. But it's going to be hard to justify this cost to my better half, especially when the whole home solar system and a well are higher priorities.

### <http://www.grainmaker.com/model-099/>

### Meat Grinders

### I believe every well-prepared kitchen should have a hand cranked meat grinder. Some folks will grind meat in a food processor but I think the cleanup would be excessive. We have an old _Hamilton Beach_ electric grinder that my wife inherited from her grandmother. The thing has to be at least sixty years old and it still works beautifully, but we're talking hand-cranked models here. Our hand-cranked model is a cheap old _CucinaPro_ , which is probably tin plated cast iron. Nevertheless, it works just fine for me, in spite of terrible reviews on Amazon. Whenever bone-in chuck roast goes on sale my wife and I hurry to stock up, then we trim some of the fat off and grind ten or fifteen pounds into hamburger. Delicious! When we grind that much meat my arm gets tired but it's worth it since the end product is so tasty. It is also very easy to clean.

###  http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-265-08-Healthy-Meat-Grinder/dp/B0000DE4LW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1374432693&sr=8-6&keywords=meat+grinder+hand

### Eventually, I would like to get a stainless steel model of better quality, like the one below from Mad Cow Cutlery.

###  http://www.madcowcutlery.com/store/pc/TSM-10-Stainless-Steel-Manual-Meat-Grinder-223p1623.htm

### Dehydrators

### Several of my friends think dehydrating many foods is an even better way to preserve them than canning because it's more economical and you can fit a large quantity of dehydrated food into a very small space. For instance, 15 pounds of carrots will fit into a single quart jar with room to spare. That same 15 pounds canned would take several quart jars and lids. A ten-pound bag of potatoes, diced and dehydrated, fits into one quart plus one pint jar. You can see where I'm going here. Lots more food, fewer jars, less cost, and less storage space.

### Almost any vegetable, fruit or meat can be dehydrated and you can mix several ingredients in a single container so you have a meal in a jar. Vegetable beef stew, Beef and tomato macaroni with cheese, plain mac and cheese, just about any other casserole you can think of, blueberry pancakes, the list goes on. Use your imagination. Again I recommend my Pinterest site and Dehydrated Foods board for those of you who may be interested.

### The main considerations in purchasing an electric food dehydrator are: heat and air flow distribution; ease of access to trays; versatility; quality of construction; design; and capacity. As always, cost is a factor.

### There are two fundamental designs. The Stackable Trays design is found on the less expensive models such as _Nesco/Amercan Harvest and L'equip_. The Shelf Tray design is used by _Excalibur_ and other manufacturers who make stainless steel models.

### Heat and airflow are probably the most important factors, especially if you intend to dehydrate meat, since you'll need a quality unit that can maintain a temperature between 145—155 degrees F to kill pathogens. You want an even flow of air, which assures even distribution of heat and the Shelf Tray design achieves this. Uneven heat and airflow is a common problem on inexpensive models built on the Stackable Tray design. That's why you don't want any of the cheapest models, since many don't even have fans. Good quality Stackable Tray dehydrators are designed so the heated air flows up or down a central column and out across each tray to the edges. You do not have to rotate the trays to get even drying with these models.

### Shelf Tray models allow easier access to all trays and are superior in this regard, period. Stackable models require you to lift and unstack them to gain access, which can be cumbersome and lead to spills.

### Shelf Tray dehydrators are more versatile. You can lift out a few trays to dry taller items than would fit into a Stackable model, like if you wanted to make yogurt in your own jars or dry cut flowers.

### I've never seen a Stackable Tray dehydrator made of stainless steel, whereas many of the Shelf Tray models are. To my mind, better materials equals better durability and thus better quality. Some folks worry about off-gassing from plastic models. I do not, because of the low temperatures at which they all work. Most dehydrators are made of food grade plastic. The more expensive are made of stainless steel.

### As far as capacity goes, more is better, because you will generally be dealing with large quantities of food as the same time. Here the advantage lies with Stackable Tray dehydrators, because they are easily expandable, just add more trays, while, because of the fixed dimensions of the box, Shelf Tray models are not.

### All quality models will have an adjustable thermostat, since not all foods dry at the same temperatures, and a timer. All the good ones will run quietly.

### My wife and I got lucky and found an old _Harvest Maid Model FD-5000 Electric Dehydrator_ for $40 at a garage sale. It was very clean, and gently used. It works well and is designed a bit like much pricier models with the fan at the rear of the machine to blow heated air across all the trays evenly. It's noisier than newer models but not annoying. Besides, we put it in the sunroom while it's running, so we don't hear it at all. They seem to be out of business now so getting parts will be dicey, which is the only thing wrong with this deal.

### I just made banana chips with it and thought it took much longer than I thought it would (more than 24 hours) I think that was because I cut the bananas too thick. Still, it did work and they are tasty. Eight pounds of bananas would have more than half filled a quart jar. I've since made more banana chips, apple chips and it worked great, not because I cut the chips thinner but because I turned the heat up on it to a higher setting.

### If I was buying a new electric model, I'd look hard at these brands: _Nesco/American Harvest_ (the _Gardenmaster_ model), _Excaliber_ , and _TSM_. Here is more about them.

### The advantages of the _Nesco American Harvest Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator_ are that it is widely available, relatively inexpensive ($124 and up), expandable in capacity up to 30 trays, and seems to be durable. Folks who use it like it. The disadvantage is it is of the Stackable Tray design and comes with the limitations discussed previously. Opinions vary on ease of cleaning. I don't know, but seriously doubt, it is made in America.

### <http://www.nesco.com/products/Dehydrators/Dehydrators/>

### _Excalibur_ food dehydrators are widely touted by those who own them as being the very best. They have a sterling reputation for performance and durability, come in several models (including a couple made of stainless steel). They are of the Shelf Tray design so heat and airflow distribution and ease of access are not problems. There are plenty of accessories available. They are reputedly easy to clean and very quiet. They come with all the bells and whistles and are quite versatile. Best of all, they are made in America. The sole disadvantage to Excalibur dehydrators is that they are expensive at $250 to $500.

###  http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/dehydrators/stainless-steel-dehydrators

### _TSM Stainless Steel Food Dehydrators_ are Shelf Tray models that appear to be of superior quality. They get rave reviews from owners, especially those who are avid cooks. They are made in America by _The Sausage Maker, Inc_. This 10-tray model looks like a once in a lifetime investment. They start at $429.

### <http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/samatde.html>

### <http://www.meatprocessingproducts.com/ststdemod10.html>

### Solar Food Dehydrators

### People worldwide have been using the sun to dry and preserve food since long before electricity was discovered. If you have a solar oven like those discussed previously you can use it to dehydrate food, though it has limited capacity and you'll have to see it doesn't get too hot.

### I like the idea of building my own so I went on the Internet and found about a million free, how-to plans. The problem is, how do you know which one will work best and have the features you need? After mulling it over, I bought a copy of " _The Solar Food Dryer_ " by Eben Fodor. I got mine on Amazon since I could combine it with another order and get free shipping. I highly recommend you get his book, as the knowledge I gained from it was invaluable. Plus, the book comes with the complete plans for building his _SunWorks Food Dryer_ , which is definitely on my to do list.

### <http://www.solarfooddryer.com/SFD_Book_Info.htm>

### If you are not a complete do-it-yourselfer, but have some skills, you can buy Eben's _SunWorks Food Dryer kit_ and simply assemble it. It costs $350, but is large enough to handle the needs of a household, is made from quality materials, has adjustable vents to control temp and air flow, loads and unloads easily, is a breeze to clean, is pest proof, and the food screens are made from nonstick, food grade material. Here's a link.

### <http://www.solarfooddryer.com/Kit_Info.htm>

### These are the only commercial products I found when I Googled Solar Food Dryers for sale.

###  http://www.sears.com/sunkeep-solar-food-dehydrator-sunkeep-trays-kit/p-SPM7938171411?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

###  http://www.amazon.com/Drynet-Hydroponic-Feet-without-Clips/dp/B004QY2QA8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_8

### Both appear to me to be too flimsy to mess with, but check them out for yourself. There are other "hanging" type dehydrators out there also. It's so windy where I live I think they'd end up behaving like windsocks, if they didn't simply disintegrate.

### Can Openers

### The last, but certainly not least, item every kitchen should have is a hand cranked can opener. After all, not all cans come with pop-tops and if the power is out your electric can opener is a great paperweight. That's not to mention opening cans with a knife is not only hard to do (unless you are well-practiced) but is also an invitation for a nasty cut.

### We have two or three different models but until we got an _Amco Swing-A-Way 6090 Easy Crank Can Opener_ my wife's favorite can opener was me. She has arthritis in her hands and wrists, which made using most hand models very hard.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Amco-Swing-A-Way-6090-Crank-Opener/dp/B001CD77VO/ref=sr_1_17?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1374960661&sr=1-17&keywords=best+can+opener

### I'm not saying it's the best can opener out there, but with the long crank handle to give a person better leverage it makes opening standard cans easy.

### As a backpacker, I would take a can of peaches along on long trips. (I can see the purists cringing at that extra weight.) I carried an old military model _P-38_ to open it, but those things were always a pain because the "handle" was too short to give you any leverage. Now I have the improved _P-51_ model, which is more robust and much easier to use.

###  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_4?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=p-51+gi+stainless+steel+can+opener&sprefix=P-51%2Cgarden%2C389

### I hope I never have to use it on a regular basis, but having a couple around is cheap peace of mind. Two of these have a home in each of my vehicle's Get Home Bags.

Chapter 7

### Food—Long Term

### Canned Goods

### Since we're talking about bugging in and weight is not an issue, canned goods are mostly cheap and very easy to store. They will also last almost indefinitely, in spite of "expiration dates" dreamed up by marketing execs to make you buy more. Perhaps of even greater importance, we are all familiar with canned goods. Besides, with your pressure canner you'll be canning your own produce from your garden, or fruit from your trees, or meat from your chickens. Food that will not require refrigeration and that you know does not contain harmful chemicals or GMO's.

### My family stocks up when our local stores have case lot sales. We have a large variety of canned veggies from beans of all sorts to whole kernel and creamed corn, peas, spinach, mixed vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, black olives and asparagus. We have cases of canned pears, peaches, and pineapple, as those are our favorites. We have canned sauces, meats like tuna, chicken, roast beef, spam, potted meat, hams, and corned beef, soups, chili and stews. It's probably heresy to say this but we _like_ canned goods.

### In a survival situation, one of the best things about canned foods is that they require little or no preparation other than opening the can and heating the contents. Remember, you can eat canned goods right out of the can with no heating. You may not enjoy your meal from the standpoint of palatability, but that comes in a distant second to survival. And hey, you have several alternative ways to start a fire so you'll be able to heat them up anyhow.

### We can foods we grow ourselves as well as buy at stores or farmer's markets including many vegetables, but we're also learning how to make apple pie filling, cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, pomegranate jelly, plum jelly, grape jelly and prickly pear jelly. I've made bread and butter pickles, sweet gherkins and spicy pinto beans. It's an evolving experience, the beauty of which is, your home canned products taste better than their store bought counterparts—unless you mess up the recipe like I did with my first batch of chili beans—but that's another story.

### We are learning to can meat, chicken, beef and pork for starters. As with all efforts at canning we use the _Ball Blue Book_ as our guide even though it's no longer blue.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375112532&sr=1-1&keywords=canning+books

### We have several other canning books and I also follow videos from YouTubers I trust like _Imstillworkin_ , _Katzcradul_ and _BexarPrepper._

### <http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPt5uAXcHkIlonoB5wN5exg>

### <http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFms2hJ8MvJBIegLmQNggKA>

### <http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSWgxRyQNYx7qDooweyjVtA>

### An added advantage to putting up your own food is that working together brings the whole family closer, developing stronger bonds and good memories that will last a lifetime.

### I haven't yet built or bought any of those fancy roll out type shelf units for cans or jars that make using your oldest products first so easy. I just stack the cases up on top of each other and shift them if I need something from the bottom. It's not a very efficient system but it gives me some exercise and it works.

### So, put that pressure canner to work and start stocking up on foods you've prepared yourself. One final hint or reminder is if you get one of those single-burner, turkey fryer propane grills like the Bayou Classic mentioned previously you can do your canning outside and avoid heating up your kitchen.

### Now, if it's windy you'll have to erect some sort of windscreen to shield the Bayou Classic so the flame stays under the pot. Otherwise you'll waste a lot of propane heating up your canner and keeping it hot. I use a couple of four-foot wide by eight-foot long pieces of plywood attached together with strap hinges. When opened up they form a nice vee I can set my outdoor canning operation up in—though I have had to prop cinder blocks against the sides at the opening to keep the winds from collapsing the whole thing. If it's that windy I usually just wait for a calmer day. The time I had to prop my contraption open happened when the wind came up after I'd already begun the canning process.

### What To Do With The Food In Your Refrigerator

### If you've lost power and can't get it back on the meat in your freezer will probably not stay frozen for more than three days. Anything in your refrigerator won't last that long. Start cooking and canning by any means at your disposal. Preserve what you can, while you can. Fish, chicken, and pork, except for bacon, will go bad first, so begin with them. Beef tends to last longer, maybe just because it tends to be in bigger chunks. Food lasts longer after it's cooked, and for a very long time after it's canned. And yes, you can preserve food by canning it on a propane grill. Many here in Arizona do exactly that to avoid heating up the house.

### If you have a solar food dehydrator start slicing your meat into thin strips, add some salt and pepper and make jerky. If you don't have one, roll your car out of the garage and into the sun, take a few window screens off your house and clean them off. Place the strips of meat on the screens and stick them inside your car with the windows raised. I can't guarantee it will get hot enough in your area to dry the meat and prevent spoilage but it does here in Arizona.

### Unless you know how to make cheese quickly there's not much you can do about dairy products like milk and sour cream but consume them before they spoil. With cheese you can dip it in hot wax and that will add significant unrefrigerated shelf life to it, but you need cheese wax for that. For God's sake don't try using paraffin wax. More on this topic below.

### There are a variety of dehydrated milk products as well as shelf stable milks that need no refrigeration, but we'll get to those later. Meanwhile, here are a few links to learning how to make your own cheese. Now, I understand that unless you're an urban goat farmer, the likelihood of you having the fresh dairy products available to make your own cheese is a bit remote but knowledge weighs nothing and the more of it you have the better.

###  http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/making-cheese-at-home-zmaz76mjztak.aspx

### <http://nourishedkitchen.com/farm-cheese-recipe/>

### <http://www.cheesemaking.com/HomeCheeseMakingbook.html>

### Butter will last for at least a week outside the fridge even if it's very hot where you live. I've read articles that say you can melt butter, pour it in a canning jar and put the top on and it will keep for months if kept in a cool, dry, dark place. Opinions differ about the wisdom of doing this but I come down along side those who do it.

###  http://www.preparednesspro.com/the-battle-of-bottled-butter-continues/

### Eggs can be taken from the fridge and coated with mineral oil or jojoba oil, placed small end down in their cartons, and left at room temperature for up to five months. Some preppers say this keeps them good for up to a year.

### <http://www.preparednesspro.com/safely-preserving-eggs/>

### Most eggs will keep at room temperature for a month according to Mother Earth News, which surprised the heck out me. My wife simply refuses to believe anything left outside the fridge for more than a few hours is safe. The evidence says otherwise but try telling her that—I dare you.

###  http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/fresh-eggs.aspx#axzz2ZkSPUUiq

### My way around this is to have chickens laying fresh eggs daily. And if you don't clean the "bloom" off the fresh eggs they will definitely keep for a couple of weeks and still be good to eat. If you suspect any have gone bad place them in water. The bad ones will float as they will contain hydrogen sulfide gas. Do NOT crack those eggs open inside your house. Take my word for it—the odor is horrible.

### Hard cheeses, like cheddar, Romano, parmesan, Swiss, gruyere or Colby can be coated with _cheese wax_ (and ONLY cheese wax) and will last for months. They will age and get "sharper" but they'll last. When we do this we wash the cheese first with vinegar to kill any germs lurking on the surface before we wax it, then pat it dry. We wear food handling gloves and we use black cheese wax since it lets in less light than red or yellow wax. We apply several thin coats of wax. I prefer dipping the cheese into the wax, once the wax is heated to about 200 degrees F (since almost all germs are dead at 180 degrees F). My wife uses an old basting brush instead of dipping.

###  http://preparednesspro.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/settling-the-cheese-wax-controversy/

### You can also dehydrate eggs but it takes a long time to do so, and since you're trying to get your food preserved quickly before it spoils, why bother. Here's a link if you're interested.

###  http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-powdered-eggs.htm

### If you don't have cheese wax, put the cheese in a ziplock bag and "vacuum" seal it by mostly closing the bag and then placing the opening to your lips and sucking the air out as you finish zipping the bag closed. Cheeses are made with active cultures and need to "breathe" but ziplock bags are air permeable so it's okay. In spite of what I just told you I vacuum seal cut up chunks of bulk cheeses with my vacuum sealer and then freeze them. They last for months and months.

### I'm not going to go into salting or smoking meat because unless you have bunches of salt in storage you won't have enough and because you probably don't want a column of smoke going up from your backyard advertising your position to one and all. If you are interested here's a link.

###  http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/lit_rev/cure_smoke_cure.html

### Now that you and your family have eaten or preserved the food in your fridge and freezer let's get into the types of foods you should stockpile for an emergency. I will start with the easiest to prepare and consume and move on from there.

### Gorp

### Gorp is a shelf-stable, high carb, high calorie food that can be kept in baggies, or jars. It can be vacuum sealed and frozen or left out at room temperature. Once mixed, Gorp requires no preparation, making it the practically perfect survival food. Its only drawback is that it doesn't last very long, especially around children, (or me) because it's totally yummy.

### "Okay, enough already," you say. What the heck is Gorp?

### Gorp is a mixture of chocolate, dried fruit and nuts. You mix it up yourself, using whatever types of those things you like most. It is the basis for all modern trail mixes.

### My basic "recipe" called for plain M&M's, raisins, and peanuts, with roughly half again as much of raisins and peanuts as M&M's. I would later add hulled sunflower seeds, cashews, pecans, almonds, macadamias, dried pineapple, apple and bananas. (I'm drooling just thinking about it.) I've since started substituting M&M Peanuts. I am soooo bad.

### Seriously though, this stuff got me through winter mountaineering expeditions where you lost weight if you ate 6000 calories per day.

### If you're Type II diabetic, leave out most of the chocolate by using M&M peanuts or some other less sweet item you like. If TSHTF you will be so busy trying to keep yourself and your family alive weight is going to melt off you like butter in a hot pan, which could ease your Type II Diabetes. I guess it's an "ill wind that blows no good" situation, huh. Though it is obviously better for everyone if you get in shape before TSHTF. That last bit of advice is a DAISNAID, Do As I Say Not As I Do, since I'm now in my 60's and struggling to lose weight.

### Self-heating Meals Ready to Eat (MRE's)

### MRE's are still being called Meals Rejected by Everyone by soldiers but, in my opinion, that is not because they taste bad. It's because soldiers, who love to gripe, and who are always coming up with clever alternative wordings for military acronyms and who often invent their own (FUBAR, SNAFU) get tired of eating the same food all the time. It's called appetite fatigue and, if you don't stock a variety of foods, it will happen to your family.

### Note: I always get the MRE's WITH the heaters (they are available without).

### "A" Packs (manufactured by _Ameriqual_ ) contain 12 meals (2 each of 6 different types). Each meal is a bit over 1050 calories—be sure to check, some civilian type MRE's have as few as 500 calories per meal. They are sold online at: _The Ready Store_ , and dozens of other places, or more cheaply at _Meyer's Custom Supply_ (both below). I've tried all six menus (literally labeled Menu # 1 through 6) and enjoyed all but Menu 1's Chicken with Black Beans and Rice (which I normally like, so maybe my taster was off that day). All of the side dishes were good.

###  http://www.thereadystore.com/mre/mre-full-meals/mre-self-heating-emergency-meal-case-of-12

### http://www.shop.meyerscustomsupply.com

### _"Sure Pak" MRE's_ (manufactured by _Sopakco_ ) have a wider variety of meals though again they come 12 to a case, like above. They contain roughly the same average daily calorie count (1058) as the A packs. I've tried the H, J, and L menus and like most of the entrees and the side dishes. _The Epicenter_ (below) has a deal where you can pick the entrees you want. Good pricing too.

### http://www.theepicenter.com

### _Bridgford Shelf-Stable Ready to Eat Pocket Sandwiches_ are presumably tasty, though I have not tried them. They average around 300 calories each. They look somewhat like hot pockets to my eye, which is why I haven't tried them.

### <http://www.bridgford.com/readytoeat/2-count-on-the-go-packs/>

### My advice is to get a few individual packets of these meals and see if you and your family find them palatable (most find them surprisingly good). Then order case lots and store them. The manufacturers claim shelf-lives of about 5 years, but I've read accounts of people eating them when they were 15-years old who said they were fine.

### Freeze-Dried Foods

### Back in the '70's I did quite a bit of backpacking in the Colorado mountains and elsewhere. I choked down C rations and Pemmican bars and peanut butter and jelly on crackers. I ate fresh caught trout and mountain strawberries and raspberries. But mostly, I gobbled Gorp (above). Then an outfit called Mountain House came up with something called Freeze-Dried food and all of a sudden I was eating Beef Stroganoff, Chili Mac, Beef Stew, even Neapolitan Ice Cream and loving it.

### There are now several manufacturers of Freeze-Dried Foods. Here are the ones I've tried: _Mountain House; Alpine Aire; Augason Farms; BackPacker's Pantry; Honeyville Farms; Saratoga Farms; Thrive from Shelf Reliance; and Wise Foods_. I've noted a few of my favorites as I wrote this.

### All of them have their strengths and weaknesses -- the chief weakness being they are expensive. _Mountain House, Alpine Aire and BackPacker's Pantry_ have lots of different entrees. They are, after all, primarily in the business of feeding campers, so they put together complete meals that tend to be good tasting and easy to prepare, requiring only hot water. All of these companies offer Number 10 cans as well as mylar pouches and _Alpine Aire's Gourmet Reserve_ meals apparently have a self-heating option.

### I am not alone in thinking _Mountain House Chili Mac_ is excellent, but so is their _Chicken a la King_ and their _Creamed Beef_. At least those are my favorites. _Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry_ from _BackPacker's Pantry_ is one of my all time favorites. _Alpine Aire's Hawaiian Style Teriyaki Chicken_ is very, very good.

### _Augason Farms, Honeyville Farms; Saratoga Farms and Thrive_ offer large selections of staples like grains, beans and rice but also dairy products, vegetables, fruits, meat substitutes (TVP) and meats. Because everything they sell comes in Number 10 cans or larger they are a bit more economical. They also sell entrees, several of which are really good. Perhaps the best thing about these companies is that you can use their ingredients to build your own meals and therefore are in better control of your portions. The only drawback to the Number 10 cans is that once they are opened the contents have a six-month to one-year shelf life. I take manufacturer shelf life recommendations with a huge grain of salt since they are determined by lawyers and marketing specialists, not by scientists or food experts—but that's just me.

### I know it's not an entree but I really like the _Augason Farms Cheesy Broccoli Soup_ , though I add extra cheese. Likewise, with _Saratoga Farms Bacon Potato Chowder_ , to which, you guessed it, I add cheese. _Thrive's Macaroon Cookies_ are delicious and most of their dairy products and fruits are really good. _Honeyville Farms_ gets my vote for best _Powdered Whole Eggs_ and for their _Freeze Dried Blueberry Yogurt._

### _Wise Foods_ sells long term food storage and supply kits to preppers. They put together entrees, many of which are good, package them in four person servings (so if there is only one or two of you, less can potentially go to waste than if it was in a Number 10 can), and pack them in stackable, grab and go, food grade, polyethylene buckets. Their meals have shelf lives ranging from 15 to 25 years. One of the things I like about Wise Foods is that, instead of simply selling you a package of freeze dried chicken to add to one of their meals, they give you a choice of teriyaki or southwestern or roasted chicken flavors. They do the same thing with beef. One of my favorite dishes is their _Creamy a la King & Rice_ to which I add some of their _Roasted Chicken_.

### Note: The only thing I have against all of these companies ( _except BackPacker's Pantry_ ) is that their **"individual" portions are too small** , with virtually all being less than 300 calories. So when you are shopping for Freeze Dried or Dehydrated Foods read the labels closely. Sometimes a "meal" is only a couple of hundred calories and sometimes "feeds two" means "if they are both anorexic." I can easily polish off a "two-person" meal by myself and go looking for more. According to the USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines an adult woman who wants to maintain her weight should consume between 1600 and 2000 calories per day, and adult man between 2000 and 3000, depending upon age and activity level. Now, don't quote me on this but I've heard that in Auschwitz the SS fed their prisoners 1100 calories per day while working them. Most of them starved to death. So, read the labels and do the math to see how many so-called servings you will need per meal to stay healthy.

### One further tip—if you live at altitudes above 3000 feet I'd double the time they say to leave the food rehydrating before I ate it. Better yet, add the water to it and let it soak for a couple of hours before heating it up.

### Dehydrated/Dried and Staple Foods

### I've already covered the companies I've dealt with who make these foods. If you lay in a decent and varied supply of them, you can make almost anything you can cook with fresh ingredients. You just have that extra step of re-hydrating the food to go through. The main advantage of these foods is that you already eat many of them. Do you use instant potatoes? Minute Rice? Do you eat pasta? Beans? Fruit leathers? Raisins? Oatmeal? Unless you grow your own herbs (good idea), most of your spices are dehydrated or at least dried.

### But there are other categories of dried foods many folks don't think about—grains, diary products, baking powders and sugar. Most preppers store wheat, rice, corn and oats at the minimum, then grind their own flour or cornmeal. Why? Because processed flour won't last long after TSHTF. It will get buggy, or moldy, or simply be used up, since everybody who isn't gluten intolerant loves bread. So think of storing wheat, rice, corn or oats as storing flour or corn meal long term. Now YOU can filter the bugs out of old flour and still use it. I can't because my wife gets the creeps just thinking about eating any bugs I'd miss.

### The best way to avoid the bug problem is to store flour in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. No oxygen, no bugs.

### Other people store rye, barley, millet and pretty much every other grain you can think of.

### I like pinto beans and navy beans. My wife loves limas. Stored in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers any seed or grain you want to eat can last for years. They'll last longer and be much more rodent and insect proof if you place the mylar bags inside food grade plastic five gallon buckets.

### We dehydrate potato cubes and slices, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, peas, beets, tomatoes, apples and strawberries, then vacuum seal them in canning jars. Bananas and pineapples will be impossible to obtain after TSHTF so in they go. We recently discovered it's possible to dehydrate oranges and grapefruits. Of course, grapes make raisins. I've even heard rumors of cantaloupe and watermelon being processed like this but I wasn't able to confirm them. Also, dehydrating wet fruits like oranges or pineapple takes forever and you have to rotate or flip them a couple of times to get uniform drying. If you slice pineapple into very thin rings they dry much faster.

### Many of my friends make so-called hamburger rocks as well as jerky. It's a great way to preserve meat without refrigeration though I've heard that it won't make good hamburger patties because it won't fully reconstitute. In other words, it's tough and chewy. The fix for this problem is to add breadcrumbs to your ground hamburger, chicken or turkey, before you dehydrate it. This allows more water or broth or sauce (whatever you're using) to penetrate the meat as it re-hydrates. Voila! Tender meat. Here is a link about this subject.

### <http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-meat.html>

### Even the hamburger rocks that didn't have breadcrumbs in them that I've eaten in spaghetti sauce and casseroles, where it had a long time to soak up the juices, tasted fine. In any event, just about any lean meat can be dehydrated—fish, chicken, lean ham, rabbit, venison, elk and turkey. Lean meats dehydrate best because fats can turn rancid and cause the drying meat to spoil. Many cook the meat first (especially chicken, turkey and lean hamburger), then dehydrate it or make jerky out of it. Here's a link to a chicken jerky recipe where they cooked it first.

###  http://www.nesco.com/recipes/?foods%5B%5D=1300&submit=recipe&uid=66

### Here's another for venison, where they didn't cook the meat first.

###  http://www.nesco.com/recipes/?foods%5B%5D=1100&foods%5B%5D=1300&submit=recipe&uid=64

### If you go online, you'll find hundreds of recipes for jerking or dehydrating meat. Before you dehydrate any meat you should read this how-to link from the University of Wisconsin.

###  http://www.foodsafety.wisc.edu/assets/pdf_Files/Making_Safe%20Jerky_in_a%20Home_Dehydrator3.pdf

### Dairy products such as dehydrated cheese, butter and milk are available from many of the same companies that make freeze dried foods. I'm not crazy about any powdered milk, but then I didn't like skim milk when I first tried it, and now it's all I drink or use on cereal. Any milk that isn't skim tastes like cream to me. My point is, tastes change and adapt, and if it's the only milk you have you'll learn to like it.

### According to people who use powdered milk you can add the fat into it to improve the flavor by adding either a pat of unsalted butter to the water, blend that and the milk together and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Accomplish the same by adding a cup of evaporated milk per gallon of dehydrated milk. Another way to improve the flavor is to add a few drops of vanilla to it—again let it sit in the fridge overnight then shake it up to get some air into it.

### In a taste test of powdered milk brands done by _Adventures in Self Reliance_ _Blog_ the _Morning Moos_ brand (donated by _Augason Farms_ ) was the clear winner scoring 4 out of 5 possible taste points, but it has added whey, creamer, coconut oil and sugar. The milk (and this is just milk) from _Provident Pantry (Emergency Essentials)_ came in second with a score of 3.5. Third was _Country Fresh Farms_ (Walmart) which scored 3.29. Then there was _Country Cream_ from _Grandma's Country Foods_ that people either loved or hated. It got a few 1's but the most common score was 4 for an average of 2.77. If I was using it to cook with or bake, I'd use the ones that are real milk with no additives like _Provident Pantry_.

### It's also important to check the directions to see how much powder you must add to get a gallon of milk as it varies greatly and that impacts the cost per gallon. Morning Moos took 2 cups per gallon, Provident Pantry used 2 ⅔, Country Fresh a whopping 5 ⅓, and Country Cream took 3 cups.

### Another consideration is how hard is it to mix up? Morning Moos mixed easily in warm water. So did Provident Pantry and Country Cream. Country Fresh did not mix well and was referred to as a big pain.

### The instant butter is perfectly fine in baked goods. I haven't seen any that reconstitutes into actual butter—it's more like a sauce. If you can set it in the fridge it will set up a bit. The _Thrive Butter Powder_ (from _Shelf Reliance_ ) tastes great on toast, pancakes, or on veggies, but you cannot fry with it.

### <http://www.thrivelife.com/butter-powder-1.html>

### Several folks recommend _American Family Supply Butter Powder_ ( _Simply Living Smart_ ) and the _Provident Pantry Butter Powder_ ( _Emergency Essentials—_www.beprepared.com).

###  http://www.mcssl.com/store/simplylivingsmart/food-storage-essentials/butter-powder

### <http://beprepared.com/butter-powder-40-oz.html>

### I also like the Thrive Cheese Blend. Their shredded cheddar, however, is both expensive a tad sharp for my tastes, but then I have rather bland tastes.

### <http://www.thrivelife.com/cheese-blend-1.html>

### _Provident Pantry Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese_ (Emergency Essentials) gets raves from those who have tried it. I tasted some at a Survival Expo and could not tell the difference between it and regular melted cheddar. Very good!

###  http://beprepared.com/provident-pantry-freeze-dried-shredded-cheddar-cheese-39-oz.html

### Other Shelf Stable Foods

### Salt, sugar, syrup, honey, baking soda, baking powder, corn meal, corn starch, bouillon, brown sugar, powdered sugar, shortening, and every spice you use in cooking should be part of your preparation. I use Agave nectar as a sweetener. Others use Agave to make Tequila, but that too, is another story.

### You do _not_ want to run out of salt so, unless you live near a salt lick, or by the ocean or the Great Salt Lake where you can mine the stuff, store at least twice as much as you think you'll need. It's cheap, just takes up room. After TSHTF it should make a great trade item. You can vacuum seal it in jars or even just put it in a jar with an oxygen absorber if you're worried about it drawing humidity during long term storage.

### Sugar is another commodity we take for granted, but how many of us know how to refine sugar from sugarcane or sugar beets? How many of us even have access to those crops? Not I, and probably not you. So stock up big time then store it like you do your salt.

### Honey will likely be the sweetener of choice in the years following a SHTF event so an intelligent person like you will want to learn the art of beekeeping. I am not getting into that subject here since I know nothing about it and my only firsthand knowledge of gathering wild honey involved helping my dad smoke/sedate a hive in a honey tree I found exploring the local woods. After the smoke settled them down, he broke open part of the dead tree and scooped out several large chunks of honeycomb he placed in a bucket before covering it with a cloth. I may get into this area of homesteading eventually, if for no other reason than honey would be an excellent trade item and bees are always welcome in the gardens. Google beekeeping if you're interested.

### Honey will last indefinitely and has antiseptic properties if applied to wounds.

### Lard will last longer than butter if your fridge goes off and stays off. At room temperature it should be okay for six months to a year. But unless you have refrigeration, it will eventually go bad. Here's the answer. _Thrive Shortening Powder_. It will last for years, unopened and up to a year after you open it.

### <http://www.thrivelife.com/shortening-powder.html>

### Augason Farms makes a shortening powder too.

###  http://www.augasonfarms.com/Bakery/Shortening-Powder-10-Can-UPC-00946-40020

### _Parmalat milk_ needs no refrigeration. It is shelf stable, because it's prepared at Ultra High Temperatures (UHT), and can usually be found at _Walmart_. Parmalat is an Italian company.

###  http://www.walmart.com/ip/11964626?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=19880599990&veh=sem

### _Gossner Foods_ also makes UHT milk in several fat contents and flavors. They even make shelf stable whipping cream. They appear to be less expensive than Parmalat and offer a longer shelf life on the package. Gossner Foods makes its products in the USA and can often be found at the _Dollar Tree_. YouTuber Katzcradul taste tested the whole milk version of this product to 15 months past the "best by" date and found it still tasted as good as when she first got it. I will definitely be grabbing some of this to try.

###  http://www.gossner.com/home/gossner/admin.php?do=ipage&pageid=3&mid=2

###  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-8HZq6_U8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUFms2hJ8MvJBIegLmQNggKA

### Another company that makes UHT milk is _Bordens_ and it can sometimes be found at _Big Lots_ or even on _Amazon_.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Borden-Shelf-Stable-White-32oz/dp/B002N4AUH4

### You can get canned butter, canned ghee (clarified butter that makes a good cooking oil) and canned cheese. The brand that gets consistently good reviews is _Red Feather from New Zealand_. Buy it on Amazon or from places like Internet Grocer since they have the best prices I've found, though it is pricey.

###  http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=canned+butter&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4643613597&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13996741311249321550&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_72eopibysp_e

### <http://www.internet-grocer.net/butter.html>

### <http://www.internet-grocer.net/cheese.html>

### _Internet Grocer_ also sells delicious canned meats that I can personally vouch for in terms of flavor and good customer service.

### <http://www.internet-grocer.net/realmeat.html>

### Another decent source for canned meats is _MRE Depot_. The _Yoder_ brand has a good reputation.

### <http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/StoreFront>

### You can always can your own butter, cheese and meat and even whole meals. There must be hundreds of YouTube videos on the subject.

### Warning: the USDA and FDA do NOT recommend canning your own dairy products so proceed at your own risk.

### One thing many people overlook is the need for a supply of good multivitamins as emergency rations can be thin of nutrients. We get ours in large containers from _Costco_ , though I'm pretty sure we get all the vitamins we need from our garden and milk.

### Homemade Survival Meals

### All of these meals can be prepared by simply adding two cups of very hot water and letting it sit for twenty minutes, or longer if you are at altitudes above 3,000 feet. They are nutritionally balanced. Each meal fits into a one quart ziplock bag, or they can be vacuum-sealed. All vegetables, dairy, fruit and meats are either freeze-dried, dried, or dehydrated. I've left out specific amounts of each because this is only to give you the idea and you'll have to experiment to see what you like in what proportion.

### Rice, broccoli, powdered cheese

### Ramen noodles, veggies, bouillon, chopped meat

### Ramen noodles, beef, onions, sour cream powder, mushrooms

### Ramen noodles, beef, instant onion soup, veggies, garlic powder, ginger, cilantro

### Ramen noodles, ham, peas, Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes

### Rice, veggies, bouillon, meat

### Rice, vanilla instant breakfast, powdered milk, cinnamon, cranberries, sugar (love it)

### Rice, curry powder, chicken, bouillon, onion, garlic, turmeric, cashews

### Beans (instant), beef, onion, tomato and tomato powder, chili powder

### Instant mashed potato, ham or bacon bits, sour cream powder, onion, parsley

### Instant oatmeal, cranberries, ground flax, chopped pecans, cinnamon

### Instant oatmeal and blueberries, strawberries or raisins (I eat this a lot)

### Instant farina wheat with the same added ingredients as the oatmeal above

### Granola, fruit, vanilla instant breakfast, powdered milk (add cold water ... no need to heat water)

### One more time I'd like to direct you to my Pinterest Board—Dehydrated and Dried Foods, which has lots of recipes that are probably more wholesome than those listed above. For example, Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry or Sausage Zuppa Toscana.

###  https://www.pinterest.com/raywhite961556/dehydrated-and-dried-foods-and-mixes/

Chapter 8

### Fresh Foods

### What do I do when I run out of stored foods?

### Hopefully, well before you exhaust your stored supplies you will have fresh foods coming in from growing your own in your house or your garden, from foraging, hunting, or fishing.

### Yeah, I know. Hunting opportunities will be severely limited if you live in Suburbia as the neighbors will undoubtedly take a dim view of you eating their cats and dogs. But there are other resources, even in the city. Squirrels, some rabbits, rats and larger birds such as pigeons can be sources of protein. Uh-huh, I said rats and pigeons. They may sound pretty disgusting now but when you are starving...

### Sprouts

### The easiest way to get excellent nutrition quickly is Sprouts. I love alfalfa, broccoli, cabbage, radish, and clover sprouts on salads and sandwiches. I enjoy sprouts from mung beans, peas, adzuki beans, lentils, wheat, fenugreek and triticale on salads and sandwiches, but I also put the beans and peas in stir-fry.

### The best part about sprouts is you can be eating them in as few as two to five days.

### Just get a clean jar, some cheesecloth and a canning ring. Place from ½ teaspoon to ¼ cup of seeds in the jar (amount varies with type of seed and size of jar) and cover them with water overnight. In the morning cover the jar opening with cheesecloth and secure it with the canning ring, then drain the water out, rinse the seeds with fresh water and drain again. Sit the jar somewhere out of direct sunlight—a dark area like a closet or under a counter is best. Rinse the sprouts twice a day. In very little time you'll have fresh, nutritious, vitamin and anti-oxidant packed food.

### When growing alfalfa sprouts I will set them in sunlight on my kitchen counter for a few hours to finish them off by greening them up—that's after they have grown long enough to eat. So far, my favorite seed mixes come from _Life Sprouts_ or _Sprout People_ , but I've started buying the seeds and mixing my own recipes.

### http://www.lifesprouts.com

### http://sproutpeople.org

### I'm expanding this topic later on in this book.

### Also, easy to grow, in a cool, dark place, are mushrooms. This is not something I've done since my wife refuses to eat mushrooms. But as a kid I used harvest morels from inside our huge lilac bushes. Mom would fry them in butter. I'm getting a craving just writing about it. If you're interested, here's a YouTube video.

### <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ystRW4rlqTk>

### Foraging

### Even in suburbia there are native edible plants--and note I said edible, not palatable. Dandelion, nettles and other "weeds" come to mind. If you live amid oak forests, you can leach acorns and grind them up to make a sort of flour (nut meal is probably a more appropriate term). In the southern parts of the country pecan and walnut trees can be found. Berries of all types can be had for the picking.

### There have been hundreds of books written on this subject. My favorites are:

### _Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting and Preparing Wild Edible Plants_ by Samuel Thayer

###  http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Garden-Identifying-Harvesting-Preparing/dp/0976626616/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427563073&sr=1-4&keywords=edible+wild+plants

### _Identifying & Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants (And Not So Wild Places)_ by Steve Brill and Evelyn Dean

###  http://www.amazon.com/Identifying-Harvesting-Edible-Medicinal-Plants-ebook/dp/B003TO584C/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427563073&sr=1-9&keywords=edible+wild+plants

### _Edible and Useful Plants of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico and Arizona_ by Delena Tull

###  http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Useful-Plants-Southwest-Arizona-ebook/dp/B00ESMT77S/ref=sr_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427563469&sr=1-18&keywords=edible+wild+plants

### _Sonoran Desert Food Plants: Edible Uses for the Desert's Wild Bounty_ by Charles W. Kane.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Sonoran-Desert-Food-Plants-Deserts/dp/0977133362/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427563594&sr=1-2&keywords=edible+wild+plants+%2B+Arizona

### While it is possible, if you know what you are doing and have developed the required skills ahead of time, to forage successfully for food, I don't put much stock in it being a long term survival strategy. First of all, if you haven't already done so, you need to learn what to look for, how to find it and how to prepare it. That boils down to a lot of time and energy spent that could otherwise have gone to gardening or raising livestock.

### And as for the desert, I understand mesquite seeds can be ground into flour and prickly pear fruits are quite tasty once you get past thorns and glochids (practically microscopic thorns that produce an irritant—as if getting stuck wasn't bad enough). The pads of prickly pear are edible as well. In fact, Nopal, means tuna in Spanish and both the fruits and pads are common in Mexican markets. And I know native people roasted yucca roots, but come on, trying to live off nature's bounty in a desert is a quick way for a novice to get dead.

### Developing foraging skills takes time and effort and will be of limited effectiveness in suburbia. This pretty much means you need to be able to grow your own food and that means gardening.

### Gardening

### I'm going to keep this section simple. There have been hundreds if not thousands of entire books written on this subject and none of them are worth a damn unless you go out and get your hands dirty. Nothing teaches gardening like doing it. In fact, the best gardening quote I ever heard was, "The best time to learn gardening was thirty years ago." That's because it takes time to learn how to garden successfully, to discover the best varieties of seeds for your particular microclimate and to develop and maintain your soil.

### Seeds

### Still, there are some basics. Hybrid crops do not breed true therefore you can't save seeds from them for future crops. Heirloom varieties do breed true. So do open pollinated (OP) types (which are basically heirlooms that aren't old enough to be classed as such). For the sake of brevity, I will use the term heirloom to include open pollinated varieties.

### All have their advantages. Hybrids are often resistant to diseases or insects that can decimate heirlooms. Hybrids can outperform heirlooms in terms of yield, especially in marginal weather. Hybrids will often store longer after harvest. Heirlooms often have superior flavor. Heirlooms are non-GMO, which I like since I don't want frog or microbial DNA in my corn. Heirlooms breed true and are the only plants to have if you plan on having a long term, sustainable garden.

### You need a seed bank. This isn't complicated. Mine consists of ziplock baggies full of seed packets and old pill bottles full of saved seeds. Baggies and pill bottles are stored in the bottom drawer of my fridge. Some advocate keeping them in the freezer but the fridge has worked well for me for the past seven years. The baggies and bottles are labeled with the specific variety of seeds inside as well as the date they were saved or purchased.

### I'd strongly suggest you have both hybrid and heirloom or open pollinated seeds in your survival seed bank. Why? Because if you aren't an experienced gardener with intimate knowledge of your local growing conditions you may _need_ hybrid vigor to get your first crop in.

### Don't get me wrong. I am a strong believer in, and practitioner of, growing heirloom vegetables and saving seed for your next crop. It's sustainable and cheap, since you don't have to buy seed every year or depend upon a seed store for your supply.

### The other advantage to heirlooms is you can shape them to your local environment. When I first wrote this section in February 2015, I had de Ciccio broccoli growing in one of my raised beds. Remember, this is NW Arizona at about 3,700 feet elevation. While we do occasionally get down into the teens our normal lows are in the high twenties during a bad winter. Anyhow, my broccoli was ready to harvest. Actually I'd already had a few harvests off of it since de Ciccio is one of those types that if you cut off it's central head it develops lots of side shoots. Now one of those plants, the largest and healthiest, was going to bloom. I let it go to seed, saved the seed and the next fall I planted that seed. I again let the largest and healthiest plant go to seed. Repeat ad infinitum. The result is that within a very few years I'll have a strain of de Ciccio broccoli that is specifically bred for my microclimate. I'm on my third year doing this now and I suspect I'll have a local variety tailored for my microclimate in another year or two.

### On the other hand I'm still looking for an heirloom carrot that will produce a good crop so each year I try a few different varieties. This year it's Scarlet Nantes, Touchon, and Muscade. All are growing but none are thriving. What is thriving is my old standby, that I plant every year. It's a hybrid called Short n Sweet. Eventually I will find an heirloom carrot as good and healthy as Short n Sweet but it is a process of trial and error.

### Update: for the past two years I've enjoyed a bumper crop of Scarlett Nantes. I still try others just to experiment but Scarlett Nantes are good producers of sweet, firm carrots and they have the advantage of lasting for months in the ground without getting woody. My experience has been they don't get woody until they send up seed stalks and flower. This past year (2015) I did an experiment where I planted several rows of these carrots in September. I harvested and replanted over the winter deliberately leaving one row untouched from the original planting date. It is now June of 2016 and I just harvested the last of the ones I didn't let go to seed and they were still crisp and tasty. That's the advantage of gardening here in AZ.

### Raised Beds Rule

### Raised beds work especially well in desert climates or in areas where there is nothing to plant in but rock (also common in desert environments). A lot of books say you only need four inches of soil in a raised bed but I disagree. My raised beds are ten to twelve inches deep, filled with well-amended soil so they stay moist longer once watered. Of course mulch helps keep soil moist also but I've found that dense plantings of leafy crops shades the soil so well it inhibits evaporation and helps control weeds. Still, I use weed free straw mulch whenever I can get it as it does a great job of controlling weeds and holding moisture in the soil. When added to my compost pile along with kitchen scraps and fallen leaves it decomposes into excellent compost.

### Warning, if you have gophers or moles or other burrowing critters you can keep them out of your raised beds by lining the sides of your frame and the bottom with two offset layers of 1" chicken wire.

### I built my raised bed frames out of landscape timbers, lined the inside with six mil plastic to prevent rot from damp soil, installed the chicken wire gopher/pack rat barrier on the bottom and sides and then filled it with heavily amended soil.

### To keep out rabbits I put up a three-foot tall chicken wire fence around each raised bed. Then to keep out the Gambrel Quail I built a hoop house out of ¾" Schedule 40 PVC and covered the whole garden with bird-netting. In the late fall when the temps threaten to drop below freezing I remove the netting and cover the hoops with six mil plastic.

### On February 10, 2015, when I first wrote this segment, I had four varieties of lettuce, two of kale, broccoli, carrots, turnips, beets, snap peas, onions, garlic and spinach growing in those hoop houses. The iceberg lettuce I planted last fall is supposed to be a head lettuce but only one plant formed a head. Following my homestead selective breeding plan, I'm letting that one go to seed and saving it for next year.

### By March 27, 2015, the de Ciccio broccoli had gone to seed and from the looks of it I should have about a bazillion seeds so I'll save some for re-planting this fall and use some as sprouts. All of the lettuce varieties I planted with the exception of Red Salad Bowl (an heirloom that often lasts until June) have bolted to seed. My Boule d'Or, Purple Top White Globe turnips and Detroit Dark Red beets have also been allowed to go to seed. Kale is still going strong, as are my carrots, snap peas, onions and garlic. On March 21, I planted a Mortgage Lifter tomato (I cheated and got this plant from a local nursery) and a few rows of Golden Improved Wax beans. I will plant Goldmine Wax beans in mid-April along with most other summer crops.

### To date Scarlett Nantes is the clear winner in the heirloom carrot category, being by far the most reliable and productive of all the heirlooms I've planted. I'll keep trying but this is the one I'll let go to seed this year. I may have gotten a bad package of seed for the Touchon carrots. The package said they were fresh but the germination rate was terrible. Same for the Muscade.

### Soil

### It doesn't matter how great your seeds are if your soil is bad. I've gardened in SE Kansas where you basically threw seeds out onto the deep black fertile ground, did a bit of weeding and insect control and harvest bounteous crops with little effort. No need for irrigation as it rained plenty. Most folks aren't that lucky.

### Gardening in Colorado was a real challenge, not because of the length of the growing season. That was fine. Heavy clay soils, however, suck. It took me three years of adding compost, sand and peat to my garden plot to get soil that was at all productive. After seven years the soil had changed from spade breaker (literally) to the ideal sandy loam all gardeners love. But man did it take work.

### Next we moved to Arizona where I discovered the joys of gardening in rock. You may think I'm joking but I'm not. The soft rock is called caliche (pronounced kuh-lee-chee and which I am convinced is a Native American word meaning "good luck planting stuff in this crap."). The hard rock requires a rock bar (also required for the softer caliche) or a jackhammer or possibly nuclear weapons. And you wonder why I switched to raised beds? The only things I "dig" holes for now are fruit trees, and my wife's shrubs and flowers, which she insists on planting in the ground.

### To make matters even better the soils are far too alkaline—pH of 7.7 to 8.5 isn't uncommon. Not even asparagus, which loves alkaline soils, can abide that. There is so little organic material in local soils it might as well not be there at all so far as gardening is concerned. The native plants somehow tolerate it and grow but I don't know how.

### I've learned over the years that gypsum will dissolve caliche, sulfur helps to acidify soils and that good, rich compost will, when mixed with your soil, support excellent plant growth while improving tilth.

### Building Good Soil

### Now this is one vitally important skill to learn if you plan on growing your own vegetables and fruits—especially if you intend to live in the arid SW.

### When I first built my raised bed gardens here in Kingman, AZ, seven years ago I took the easy way out with soil. That is to say I sifted the rocks bigger than ¼ inch out of the dust and debris I could scrape off the patch of caliche we call home and mixed it fifty-fifty with _Miracle grow soil_ I got on sale at _Home Depot_. Oh, I added compost I created from decayed vegetable scraps, crushed egg shells, dried leaves from our few trees and soil, but because I didn't water my compost pile enough it took two years to produce two wheelbarrows full of soil. Had I watered more regularly I might have been able to reduce the time period to a single year but that is still too little soil output in too long a time to do much good.

### What I'm saying here is that I made a pretty bad rookie mistake considering how long I'd been gardening and I ignored the most important element in building any garden—a solid foundation—good soil. Now, don't get me wrong. The natural "dirt" (think sandy dust) combined with the Miracle Grow soil and adequate water produced good crops for several years. So, if you needed to get a garden going quickly—like in a survival situation—using such a soil mix would work just fine. But for long-term sustainability there is no more viable plan than to learn how to build your own soil.

### Like I said, it took me a few years to realize I'd started out wrong. My first clue was in year four when I noticed that the twelve inches of soil I'd started out with in my raised beds was down to about six inches. Yep, turns out intensive, raised bed gardening consumes soil. All my years of in-ground gardening had not prepared me for this. I needed to replace the soil that had been used up, consumed as it were, by my vegetables.

### Shovel, shovel, sift, sift, mix, mix—again. And wah-lah, my raised beds were full of soil and productive again. But now I know this would be a recurring problem—that literally every three or four years I would have to replace at least half the soil in my raised beds. What would happen if TSHTF and I couldn't just run down to Home Depot for more? I'm telling you it was one of those slap yourself in the side of your head and say, "Well, duh," moments.

### The answer to building soil sustainably is composting—and I knew that, but I also knew I simply didn't generate enough vegetative material to produce the volume of soil I needed. And that's not to mention, though I am mentioning it, the amount of water required to keep a compost pile composting.

### I'm not even going to attempt talking about honey-pot composting to build soil except to say that, while it's worked for thousands of years in China, the very thought of composting human shit, of having e-coli in close proximity to my food, turns me completely off and as for my wife, forget about it.

### So, I asked some of my friends who garden here in Kingman and the most successful one had a "secret" he'd been shouting to the world for years. I'd heard him talk about it. I'd seen his operation, but dummy me thought I could make the methods that worked in wetter environments work here. Wrong.

### His secret is called Vermicomposting. It's also called Red Wiggler composting after the kind of worms used, and its simple. We all know that worm castings are the richest soil around, right? Well, his method involves keeping red worms in containers, feeding them aged horse and cow manure, coffee grounds, rotting vegetable material and harvesting their castings. The worms do all the work for him and leave him with the best soil amendment he he can possibly produce. He just adds the castings to the native "soil," again in about a fifty-fifty mix.

### The upshot is, I'm finally listening to him and am gearing up to start my own vermicomposting operation and the next time I need to add soil to my gardens I'll have plenty of nice, rich worm castings to mix with the native dust and rock before adding it into my raised beds. Bingo, sustainability achieved.

### As I said earlier in the chapter on Food and Gardening, my raised beds have been deep enough to allow small colonies of earthworms to live in them and that has helped maintain the richness of my soil, but as the soil is depleted it will be good to be able to replace it with a quality, organic product that I produce myself—well, me and my worms.

### I already use worm castings myself whenever I start a new raised bed, but I have a friend I can get them from—the same one who told me about vermicomposting. I've found that my gardens now have a plentiful supply of earthworms—something I would have thought impossible a few years ago. By covering the beds with hoop houses my earthworms survive the winters here in my raised beds.

### How to do Vermicomposting.

### If you've decided building good rich soil is a sound investment in your gardening future, congratulations. You are a smart and responsible provider. You only need four things to be able to do vermicomposting. Bins, Bedding, Vegetable waste and Worms.

### The first thing you need is a suitable container or worm bin. You can build your own but many people just use Rubbermaid containers (with lids) but if you do that you should drill holes in the top and sides at least to allow for aeration. The important things to consider here are depth, surface area and opacity.

### Depth is important in areas that freeze or in areas like mine that can get very hot. The worms can go deep to protect themselves. But you don't want a deep, narrow bin.

### Surface area is important for oxygenation or aeration. Your worms need to breathe so as a rule the more surface area your bin has the better. In fact, surface area is more important than depth because you can keep worm bins inside.

### Opacity is critical because worms don't like sunlight. I mean, they live underground and soil is not transparent, right? The only time's you'll see worms on the surface in daytime is during a hard rain, when they are trying not to drown, and when you are digging something up and accidentally expose them. Worms do come to the surface to deposit their castings but that happens at night.

### If you are interested in building your own bins here's a link.

 http://www.redwormcomposting.com/getting-started/#quick-start5

### Worm Bins

### The guy who runs the _red worm composting website_ advises folks to either set up a series of small bins or build one good-sized one (5'x3'x3') outside. The advantage to the large bin is it has so much area that if conditions in one part of the bin become unfavorable to the worms they can migrate to another part where it's more comfortable, or at least more survivable. I'm leaning toward the outside bin myself, not just because of the built-in buffering the size offers but because of space limitations in my house and garage. Also, that size bin should be more than adequate to handle the waste we generate.

### I'm probably going to make my bin four feet wide, three feet deep and eight feet long. I plan to use ¾" plywood for the sides and bottom, but may use a tarp for the top—I haven't decided for certain yet. I also plan to set it up under the one tall evergreen tree we have on the property to mitigate the heat or our summers. I will drill holes in the sides and bottom then line the interior with a permeable weed barrier to allow drainage and keep the worms from escaping.

### The other alternative I'm considering is building a _flow through vermicomposter_ based on plans I ordered from Joe Denial for only $17 American.

### <http://www.redwormcomposting.com/vermbin-series-plans-package/>

### Bedding

### The best bedding material for worms may well be shredded brown cardboard and/or newspapers. Worms also love rotted leaves or straw and peat moss. You'll have to add some moisture to keep the little buggers from drying out but not too much. Beginners should start with bedding that is about as moist as a wrung out sponge. While I will shred some cardboard, most of the bedding I'll use will be newspaper I feed through my cross cut shredder and peat moss I get from a garden supply place. I will add leaves from our fruit trees after I shred them using my outdoor blower/vac, but the trees aren't really large enough to produce many leaves. I'll probably hit up people I know in town for theirs this fall.

### One side note here is that it's best to dampen the bedding material before adding the worms.

### Worm Food (Waste Materials)

### Remember that old saw about you are what you eat? Well, the same is true of worms, but they can't digest all the same stuff we can. Any vegetable material you would throw in a compost pile is good worm food, if it's been shredded, blended or otherwise has started to rot. Even bread crumbs, pasta, rice and potatoes (all starchy stuff) can be added but only in small quantities until you see how it affects your livestock (worms). Composted or aged cow or horse manure, something in plentiful supply at ranches, farms, stables and horse race tracks is ideal and can usually be had free for the asking. Shredded newspaper and used paper towels (so long as they haven't been used to sop up grease—common sense, you know), more shredded cardboard, tea bags coffee grounds, and ground up eggshells (but not too many at once) all make great worm food.

### Never add human or pet waste, meat, dairy, grease, oils or anything that is not biodegradable or that contains harsh chemicals.

### The reason it's important to let your waste material age or compost or rot a bit before adding them to your worm bins is because worms eat microbes, not the actual waste itself. In this regard I suspect making a compost tea to dampen your bedding with would be ideal as it would add lots of yummy microbes for your worms to chow down on. Again, use some common sense here. You never want to add so much liquid your workers drown. Best practice dictates placing the bedding and some composted material into your bins and letting it meld a few weeks before adding your worms.

### Worms

### My friend says you can't use the regular old earthworms found in your garden to do composting. That's because they live in soil and need a lot of space. They are anecic worms who are loners.

### The best variety to use is Red Wigglers. They are epigeic worms who live in rich organic material, can stand warmer temperatures and don't mind crowding. All of these traits make them ideal for composting your waste materials, whether you do so inside or outside. Since I live in Arizona I doubt I'll ever have to do more than mulch my worm bin in the winter to keep my little buddies alive but if you live in a more frigid climate you might have keep an outside bin heated. The most I'd probably ever have to do is place some gallon milk jugs of water in the bin to absorb solar energy during the daytime and release it as heat at night.

### So how many worms should I add to my worm bins?

### If you start with a _Rubbermaid_ container it should measure about 1.5 by 2 feet at the top. That's 3 square feet for those of you who are math challenged. Most sources say to add one pound of worms per square foot of surface area but I agree with those who say you should only add one pound and let the worm population reach its own balance naturally. Like I mentioned above, red wigglers reproduce so fast it won't take long.

### So where the heck do you get red wigglers?

### Why, from a worm ranch. For most of us that means going online. Now don't get sticker shock. Red wigglers are expensive, running between $25 and $40 per pound, but the good news is that you'll be amazed at how fast a single pound of worms can explode into a large population. And just think of all the money you'll save on soil, plus the worms will do so much composting for you it should reduce the amount of trash you send to a landfill. Here are some links to Vermicomposting in general and to worm ranches.

### http://www.redwormcomposting.com

### <http://www.redwormcomposting.com/buy-composting-worms/>

### <http://www.redwormcomposting.com/getting-started/>

### Just remember there are different types of worms for different purposes. Earthworms feed on microbes in dirt and they are what you want in your garden. Red wrigglers feed on rotting plant material and they are what you would want in your compost pile. Hmm, improved soil AND fish bait.

### And speaking of fish...

### Aquaponics

### Aquaponics has to be one of the all time great ideas for homesteaders and preppers. Why? Because you can produce outstanding crops of vegetables while growing fish to eat, all in a relatively small space. In a nutshell, water from your fish tank is circulated through your growing beds where the plants latch onto the nutrients and purify the water for return to the fish. If you grow duckweed or certain algae as one of your crops you can feed your fish and chickens without having to purchase special food for them.

### As an added benefit for those of us in the desert, aquaponics requires less water to grow crops than regular gardening. It works best with leafy crops like lettuce, kale or spinach, or those that form fruits above ground—like tomatoes, squash, eggplant, cucumbers, melons or beans. Another advantage is, because of their relatively small size when compared to a garden, you grow much more food with much less work. That alone pretty much sells me on the benefits.

### The only disadvantage is people are still working out how to grow roots crops like potatoes, carrots and turnips with this system. It apparently _can_ be done but the old fashioned method of planting them in soil is more reliable for now. Also, as with any new (to you) system there will be a learning curve so allow yourself time to make a few mistakes and learn from them.

### Because these systems take so little space and can be sized for any family or even a single person they are ideal for the suburbs. The pumps are so small it doesn't take much of a solar system to keep it running, even if the power grid goes down. And if you have a spa or hot tub that no longer gets used you have the beginnings of a terrific system already. Here are some links for you to check out if you're interested and being savvy why wouldn't you be?

### http://www.backyardaquaponics.com

### <http://www.aquaponicsusa.com/Aquaponics_USA_index.html>

### http://ibcofaquaponics.com

http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com

### <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFM7J_TpTU>

### If you Google Aquaponics you'll be buried in information on this subject. Even my not-so-Prepper-friendly wife is intrigued by these systems and I'm hoping we'll have one before long.

### Suburban Livestock

### Chickens

### Most suburban governments have wised up and are now allowing people to keep hens (note that I said hens, not roosters). Check with your local zoning agency or, God forbid, your HOA, about this and _if_ they say no, you might be able to name your hens and call them pets. Or you could decide to ignore the officious busybodies and talk to your neighbors (especially the ones most likely to turn you in) and ask if they like fresh eggs. Remember, it's easier to get forgiveness than permission and a bribed neighbor can be a good neighbor. In any event raising chickens gives you fresh eggs, an occasional chicken dinner, free fertilizer to compost and lots of entertainment. Chickens are the comedians of the livestock world. They are also the most common entry-level livestock drug. You know, you raise chickens, you like it. Before you know it you've got ducks and rabbits and those tiny little Nubian milk goats and your neighbors are thinking you've gone Dr. Doolittle on them.

### Now, I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a certain yuck factor when butchering is involved. You've watched them grow up. They've entertained you. You like them. Your kids probably _did_ name them and treat them like pets. But eventually one will stop laying and if TSHTF pioneer economics (produce or else) will dictate that bird becomes dinner. Note: an older bird, and most egg laying hens will stop laying after about two years, is best for the stew pot and not as fried chicken. Their meat is stronger and tougher than the twenty-six week old birds you raised for meat. Though, now that I think about it cooking one in a pressure cooker could keep it more moist and tender.

### Lots of people who raise chickens do so primarily for the meat with eggs being a side benefit. The thing to remember is, especially in a long-term disaster where stores aren't open and food isn't being trucked in, these animals exist to provide your family with food so butcher away.

### Select the breeds you want to raise carefully. If you live up North where this thing called winter comes howling around once a year you want rose combed breeds and those with feathers right down to their feet (less likelihood of frostbite). If you live in a hot climate you want thinner breeds as they do better in heat. Here in my part of Arizona folks tend to raise Dominiques, Buff Orpingtons, Black Araucanas. These breeds are also known for their gentle disposition which is important if you are a beginner.

### There are innumerable how-to videos on YouTube about raising, caring for and butchering chickens and I'll post a few links for you. There are also a couple of great magazines— _Backyard Poultry_ and _Urban Farm_. They are well worth a subscription, as the articles will teach you how to do everything regarding your birds.

### http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com

###  http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-livestock/?navm=toplivestock

### Of course _Backwoods Home Magazine_ and _The Mother Earth News_ are worthwhile additions to your Prepper library as well and for a variety of reasons including suburban livestock.

### http://www.backwoodshome.com

### http://www.motherearthnews.com

### Here are more links about small livestock

###  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-backyard-chickens-in-your-city-the-basics-of-raising-chickens

###  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/raising-chickens-on-a-shoestring

### <http://www.communitychickens.com/automatic-chicken-feeder.html>

###  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB0Qmuke3bs&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

### <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTfgmeId7mM>

### Rabbits

### Rabbits are cute, cuddly and I don't know of any place that bans them. Lots of people have them as pets, but they are a terrific meat animal. They don't take a lot of work to care for them properly, are inexpensive to house, breed quickly and without being noisy, and don't smell. Their excrement (pellets) are good to compost for fertilizer. Their meat is tender and delicious and if you take care when butchering them their hides can be a source of income.

### There is only one site I'm going to offer for information about raising and caring for rabbits. It's called _The Hostile Hare_ and they really know their stuff. Seriously, in a space smaller than a queen-sized bed you can grow enough meat for your family and probably to trade. Combining rabbit production with an aquaponics system and a few chickens could save your family from starvation.

### http://www.hostilehare.com

### Think about it. It's been three weeks since the economy collapsed. Hyper-inflation or steep depression (who cares which) is raging. Grocery store shelves have been stripped bare and food deliveries by FEMA are not keeping up with demand. People are getting desperate. They have already hunted local game to near extinction. Gunfire is no longer confined to bad neighborhoods in inner cities.

### Power may still be on and water may still be flowing out of your taps, but for how long? What are you going to do? How will you keep your family fed? If you wait until TSHTF it's too late. You and yours will be among the victims.

### But you didn't wait until disaster struck. You prepared. You set up what Preppers call _Live Food Storage Systems_. Your family is raising rabbits and fish and growing a garden and even more veggies in your aquaponics system. You have fresh eggs every day, or almost every day, except in winter when many hens stop laying because of the short days, and an occasional hen for the pot. Now is when you wish you'd got a rooster since your hen population will not be sustainable. But in any event, between the food you stored when times were good and your current food production ability, you aren't worried about food.

### No, your main concern is how to keep others from taking what your have. But we'll talk about security (OPSEC) in the next chapter.

Chapter 9

### Security

### Mutual Assistance Groups (MAG's)

### I really should have written this section earlier and placed it more toward the beginning of the book because even really nice, good people can and will do nasty, mean, stupid things when their children are starving. In short, they will kill you and take what you have. But if you don't have any hunting or military experience, or if, like me, you were in a branch of the Navy that didn't require firearms training, what are you to do?

### There are some excellent courses taught by the NRA and if you are not familiar with firearms that is the best way to become acquainted with them. Their emphasis is on safety and yours should be, because a firearm handled in an unsafe manner is an accident waiting to happen.

### I was fortunate in this regard, having been raised in a family that hunted and fished and shot regularly and taught me all about firearm safety.

### But before we jump right in to firearms let's back up a minute, because the ability to shoot someone and the willingness to do so is NOT what security preparedness is all about. While it may become necessary to do so that is not your goal. In fact, your goal is to never have to fire a shot. Don't misunderstand me. You need to be able and prepared to kill should the situation warrant it, but your goal is to avoid those situations if at all possible.

### That means a discussion about security does not begin at home defense. It encompasses your entire neighborhood. If you wait until the bad guys are kicking down your door you will be left with no other option than a gunfight in a house with your family in it—and as I've said, that's something you want to avoid.

### Securing your neighborhood may be as simple as getting together with your neighbors, scheduling and mounting roving patrols, with fixed sentry posts at street entrances. Or, if society has disintegrated enough, it may involve barricading those streets and manning guard posts 24/7/365.

### What your neighbors get for this is access to some of your food and some of your power if they don't have any. Wheel their refrigerators into your garage and plug them into to your solar charged battery array for thirty minutes every four hours or so and it will keep their perishables from spoiling. Yeah, it's inconvenient for them to have to come to your house to get at some of their food but so what. Life is now tough and it's even tougher if you don't cooperate and form a mutual assistance group.

### So how do you choose the people you want in your Mutual Assistance Group (MAG)? For most suburbanites the pool of candidates will be limited to neighbors, possibly some friends from work and, if you're lucky, family you can trust (as opposed to family you don't want to know).

### But most of us don't know our neighbors. They are strangers to us. So, how do we begin?

### First, I tend to judge people by their looks.

### OMG! I can already see the finger-pointing and hear the labels of racist and other politically correct terms being aimed at my head. Calm down. Anyone who claims they don't judge others by their outward appearance is a liar or delusional. We have eyes for a reason and that reason is to make us aware of the situation we are in.

### Let's step outside your immediate neighborhood for a second to test ourselves.

### Is the man approaching you wearing a thousand-dollar suit, or is he layered in every stitch of clothing he has and pushing a shopping cart? Quick side note: the former might try to steal your wife and everything you own using deceit and a variety of other misused trapping of civilization, like law-suits. The latter might try to panhandle you. Which man would YOU trust more.

### Is the woman walking toward you tweaker thin with more tattoos than clothes, or is she a mom pushing a baby carriage? You might instinctively think the woman with the baby carriage is harmless but in Iraq, our soldiers quickly learned that the stroller might contain an IED (that's Improvised Explosive Device or bomb, for those of you who who've been in a cave the past fifteen years).

### Is the man closing on you wearing a sleeveless hoody? Are his arms covered with jail house tattoos? Is a person clean or dirty, smiling or scowling? Nodding in a friendly fashion or looking like he's sizing you up for his next meal?

### Get the idea? We _all_ form snap judgments based on appearance.

### Notice I didn't once mention skin color. I, for one, would cross the street to avoid encountering _any_ large group of young men, regardless of skin color. Some folks call that paying attention to your surroundings or situational awareness. I call it common sense.

### Second, I judge a man by his bearing. Does he walk erect or slumped? Is his head up, eyes alert? Or is his head down, eyes on the ground? Does he make eye contact or look away? Another side note: Back East in New York and other crowded cities making eye contact can invite trouble—"What are YOU looking at?"—so many folks deliberately avoid it. That's one reason many westerners think easterners are "shifty." That may not be fair but neither is life.

### If a person makes eye contact with you do they smile (and is the smile genuine) or do they nod, acknowledging your presence.

### When a man shakes your hand does he look you in the eye and grasp your hand with a firm grip? Are his hands callused and maybe lightly grimed from work? Or are they smooth as silk with manicured nails? Now, I'll be the first to admit that the meet the eye thing is over-rated. All con artists are taught to lie through their eyes as well as their mouths. Likewise, with the firm handshake. And I'm always a bit suspicious of men who overdo the handshake with a macho grip or who give you a limp fish. Now, again, that limp handshake thing is cultural. People from the Middle-East are taught to shake hands like that and it doesn't signify weakness in them.

### All of these things, appearance, body language, smell and attitude go into forming a first impression. And if you're building your group with strangers, or adding to it people you haven't had time to get to know, that first impression will be a powerful indication as to whether you can trust them or not.

### Now, let's head back to our neighborhood for the final test.

### How well kept is their property? Is it a weed-choked, trash strewn mess or are there neatly tended flower beds circling a bird bath? Does the house need paint or a new roof? These are often not just clues to a person's economic status. They can be clues to their character. Do they bustle around in the morning before heading off to work? Or do they sit in their garage all day with the door up popping tabs on beers and farthing?

### If they pass the first impression test, that's when you start feeling them out in conversations and/or inviting them over for block parties, cook-outs and other informal get-togethers.

### When my wife and I lived in Las Vegas, I joined a _Meet-Up_ group called _Las Vegas Preppers_ and went to meetings with them. Some of them gave classes on building solar generators or canning which I attended. If you don't know anyone in town, it's worth a try.

### Much of what I've read on the Internet or even in books on survival claims you should go all hermit, seal yourself off from everyone not in your immediate family and play turtle or ostrich—pick one. This ignores the obvious fact that your neighbors, your kid's friends and probably even your postman and meter reader already know about your preparations. So when the sh*t hits the fan and they have nothing and you have what they need where do you think they'll head?

### To circumvent what could be a truly serious, and possibly life-threatening event, you need to take the initiative and talk to them before TSHTF and come up with a plan to deal with the situation.

### Note: The first step is NOT to be that nut from down the street always ranting about the end of the world as we know it. It's to form a neighborhood watch program if your neighborhood doesn't already have one. If it does, cool, join. This allows you to meet your neighbors in a non-threatening way, get to know them, and feel them out slowly about preparedness.

### "Are you a gardener?"

### "Cool, so am I. How long have you been at it?" OR

### "I have some really great tomatoes coming along. Got anything you'd like to swap?" OR

### "Man, that last power outage lasted entirely too long for my tastes so I got a generator. Have you done anything like that?"

### You are, in a friendly, non-threatening way, trying to determine who has what skills and knowledge that can be useful when bad things happen. That old lady. Betty, down the street may be too frail to garden but she lived through the Great Depression so she knows how. Besides she knits. Earl, her husband led a rifle squad in WWII. He may be too old for active combat but he could teach tactics. Harry across the way was an electrician's mate in the Navy and still knows how to wire things properly. Gordon is a bit curmudgeonly but he's a retired doctor and his wife Anne was a trauma RN for thirty years. Ginny teaches elementary school and her husband, Tom, is a trucker with a vast knowledge of regional supply warehouses. Yolanda is a cook at a local Denny's so she knows a thing or two about preparing bulk meals if you have to form a community kitchen. Her son, Terrell, is young, healthy, athletic and hires himself out doing odd jobs to help his mom out.

### Who knew??? YOU didn't, until you took the time to get to know them.

### Or you can throw a block party. Print up some flyers and distribute them. When people are over at your place I guarantee you your aquaponics system, chickens and rabbits and possibly even your solar system will attract questions. This leads naturally to discussions and amusing anecdotes about your flock and opens the door to more serious talks. Go slowly. It's not polite to scare the neighbors with doomsday talk when you first meet them. Let them get to know you are a good, normal guy first. You can always scare the crap out of them later.

### When people see my setup they often ask me flat out if I'm a Prepper and the conversation goes something like this.

### "Sure," I say. "I have car insurance, health insurance, home insurance and life insurance. This is my emergency situation insurance. Besides, I enjoy gardening and interacting with the chickens and rabbits. The kids love them too." Well, I'd be saying that last part if my wife and I still had any kids at home. If you have kids, you know they'll love the animals.

### "So you think the world is coming to an end—civilization will crash "Not necessarily," I reply. "And I surely hope not. But do you carry a spare tire in your car? Do you have a fire extinguisher in your house?"

### "Yes."

### "So do you think you'll have a flat or your house will catch fire?"

### Usually they say something like, "Well, no," or "No, but having them makes sense."

### "Exactly. Being prepared makes sense—good, common sense. And for me it's also about doing my duty to keep my family safe."

### Now, in my case I also have a natural lead in. When people ask me what I do—and that question comes up at any gathering—I say, "I'm a writer. Currently I'm writing a non-fiction book on how to prepare for emergencies, but I've also written apocalyptic fiction novels and thrillers." Sometimes this leads to more questions and an interesting discussion and sometimes people make the sign of the cross with their fingers at me (like I was a vampire) and flee as soon as good manners will allow.

### Once you've met with folks a few times and they seem comfortable with your quirky "preparedness thing" it's time to start with the "what if" questions.

### "What if another hurricane takes out our power supply and messes up food and heating oil deliveries?"

### "What if the power goes out and it doesn't look like it's going to come back on in the foreseeable future?"

### "What if our economy collapses?"

### "What if there's a pandemic?"

### Pick a disaster, any disaster. Those discussions will inform you whom you want in your MAG.

### Another good, if slightly weird, way to get to know folks better AFTER you've gotten to know them first is to have them over for a game night and play " _Conflicted_." This is a card game that pre-supposes a SHTF scenario and offers questions based on a variety of possible settings you might find yourself and your family in. It isn't everyone's cup of tea and the questions are tough. But as Plato himself said.

### "You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

### I tried to get permission to reprint a couple of questions so you can see for yourself what "Conflicted" entails but I never heard back from them.

### So my recommendation is to go to their website and check it out for yourself. Here's the link.

### <https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=conflicted+card+game>

### The point to all this is you cannot go it alone and expect to survive, much less protect your family while doing so. There truly is strength in numbers so you will have to form a mutual assistance group (MAG) to have a chance. After all, gangs, who have already learned this lesson, will be quick to take advantage of any societal collapse and they already ARE organized. And as for the cops...

### Consider this. You are a cop, soldier, doctor or power plant technician. Do you abandon your family and go to work? Or do you stay home, or go home to them to protect them? All decent people believe in duty and honor, but to whom do you owe your first duty?

### I mean, it's all well and good for Richard Lovelace in his 1649 poem " _To Lucasta, Going to the Warres_ " to say " _I could not love thee, dear, so much, loved I not honor more_ ," but he wasn't facing an imminent threat to Lucasta.

### Nothing about surviving a SHTF event will be pleasant. You won't be able to get as clean as you like. You won't be able to eat as much as you like. You will be doing a lot of brutally hard work you don't like and you may well have to kill or be killed. Reality will suck and unless you form a good, strong group and a well thought out plan you and yours won't make it.

### After all, there is a reason isolated homesteads were favorite targets of Native Americans when the West was being "settled." And there's a reason lonely FOB's are attacked by the Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Alone means vulnerable and in bad times vulnerable means dead. I'm sorry if I'm pounding this point home but you can only be strong if you have formed a strong, united group that at least looks threatening enough to make the bad guys seek a softer target.

### A Layered Defense

### The Outer Awareness Layer

### The reason I'm starting out talking about a layered defense is because military tacticians agree that is the strongest defense. Actually some maintain the best defense is a good offense but by virtue of you having staked out a neighborhood as your own you are on defense whether you like it or not.

### So, imagine an onion with all its layers each one smaller than the last until you reach the core. That is what your defense will look like.

### The outermost layer we'll call the Outer Awareness Layer. Ideally this will extend for at least a half a mile in every direction from your neighborhood. Realistically, unless you have a series of small drones you can fly to observe the area, this layer is defined by how far away you can see or hear from an elevated position, say sandbagged emplacements up on the roofs of homes on the perimeter of your neighborhood. The type of terrain in your neighborhood will determine how many of these posts you will need to build and man.

### The idea here is to keep your eyes and ears open and be alert to any potential threat moving toward your neighborhood.

### As I mentioned earlier the ideal way to do this would be with small drones but there area a couple of problems with that. First, drones can be heard and followed back to you. If the power is out and if vehicles aren't running (as with an EMP) you will be surprised at how quiet your surroundings are and how far a machine noise will carry.

### Second, drones cut both ways so if you see one that doesn't belong to you inside your perimeter, shoot it down and get ready.

### Ideally you will be able to mount patrols outside your immediate neighborhood and possibly set up forward observation posts to detect incoming threats.

### Your forward observation posts outside your neighborhood and your observation posts up on the roofs should all be equipped with binoculars, night vision and parabolic microphones to spy and eavesdrop on anyone approaching as well as two-way radios to broadcast alerts if needed.

### You will need to work out communication procedures in advance between these observation posts and your patrols and your command center.

### I know, I know. This all sounds very regimented and military but this is how communities survive in hostile territory and if TSHTF you WILL be living in hostile territory.

### I mentioned you can also manage this outermost defense layer by active patrolling but that could depend upon how people living in those nearby areas react to armed men and women wandering down their streets. You don't want to be mistaken for looters.

### So again, if you can communicate with enough of them to assure the safety of your patrols then proceed. Otherwise stick to doing overwatch from high points.

### Neighborhood Perimeter

### The next layer in is your Neighborhood Perimeter. I'd define this as a line that begins across the street from any road, sidewalk, hiking trail, utility easement or any other access point and surrounds your entire neighborhood. On your side of the street I'd post lots of signs that say, "Private Property: Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again," or words to that effect.

### This is basic Psyops and you can feel free to vary the message. Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be buried alive. Or Survivors will be fed to the dogs.

### You might consider another sign that says, "If you can read this you are in my crosshairs. Leave now."

### The purpose of this layer is to dissuade anyone from entering your turf. It is also to observe and report on anyone approaching. Some of them, after all might be coming for peaceful purposes.

### It is important to design this layer so that barricades are set back say half a block inside your neighborhood so as to channel attackers into kill boxes. I know that sounds cold but if they are attacking you, you have no other option but to kill them. If anyone in your group has experience building IED's this is the place for them. Setting off a car bomb or improvised claymore, followed my massed firepower, could break their attack and send them reeling.

### Most enemies will take the path of least resistance and channel themselves into kill boxes for you. But anyone with smarts or military training, and trust me, eventually you will come up against someone like this, will simply scale or breach fences and flow into your area by avoiding choke points and barricades. They will also very likely attack you from two or more directions so your observation posts and sentries must by disciplined enough to hold their positions under fire and neither run away to hide or run to help the position under immediate attack. It's all too likely the first attack will be a feint to draw all your defenders to one area so the real attack meets minimal resistance.

### One thing for you to know about firefights is that "spray and pray" is a lot more common than aimed shots. The reason is simple self-preservation. Unless you are a sniper shooting from a hide, exposing yourself for long enough to take a carefully aimed shot means giving the enemy time to focus their fire on _you_. And while it's one thing to tell your friends and neighbors to try to take out any enemy they see giving orders (shoot the officers and sergeants first—good tactics) it's another thing entirely to brave enemy fire long enough to be successful at it.

### If you spend enough time at the range you can learn to aim and fire very quickly (snap shots) but, sadly, most people will never take the time to master their firearm that way. And getting other members of your group together for training can be difficult as well. I never said this would be easy, but if you go to the range together and then do paintball training exercises once in awhile you will be miles ahead of most of your enemies.

### The Fallback Perimeter

### Now, since you have all the goodies, solar system, live food storage systems and it's unlikely anyone else in your group has as many, your home should be fortified and the next layer—a Fallback Perimeter—should be established in a ring around your house that is at least 100 to 200 feet in diameter. Any home in this perimeter should also be fortified.

### Aside from fencing, earth berms or downed trees or even unusable cars can be used to barricade and fortify this area. At this point everyone in your group will have fallen back to battle stations within this perimeter. Any last ditch measures you have such as electrifying fences or pipe bombs should be used now.

### For the homes themselves here are a few tips to help them survive an attack.

### Nail, glue or screw 2x4's around the frames of your windows and attach heavy gauge 2x3" wire, or better yet "hardware cloth" wire mesh, to the wood. Use fence post staples or telephone wire staples like the cable guy uses. By placing the wire barrier outside your windows rocks or Molotov cocktails will bounce off instead of shattering your windowpanes. Also, if you slide a window open the wire openings make it easy to shoot at your enemies.

### Heavy gauge storm doors that can be dead-bolted from the inside and require a key to unlock from the outside are also a very good idea. To turn them into more effective, bullet resistant barricades line them with a couple of layers of ¾" plywood.

### You should have a fire brigade ready to put out fires and fight if needed. Your enemies likely will NOT use fire, at least at first, since they want your supplies intact.

### Home Wall Perimeter

### If your house is old and has no insulation in the exterior walls cut an opening up high and pour pea gravel in between the exterior wall studs. This won't stop all small arms fire but it's much better than nothing. Stack sandbags two or three layers deep along the insides of your exterior walls. That plus pea gravel inside your walls should stop most small arms rounds. This defensive layer is the exterior of your house and we'll call it the Home Wall Perimeter. It's the last layer and frankly if the marauders attacking you have made it this far you're in deep doo-doo.

### Again, one thing in your favor is they are unlikely to use fire against you to try to burn you out because they want your food, water and other supplies.

### There is another layer you could add. That would be a Safe room/Storm shelter room, but if you've had to retreat to this far you've lost your allies and pretty much everything else and if you don't have an escape hatch all your enemies will have to do is wait you out. In fact, even before retreating to defend your Home Wall Perimeter you might be better off bugging out and rendezvousing with the remnants of your allies at an Emergency Gathering Point you've pre-selected in case of such a dire circumstance. This is especially true if you've cached emergency supplies outside your neighborhood.

### Now, most of the above is based on your community being attacked by one or more well-armed, well-trained groups that are large enough to take you down. The good news is that it will take some time for such groups to get organized and make their way to your area. I'm not saying such a group _will_ come for you, just that they could.

### Far more likely will be isolated small family groups who try to beg or steal supplies from you.

### Now, I've gone rather far afield here with talk of layered defense military tactics and you should take what I say with a large grain of salt since I'm not an expert. I'm throwing out ideas here that you should research further, the main one being you NEED a group effort to survive.

### In a SHTF situation you will join up with your family first, and in fact, even if you haven't formed a mutual assistance group, it is probable one would grow up around you more or less organically as others in your neighborhood realize they need to band together to survive. Here's a link with more tips on how to fortify your home.

###  http://preparedcitizenwsg.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-fortify-your-home.html

### Alarms

### Let's just talk about you and your family for a few minutes here. The best home defense alarm you can have is a big dog. A deep, threatening bark or growl will send almost anyone who isn't flat out nuts on his way seeking an easier target. Any dog, except a quiet one, is better than none. Yappy little mutts won't deter an armed, or possibly just a starving invader, but they sure will alert you to danger and send a burglar who depends on stealth on his way.

### Cameras, professional alarm systems, motion detectors and perimeter lighting, tells prospective burglars to go for easier pickings. Organized marauders, on the other hand, upon seeing that kind of security are more likely to think, "Hey, they've got stuff we want." Since I've already covered the whole organized attack thing I won't repeat myself.

### What if you are surprised by armed home invaders? This is sort of a personal and limited SHTF scenario. Probably the best course of action—unless you are armed and ready BEFORE they come through your door—is to cooperate, no matter how demeaning and humiliating that may be. If you do so they might just let you and your family live and survival IS the name of the game. If you lose it and attack armed men with your bare hands they will kill you and then probably kill your family to avoid leaving witnesses.

### Now if you just happen to have a cocked and ready 12-gauge shotgun in your hands then blow them away. The "Castle Doctrine" should keep you from being prosecuted so long as you don't shoot any of them in the back as they flee.

### Other Considerations

### Unless a really big event happens and by that I mean an EMP, a large asteroid strike, or possibly a super-volcano blowing its top, it is unlikely that civilization will collapse overnight. It is much more likely to be a steady decline into chaos.

### That means in most cases food will continue to be delivered to local stores, water supplies will function, as will medical, police and fire services. The government may set up relocation centers and provide food, water and shelter on at least a temporary basis. In order to feed all the refugees at their camps the government may even exercise their authority under the National Defense Authorization Act and declare preppers and anyone else with more than a seven-day supply of food hoarders and seize their supplies for redistribution. While I personally think this provision of the act violates fourth amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, that belief and five bucks will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

### If troops are going through your neighborhood like locusts and you have a death wish, fire on them. Otherwise hide as much as you can before they get there and leave them the hell alone. You and your group cannot win against trained troops.

### The long and short of my point here is that in most cases you will still be able to purchase food, water, utilities and maybe even guns and ammo, at least for awhile, even though prices may rise quite rapidly.

### Take a pandemic or economic collapse as an example. Civilization will continue to function and may never fully collapse. Sure, chaos and armed looters may run rampant in inner cities, but for the most part if you need a doctor you'll probably be able to find one. Be happy. Your preps will help you and yours to survive in much better condition than most and eventually, unless I'm wrong and global warming kills us all before ISIS can get around to it, living conditions will improve. Society will normalize, though perhaps not at the level of largesse previously enjoyed by most of us in the U.S.

### Arms for Home Defense

### In my opinion the best home defense weapon is a short-barreled, 12 gauge, pump action shotgun, loaded with a combination of double ought shot and number 6 shot. Some folks would say an autoloader would be better but that snick-clack sound of a shotgun being racked is a powerful deterrent in its own right. Also, an automatic can jam—an occurrence exceedingly rare in pump action guns.

### The great thing about shotguns is you don't have to be a great shot to be effective. The spread will insure a hit at close range unless you are a complete trigger-jerking klutz. You, of course, are no such thing. You've been to the range and learned how to control your shotgun and you've fired enough rounds through it to have learned how not to flinch.

### Second best is a pistol loaded with hollow-point ammunition. I leave the caliber of the pistol up to you. It's whatever fits best in your hand and allows you to shoot most accurately. I prefer a .357 caliber revolver (never jams) backed up by a 9 or 10 mm semi-auto. But that is just my own opinion and preference.

### The important thing is the load. Jacketed Hollow-Point (JHP) ammo is the only thing you want to use in suburbia since you don't want your rounds going through your target and the house next door, only to kill some innocent a block away. That's called over penetration and in your neighborhood environment it's something you want to avoid.

### A rifle is probably the worst home defense weapon you can have. They are difficult to maneuver in close spaces and their full metal jacket (FMJ) loads can punch through your target and carry a long distance. Again, jacketed hollow-point rounds can mitigate this concern. Not only are they unlikely to exit your enemy and kill an innocent, but they have tremendous shock (impact) power and do an impressive amount of damage. And if your rifle is an AR-15 (what the idiotic media regularly calls an assault weapon) the .223 or 5.56 rounds aren't much on penetration; so if your enemy is wearing body armor you'll have to go for head or groin shots. (I'm undoubtedly going to catch a lot of flack for these last comments).

### While I maintain a rifle isn't the best weapon for home defense it is perfect for hunting large or small game out in the country, or for fending off attackers at some distance from your house.

### Reloading

### All the guns in the world won't do you a bit of good if you run out of ammunition. To that end it's a good idea to take up reloading and learn how to load your own ammo. This requires developing several skill sets—first and foremost being attention to detail. Remember that ammunition is designed to explode. An under charged round can jam in your gun barrel and if you don't notice that happened the next round can give you a very nasty surprise. An over charged round can damage your receiver assembly and could cost you an eye or worse.

### You will need to learn what type of gunpowder to use as well as how much, what kind of primers, how to clean up your brass cartridges for reuse, how to know if your brass cases need trimmed and several other things.

### Fortunately, for the technical details of powder and primer there is a book every reloader needs. The _Lyman 49_ th _Edition Reloading Handbook_ is often called the reloader's bible. Get it and use it. Do not rely on your memory. Here's a link.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-49th-Reloading-Handbook-9816049/dp/B001FBFW6U/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433623180&sr=1-6&keywords=reloading+manual

### When I first got started reloading my wife, bless her, got me a single stage _Le_ e press that I used for years for our pistol rounds. Now, I've upgraded to a _Dillon 550 B_ that my brother in law said is the best. Opinions vary of course but I really like it. With dies for each caliber and the Lyman book I reload several different rifle and pistol calibers.

###  http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23594/catid/1/RL_550B

### Some folks eventually learn how to cast their own bullets and make their own gunpowder. I'm not there yet but I can see the value in acquiring such skills, especially if the catastrophe goes on long enough for you to run out of ammo.

### My last backup gun is a blackpowder rifle. It's a beauty that is so well balanced when I throw it to my shoulder I'm almost always dead on target. I used to shoot it quite a bit at Mountain Man Rendezvous in Colorado, but haven't done much with it for years. It is kept clean and serviceable and I've stocked supplies (primers, black powder, patches and bullets among other things) so I can use it if all else fails.

### Of course, next to gun safety, the single most important skill you can develop is accuracy. If you are a beginner there are several courses offered by the NRA to teach you how to shoot. There are also Appleseed shoots you can attend. You'll learn things like proper sight alignment, breathing and trigger squeeze control. They will also teach you all about gun safety—things like never point a weapon at anything you aren't prepared to shoot, always assume every gun is loaded, keep you finger off the trigger until you are ready to squeeze it. After that, accuracy is all about practice.

### Being a boy who was raised around guns and hunting I always loved shooting. To me "gun control" really does mean hitting what you aim at. To that end it's good to get out to the range frequently.

### You will find a stable base to shoot your rifle from handy. Some ranges provide them but you can always use a sandbag or two. If your rifle has a bipod all the better.

### I was raised using iron sights but now that I'm an old fart they aren't much use to me except at pistol ranges of 10-25 yards. Now I use scopes or holographic red/green dot sights.

### One tool I haven't picked up yet is a good spotting scope. Often times you can't see where your bullet hit the target through your riflescope so a spotting scope saves you the hassle of having to walk downrange to see where you hit. You'll do that a lot when sighting in a new gun or a new scope and to do so you have to call out to everyone else on the firing line to hold fire while you take your walk. Do that often enough and you can irritate the folks you are shooting with. Better to get a spotting scope and use it.

### Update: I got a cheap ($80) _Barska 4x60 power spotting scope_ and I love it. I'm not sure how long it will last but the optics are good and clear.

### I've also taken to using so called _Reactive Targets_. That means when you shoot them they scream and bleed—NOT! What they actually do is reveal a different, contrasting color around the hole you just put in the target so it's much, much easier to spot where you hit.

### Knives & Machetes

### I think every human being should carry a knife. They are one of the most useful tools ever invented. As a child most boys had pocketknives. We carried them to school and I never even heard of someone using one to threaten anyone else. Knives weren't toys and we were taught to respect them.

### Nowadays, of course, carrying a sheath or pocketknife isn't considered normal and, in fact would get a kid at school expelled. Too bad. Also back East few folks openly carry knives. Out west I see a lot of folks carrying sheath knives. Here in rural Arizona a lot of folks carry guns too.

### Anyhow, a knife is an excellent close quarters self-defense weapon if you know how to use it. Again, the size of the blade and the knife depends upon what fits your hand. Since I'm no expert in this subject here's a link to the _U.S. Marine Corps Close Combat Manual, Chapter 3, Hand-Held Weapons_.

### <http://www.combatical.com/p/3-hand-held-weapons.html>

### I am not going to get into bow and arrow, crossbow, slingshots, baseball bats, crowbars, other clubs, staves, or mantraps and other booby traps. Google this stuff if it interests you. Such weapons have proven themselves in combat but require skill and dedication to learn to use effectively. The thing to remember is that anything can be a weapon so use your imagination.

### Okay, okay, one quick word about bows and arrows, crossbows and slingshots. If an emergency situation goes on long enough—let's say for years—pretty much everyone will run out of ammo and unless they have access to the chemicals required to manufacture smokeless gunpowder...well, you get the drift.

### I used to be proficient with a bow and a slingshot and one of these days (soon) I'll get a decent compound bow as well as a recurve, some arrows, a crossbow and bolts and extra strings and a good quality slingshot. They would be terrific for knocking over small game as they are mostly silent. But let's not forget that such weapons were used in warfare for a really long time and such times could come again.

### Then it's back to setting up targets and practicing to become accomplished.

### OPSEC & COMSEC

### You have to violate communications security (COMSEC) to form a mutual assistance group. No way around it. People are terrible at mind reading so if you don't talk to them about forming a group one won't be formed until after TSHTF and that's problematic at best.

### The best and only COMSEC rule is this. If the person or group you are in touch with doesn't need to know, keep your mouth shut. This is going to be extremely hard if you have teenagers who like to Tweet and use other social media to broadcast their entire lives to the world at large but you have to make them understand the life and death nature of preparing for really bad emergencies.

### This isn't some hurricane left you without power during an ice storm for three weeks. That's bad enough but everyone in those situations knows help from outside is coming eventually. This is more like a situation where society has deteriorated far enough armed gangs are looting neighborhoods and neither the cops nor the National Guard is around to stop them. If your teeny bopper blabbed to anyone about your preps it could result in you and your family being killed. However you do it, get it through their heads that secrets are meant to be kept.

### Operational Security, or OPSEC, is about keeping your enemies from discovering how you will operate after TSHTF. Who will be in command, set guard schedules, see that patrols are well supplied and what routes they take? Other items you don't want those who pose a threat to you to know include: what kinds of food your MAG has and in what amounts and where is it stored; how many members of your group have military training and where is the weakest link in your defense perimeter? Put yourself in the head of those who would harm you or steal from you. Any information that would help them achieve their goals is part of your OPSEC.

### Understanding operational security and teaching it to others is one of a leader's most valuable skills. Getting it through some people's hard heads without resorting to using a 2 x 4 is one of a leader's most trying tasks. There is no blueprint for how to do this successfully outside of a military organization—and in an emailed, highly connected internet world even they have problems with it.

### Summary

### There are only three options to be even remotely secure after TSHTF. The first is to run—or bug out to a pre-determined and supposedly safer locale. The second is to bug in and be able to demonstrate enough strength that predators choose easier targets, which is basically what this book is about. The only other security option you have is hiding, which isn't going to work for long in suburbia. It might work for a week or two but even if you are a master of camouflage this strategy will not keep you safe for long.

### Here's how hiding would possibly work. No lights or electric appliances used at any time. Nothing says loot this place like lights being on when no one else has them. Blackout curtains might work and are certainly better than nothing. Also, no power tools because the sound of them will SCREAM in a silent world. No cooking of fresh meats. Cooking odors will attract two-legged predators and then your cover is blown. You can probably get away with cooking dehydrated or freeze-dried meals since it only involves boiling water and they don't produce much smell. Finally, you have to make your house look like it does not have anything of value left in it. That means making it look like it's already been looted.

### Let's say you go whole hog on your camouflage. You break out some windows and kick in your front door (and leave it open). You scatter some personal belongings around your yard—an old computer with the hard drive removed, a bag of cat litter with a hole in it, trash that basically says anything of value has already been removed from this place. You start a fire and scorch the outside of the front of your house (being careful not to let that little bit of smoke and mirrors get out of hand). If your car is running you drain the tank, lift the hood and remove the battery to store in a less visible location—and leave the hood up. You put the car up on blocks, take off the tires and hide them out back. Pop the trunk and take out anything of value. Raise your garage door and leave it open. That way even your car looks like it's already been stripped.

### The end result is your place looks wrecked and most, if not all, looters will pass it by without a second glance.

### This will be intensely stressful. Not only are you deliberately wrecking your home and car but you're sleeping or standing watches with your front door wide open.

### Your personal sh*t will hit the fan when one looter more curious or more desperate than the others decides, what the hell, let's take a look through this dump and see if anybody missed anything. You will be discovered and overrun.

### So if you choose to hide, understand that it is a very short-term option. You will have to move and when you do you will be damned unlikely to find safe haven in the country. Those spots will have been taken by those who bugged out in the first few days. Your options will be limited to finding a strong mutual assistance group, probably still in town, which is willing to take you in.

### For that to happen you must possess goods and/or skills they need. Which brings us to the next chapter's topic: skills and bartering.

Chapter 10

### Skills and Bartering Alternative Economics

### All trade began with need. I need something and you have it. You need something and I have it. We swap, both needs are satisfied. Peace is preserved.

### Then we progressed to "I want something and you have it" and things got more complicated because sometimes you, you selfish jerk, didn't want to part with what I wanted. The nerve.

### Thank God we are now civilized enough we don't kill each other over such misunderstandings, or at least not very often. But in a SHTF situation one never knows, do one.

### **Trust is the first casualty when civil strife hits**. Trades will likely be conducted either at "neutral" locations or between well-armed parties. I'm not saying this to scare anyone but rather to point out that in the event of a misunderstanding things post-SHTF can go from friendly, to tense, to bullets, rather quickly.

### There will, of course, be those who come to trade, secretly thinking if they can't come to acceptable terms with you they can always take your stuff by force—thus the well-armed groups concept. Contrary to popular belief, lots of guns in a relatively small space can keep things polite and safe. (The old West was a lot more polite and peaceable than movies or western novels would have you believe).

### Bartering is itself a skill that takes practice but there are a few basics everyone who engages in barter should know.

### What Do You Have To Trade?

### First of all, you need to think long and carefully about the items and skills you have to barter.

### Skills

### Are you a good carpenter? Plumber? Electrician? Gardener? Hunter? Nurse? Midwife? Doctor? Veterinarian? Mechanic? Herbalist? Gunsmith? Beekeeper? Welder?

### Can you reload ammunition in a variety of calibers? Cast bullets? Manufacture gunpowder?

### Are you good at canning or dehydrating food? Can you sew?

### Are you physically fit for hard labor? Can you put in a well? Make soap or candles?

### Do you know how to tan leather?

### Can you make shoes or boots?

### Do you have military combat experience?

### Do you know how to butcher livestock or game?

### Can you teach others needed skills (archery, how to make gunpowder, how to make homemade insecticides, homemade moccasins, first aid and CPR...)

### Are you a musician or a good storyteller? Can you make jewelry? Suture a wound and keep it from getting infected while it heals.

### Can you cut hair? Grind grain into flour? Vacuum seal products others bring you? Spin wool into cloth?

### Are you a HAM radio operator who might be able to communicate with the outside for news of what's happening or with a customer's relatives?

### Do you have reliable transportation so you can move heavy items from point A to B for them?

### Do you live on a lake or river and have a boat you can use to ferry people across?

### Think carefully about what you have to offer and unless you know your trading partner well, do not be too open with what you have. Often times this is why a neutral site is best for trading—the other guy can't see all that you have at your homestead. Like I said. Trust is the first casualty.

### Goods

### Are your chickens laying excess eggs? Have extra meat rabbits? Do you have extra fish from your aquaponics system? Have a functioning well with good, potable water? Can you filter bad water to make it potable? (This last could be a service you could offer).

### Is your garden producing more vegetables than you can use or preserve?

### Do you have an excess of non-GMO heirloom seeds? Soap? Toothpaste? Vitamins? Construction materials?

### Do you have more firewood than you need? Extra gasoline, oil, butane, kerosene or propane?

### Can your solar, wind or mini-hydro electrical system be used to recharge other people's deep cycle or rechargeable batteries as well as your own?

### Do you have batteries you can spare? Buckets? Light bulbs? Ammunition? (Yeah, I know, this last one isn't very likely). Chain? Nuts and Bolts? Nails and Screws? Wire? Rope? Bleach? Medicine? Clothing that no longer fits you?

### This next item is an absolute necessity for long-term survival and yet it's so cheap and plentiful most folks don't give it a thought, much less lay in a plentiful supply. It may not happen all at once but eventually salt is going to become a highly valued trade item. So, being a forward looking type you laid in a few hundred pounds of salt before TSHTF and so you have extra salt or you know where salt can be mined or evaporated?

### Do you have actual physical books, especially how to's? People may not have much time to read when they are scratching for a living but books that can teach them how to do something they need to know will be invaluable. In fact, they'll probably be so valuable you won't swap them merely lend them for a set period of time in exchange for something you need.

### Maybe you have more worm casting fertilizer than you can use.

### I'm just scratching the surface here. Think long and hard about any goods you have before you trade them away.

### What Do You Need?

### Next you need to carefully consider what you need in exchange for what you have.

### Maybe you need chicken wire because you're expanding your coop or need to fence out rabbits from a garden.

### Maybe you are short on rifle primers for reloading, or lead for casting bullets.

### Maybe your wife is pregnant and you need a midwife or doctor. Or she's given birth but for some reason can't nurse so you desperately need a milk goat.

### Or maybe you are out of peanut butter or honey, or your axe handle broke and you need a replacement.

### It could be you need help digging a root cellar or a well.

### Only you will know what your needs are, so discuss this with other members of your group.

### How Much?

### Before you decide to swap your services or goods for another person's you need to decide how much you can afford to give for what you want and how much you need to get for what they are offering.

### When I was a kid my family loved pecans. One of our neighbors had pecan trees. When they came in season my parents worked out a deal with the neighbor. We'd gather the pecans (our labor) and keep half of them, giving the neighbor, who wasn't up to doing the gathering, the other half. Then we'd spread blankets and sheets our around the tree and my brother and I would climb up into the branches where we'd jostle and bounce on them to knock the pecans down. It was a fun time for the whole family and we came away with bushels of pecans.

### This was known as going halves and it applied to most fruits and produce swapped for labor back then. But that was when you could go to a store and buy stuff you needed.

### After TSHTF the only stores, if you're lucky, will be farmer's markets. Labor will be cheaper and goods much more expensive so using the example above the people gathering pecans would probably only be entitled to one quarter of them and the owner of the tree would get three quarters.

### Another way to arrive at an idea of how much you want or need is to try to put a dollar value on the deal.

### Say I used to sell my fresh eggs for $3 per dozen provided the customer agreed to bring back the egg carton so I could reuse it.

### Now suppose that customer just came into a supply of venison and they value it at $9 per pound. Suppose further that you love venison and you've known the customer long enough to know they knew how to process fresh killed meat so it wouldn't spoil or taste gamy.

### Three dozen of your eggs for one pound of their venison would be a trade it's likely both of you would be satisfied with.

### Barter With Who?

### You always want to know the folks you're trading with, the longer the better. This is a very important consideration, especially in an apocalyptic scenario. I'm not saying don't trade with strangers, just be extremely wary if you do.

### The best plan will be to form bartering networks with others in your community. Such networks have always sprung up when disaster struck. In Argentina, where poor central planning and corruption have led to a series of ongoing economic collapses in the past seventeen years, bartering networks are how people survive.

### That brings me to another point. Silver and gold. I sneer at those who say because you can't eat them they won't be worth anything if TSHTF. Again, one look at Argentina, tells us differently. There, when people were shooting each other over food, gold and silver rose to a prominence they have retained to this day. The barter networks in that country are more than willing to trade virtually anything for items made from gold and silver. They are the only reliable currency in that nation. Venezuela now finds itself in similar straits.

### Bartering networks are the way to go if you want reliable trading partners.

### Oh, and while we're at it you must be very clear about _exactly_ what it is you are trading and for what. Otherwise...

### "What do you mean you're done? The job isn't finished."

### "You gave me that hoe in exchange for half a day's work and I've worked five hours."

### "Half a day is twelve hours."

### "No, that's half a day and a night. We only get ten hours of daylight right now and half of that is five."

### Get the point? Good communication is essential or those bullets I mentioned earlier could start to fly—and that isn't the preferred method for swapping them unless you like holes in your hide.

### Coming up—Transportation.

Chapter 11

### Transportation

### Your Own Two Feet

### I don't know why people don't think about their own two feet first when the subject of transportation comes up. They are the cheapest and most reliable form of transport available.

### It was less than one hundred and fifty years ago that a literal flood of people walked all the way across America in search of a better life. They had to ford rivers without bridges, blaze their own trails, forage for food and fuel for their fires, endure wilting heat, violent storms and floods, and fight hostile natives along the way. I can just imagine some poor husband today saying, "Hey, honey. I've got an idea. Let's leave civilization, taking only what we can carry in a very small wagon, hitched to oxen, and walk from Virginia to Oregon to start a new life." Ouch!

### They were a tougher breed than almost any of us around today and yet even as they headed west they brought with them an infrastructure that offered them support. Freight wagons hauled supplies, sailing ships and paddle-wheelers brought trade goods, and eventually steam-powered locomotives took them and their necessities wherever they were desired. There were mines and ranches and factories, water-powered and steam-powered mills to grind their grain, weave their cotton into cloth, and turn iron ore into steel.

### If TSHTF because of an EMP, the only infrastructure we'll have are roads clogged with vehicles good for nothing but use as solar powered food dehydrators. Okay, they'll be good for siphoning gasoline from and as a source of lead acid batteries, and leaf springs and axles from which to make horse drawn wagons. But there will be no trucks bringing food to the markets. There will be no medical supplies other than what's on hand. There will be no internet full of information at our fingertips. We will have advanced technological knowledge and no, or limited, advanced technology.

### A Brief Detour Into Old Cars

### Oh sure, cars and trucks built before 1974, the last year of breaker point ignitions, will probably run, but a strong enough EMP could damage alternators, starters and other, non-solid state automotive parts. In 1975 almost all car manufacturers switched over to breakerless, transistorized ignitions, which are vulnerable to an EMP, even though they promote better gas mileage. Most older motorcycles that have kick starters and do not have fly by wire throttles will run. But even if you have a motor vehicle that will run, where are you going to go? Roads and side streets may be jammed with stalled vehicles and the very fact that you are mobile could make you a target for desperate mobs. If your intent is to loot your local grocery store or pharmacy well, others will have similar ideas, and you could easily get shot. Safer by far to stay home and fort up unless you have a tank, an APC, or a bunch of well-armed neighbors to go with you as backup.

### Now, if you don't live in a rainy area and you don't live close to a natural water source you will need a vehicle to go get water and bring it back—a risk you'll just have to run. So get a pre-1974 pickup or van then get together with your neighbors and form an armed posse and go get your water.

### Back to Feet

### Okay, I got a bit sidetracked there. We were talking about feet. Take good care of them. Stock up on quality boots and shoes in both your actual size and in one size too large. (Feet swell when in constant use and in cold weather you'll want extra socks). Keep your feet clean and dry, toenails trimmed, calluses filed and have a good supply of quality skin lotion. I've used _Amlactin_ because it works well on healing cracked skin, but I've switched to _O'Keefe's Working Hands_ cream because I think it's better. I also have a supply of Tinactin, just in case athlete's foot rears its ugly head, but I rarely need it because I air my feet out regularly and keep them clean. I have a device that looks a bit like a cheese grater with a handle that I use to file calluses off my feet. Sounds gross but works great. Moleskin or even simple band aids can alleviate blister problems, but if you feel one forming you should stop and tend the problem before you get a blister. The nasty things can get infected if they break and you don't take care of them immediately. Then where are you? You're laid up with an infection in a world with no antibiotics. Whoa, sucks to be you.

### As a young man I was a backpacker in remote mountain wilderness areas—places where a sprained ankle or even an infected blister could be life threatening. The backpacker's motto was, "Take care of your feet and they'll take care of you." By the way, soldiers learn the same thing. That motto will never be better applied than in a survival scenario. So think carefully, long and hard, about how to care for your feet and plan and prepare accordingly.

### I'm a believer in boots—hiking boots and work boots. They protect your feet and support your ankles. Every member of your family should have at least one good pair of boots and two or more pairs would be better since the things will wear out. (When TSHTF I predict being a cobbler will become a valuable skill).

### Now, just because I like boots doesn't mean I wear them all the time. In fact, unless I'm doing shovel and rock bar work in our Arizona "soil" I normally wear tennis shoes. Okay, mine are really good walking shoes with good sole and ankle support and partial breathable fabric uppers to let the heat and sweat out. Best of all they're comfy. Hey! I'm 66 and have become a fan of comfy.

### But if I had some serious trekking or work to do I'd put on my boots.

### Bicycles

### The great thing about bicycles is that they are useful for things other than transportation. They can be hooked up to pumps, generators, and grain mills, just to name three. A bicycle is the most efficient form of transport ever devised by man in terms of calories burned per mile. They are also simple enough to be repaired with hand tools. I suggest you get a decent quality cruiser style bike with fenders and saddle baskets for toting water, food or what have you. A simple Schwinn like this one for $199 should do, though I hate to recommend anything that isn't, say it with me, "Made in America."

###  http://www.sears.com/schwinn-men-s-700c-wayfarer-bike/p-080W028201960001P?prdNo=13&blockNo=13&blockType=G13

### These bikes ARE made in America.

### http://www.campuscruisers.com start at $299

### <http://bowerylanebicycles.com/bicycles.html> start at $550

### My own bike is a beat up old vintage _Schwinn_ with fat tires and no gears—and as a result I don't ride it much anymore. A bicycle pump is another handy thing to have around, as are tire repair kits, chain link repair kits, and Three-in-One oil. Another cool item is a bicycle trailer for hauling all your extra stuff.

### Back in the bad old days of the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong would load a couple of hundred pounds of food and ammunition onto a bicycle and push it down the Ho Chi Minh trail to its destination, then climb onto the now empty bike and ride back for more.

### Now we have mountain bikes that cost a fortune and come with every conceivable option—one of which I really like is solid foam rubber tires or tubes so they never go flat. They also have comfortable suspensions.

### The good news is that the solid tubes come in a variety of sizes, one of which will probably fit your bike.

### <http://www.airlesstiresnow.com/Bicycle-Tires_c_172.html>

### The bad news is that critics claim solid tires or solid tubes provide less grip, comfort, and stability than pneumatic tires, that many pneumatic tires are almost as good as the solid ones about not going flat, and that solid tubes and tires (because they don't absorb bumps as well as pneumatic ones) cause excess wear and tear on hubs, which can cause catastrophic tire failure with little or no warning.

### I hasten to add that most critics ride or race mountain bikes over rough trails at high speeds—something a smart guy like you, who is just using a bike for alternative transportation or to carry a heavy load while you push it, would never do.

### I am not going to offer links to mountain bikes. Go to your local bike shop, get fitted and find one that's best for your projected needs.

### Boats

### After I got out of the Navy, I dreamed of sailing the world in a catamaran, but my wife gets sea sick in a bath tub. I had to choose—boat or wife. I chose wife and, thirty years later still think I got the best of it.

### If the nearest river (the Colorado) wasn't sixty miles away and if the nearest lake wasn't almost as far I'd at least have a boat or canoe, but recreational boating just isn't in the cards and I don't mind fishing off the bank...really. One of these days I do intend to pick up an inexpensive rowboat. Maybe I'll put it on the roof like some folks who live in flood prone areas do. Make a great conversation piece here in the desert.

### "Yup," I'll say, pointing up to the boat, trying to look wise if I can avoid cracking up. "You never know when a monster flood will come along."

### If you live on or near such bodies of water or if you live in flood prone areas, then you need a boat. Just figure out how to convince your family it isn't a toy it's a "must have" for survival. Of course you'll have to get all the other stuff that goes with boating. Life vests, bumpers, trailers, and anchors leap to mind, but since I don't own one I'll leave that preparation information up to those more qualified.

###  http://readynutrition.com/resources/prepping-to-survive-the-nautical-series-pt-1_13022012/

### You can take it from there.

### Old Cars Again

### Since I am not made of money I can't just go out and buy a pre-74 pickup or van. What I have available is a 1984 Dodge Raider (in reality a Mitsubishi Montero). It has a breakerless, transistorized ignition, so I need to buy a spare and put it in a faraday cage. That gives me at least a chance of making it run after an EMP. If I seem focused on EMP's it's because I view that as the absolute worst-case scenario short of an all out nuclear war or a massive asteroid strike and both of the latter are well beyond the scope of this discussion.

### Easy Faraday Cages

### Putting spare electronic parts in a Faraday cage may be the only feasible choice for many people, but I wouldn't try it if your vehicle is newer than the early 80's since almost all cars and trucks were fully computerized by 1985. Incidentally, the faraday cages I use are old metal popcorn cans I mostly picked up at garage sales. I place the parts in a plastic bag and vacuum seal them (if they don't have sharp edges), then wrap them in bubble wrap, put them in the can and seal the lid with aluminum duct tape—note that this last step is very important. Also, if the part has sharp edges that will prevent a vacuum seal, I just wrap it in bubble wrap before putting it in the can. An electrical engineer I know tells me this should work against an EMP. I've heard that the cans or other Faraday cages don't need to be grounded and I suspect that is true. But opinions differ so do a little research and decide for yourself.

### Another homemade, cheap and easy to make Faraday Cage can be a metal trash can. Once again you want to line the interior with cardboard, bubble wrap, or some other non-conductive material and seal the lid with aluminum or copper tape. The important thing to realize here is that faraday cages don't care about small holes. (The cage Nicolai Tesla used to protect himself from cyclotron dischargers was made of wire mesh). The important thing is to seal long cracks or seams—such as the seam around a lid. Here's a terrific link about how to make your own Faraday Cages.

###  http://www.askaprepper.com/10-faraday-cages-you-can-make-at-home/

### Wagons, Carts and Sleds

### Whether hitched to a bicycle or a person a wagon or cart vastly increases your load carrying capacity. That's why homeless people steal shopping carts. In the suburbs or in the city a shopping cart is the most likely "wagon" you can scavenge. If your nearest natural water source is within ten miles you can walk there, take the one-gallon water jugs you've brought there empty and fill them, load the cart and walk back. A cart or wagon with larger, rubber or plastic wheels would be better as it would be less noisy, easier to push along asphalt streets or concrete sidewalks, and more stable. On the other had you can, if you have to, use a shopping cart as a makeshift barbeque grill.

### A wheelbarrow is an option but you can't carry as much, it ties up both hands, and it's harder on your back.

### A wheeled suitcase or even a stroller is better than nothing. Think outside the box.

### A big dog can pull at least a small cart.

### In spite of being fond of horses, I've omitted any discussion of horses or mules because most suburban areas don't allow them. If you are fortunate enough, or simply smart enough to live in a rural area then horses and mules are a superb method of transportation and as a bonus they provide you with great fertilizer for your worm bins and gardens.

### Depending on the season of the year and where you live, a sled or toboggan could work better than a cart. My dad once took the hood off a pickup truck, turned it upside down and hitched it behind a tractor, loaded it with hay bales, and off we went through deep snow to feed cattle. Ingenuity is always useful. And for those of you who wonder why he did that our hay wagon had a broken axle.

### On Foot Again

### If you are forced to trek somewhere on foot for supplies and you don't have a cart, at least use a good backpack—one with, at the minimum, a hip belt to take the load off your shoulders. Any kind of pack, even a daypack will help. There are some great packs out there but once again I'm not going to post a link. Go to your local mountaineering or backpacking store and have them fit one to you before you buy it. As a young man just out of the Navy I once worked in such a store and I advised customers looking at packs to load one up with the amount of weight they usually carried then walk around the store for a couple of hours to see how it felt. Those who heeded my advice got packs that were better fitted to their needs and their backs than those who ignored it.

### All packs you use should have a minimum level of survival gear in them. Even if it isn't strictly speaking a Bug Out Bag (BOB), since you aren't bugging out, it should contain enough water for you to stay hydrated while making your round trip; a knife; first aid supplies such as gauze, tape, scissors and large band aids; a snack or meal you can eat while walking (such as nuts, raisins and candy—you know, Gorp); some cord; a flashlight (preferably a headlamp type); matches, a _BlastMatch_ or _Gobsmack firesteel_ and a fireplace lighter; spare ammunition for whatever caliber weapon you are carrying in your hands; a pair of work gloves; a small bottle of disinfectant; some TP; a garden trowel; a poncho (in case it rains); and a two-way radio to stay in touch with others in your party or at your home base. The radio, food, water and ammo should be in outside pockets, readily accessible.

### You should be wearing a hat, light enhancing, polarized sunglasses (or, if there's snow on the ground, dark sunglasses), and a bandana, which can help protect your face from wind, or be used as a washcloth or a bandage. If it's hot out, and here in the desert we regularly hit temperatures over 112 in the summer, an excellent portable personal cooler to have is an _Endura Cool Bandana_ or _Personal Towel_. You activate it by soaking it in water, wringing out the excess and giving it a sharp jerk. Then simply wear it around your neck or over your head and you will feel twenty degrees cooler for hours. I haven't investigated how it works and don't really care. All that matters to me is it does work. I got mine at _Lowe'_ s, but they are available online at _Amazon_ or on the _Home Shopping Network_.

###  http://www.hsn.com/products/mission-enduracool-cooling-towel-and-bandana-2-pack/7034860

### Except in cases of dire necessity you won't be going anywhere alone after TSHTF and everyone in your party over the age of ten will be armed. If you don't, or won't, carry guns, carry a club, such as a ball bat or wrecking bar, or a machete, a bow and arrow, a crossbow, even a slingshot. The point being to carry something that says, "We are not an easy target."

### I believe anyone, especially a head of family, who refuses to own a gun and learn how to use it, is irresponsible, and is setting themselves up to fail in their duty to provide for and protect their loved ones—especially after TSHTF.

### Another good strategy is to move only at night. Some of my neighbors think I'm nuts because I walk around outside at night without a flashlight. "That's when the snakes are out," they say, and they're right. In Arizona, or any desert area, the rattlers will be out at night. So will Gila Monsters and tarantulas. So what? These creatures do not want anything to do with anyone as big as me or you. Make some noise and they will vanish before you are in range. I also have excellent night vision and am usually walking with my eighty-pound Weimaraner and if there was anything remotely dangerous out there she would let me know in a flash.

### Now a well-prepared person who wanted to move around at night should have night vision equipment. I'll freely admit that I don't (yet) but I am looking into it and will get it when I've finished researching the subject. My only problem with the ones I've seen so far is the limited/tunnel vision when looking through them. When you're wearing one you have to keep your head on a swivel. In spite of my not liking the restricted view the fact is you can see much better at night with one of these units on than anyone using their naked eyes.

### Motor Vehicles Again

### Now let's assume someone as astute as you are had a 1960 VW Van or some other old car or truck that will run after TSHTF. Let's further assume your area of town isn't jam packed with stalled vehicles so you actually can go somewhere. Now remember, even if the streets are passable there will be plenty of obstacles to maneuver around. There may even be fallen trees.

### But hey, you and your MAG really need water and the lake/river/pond is five miles away. So you load up an IBC container or two (or whatever you intend to haul water in), some hose and a hand pump to transfer the water from wherever into your containers, or an electric pump that plugs into your cigarette lighter in your vehicle. You assemble your armed posse for protection and grab your two-way radios. You want the radios so you can stay in touch with your base of operations and if you have a CB or mobile HAM set in the vehicle so much the better.

### Your vehicle is already equipped with more than one spare tire and a means to patch and inflate it. You have a come-a-long, some heavy duty rope or chain, a chainsaw and accessories, bolt cutters to deal with any inconvenient padlocks or fences, a crow bar to smash windows of locked cars you may have to move out of your way, full fuel cans as well as some empty fuel cans and a siphon hose.

### Your van, truck, car has drinking water for you and your crew and a few snacks if you think you'll be gone that long. It will have extra ammunition and it will be as well armored as you can make it. An old Brinks truck would probably be ideal. Strike that. An armored personnel carrier with a fifty-caliber turret up top would definitely be better, but dream on.

### You may have a ball hitch and a trailer you pull behind your truck because you have to carry so much stuff and still have room for your posse. There are a lot of options here because in addition to going for water you may be scavenging for other supplies. You may even need trade goods since some other enterprising MAG may have secured the water source and gone into the water sales business.

### If you have motorcycles (and hopefully some in your MAG does) use them to scout your route. If not, use bicyclists. The point being someone has to scout the safest way for you to get there and back and by the way a bicyclist will probably be able to make good time due to excellent maneuverability.

### The main problem with such a convoy is that it will attract unwanted attention. Engines are noisy and in the relative silence of a SHTF world such noise could call zombies down upon you. That's why you go armed.

### Summation

### The whole idea behind bugging in is that you are forting up so you don't HAVE to go anywhere. You are growing your own food, producing your own power and hopefully pumping your own water right on your own property. So if it is at all possible, anyone set up like this will stay home. Still, occasions will arise where travel becomes necessary. I hope I've given you some ideas about how to do so safely.

### By foot would be the stealthiest and possibly safest way to travel, and that only if you didn't stick to main roads. Following a railroad track or a hiking trail could be a good, less likely to be spied upon ways to go. Rowing or paddling along a river—so you can move quietly—is also an option, but if you choose this method keep near a shoreline and cover. Unless it's a really big river like the Mississippi where others won't be able to shoot you from shore.

### Unless you have a mountain bike any bicycle will constrain you to roads—and in your new world roads could be very dangerous.

### Anywhere you go, do so in a strong group—a group that at first sight says Do. Not. Mess. With. Us.

### Now, all of this presumes a complete breakdown of civil authority. There are no cops, no firemen, no National Guard or other troops trying to restore order. There is, to your knowledge, no communications with any central command structure. It is chaos and anarchy out on the streets and may remain so for some time. That is the situation you are in and that is precisely why you will not be travelling for any reason excepting only the need to scout your surroundings to see if danger is coming your way, or in other truly extreme circumstances.

Chapter 12

### "Shelter"

### Home Sweet Home

### I wasn't even going to include a chapter on shelter because, after all, we're bugging-in. So our homes are our shelter. If you were bugging out we could discuss remote cabins and farms, caves, abandoned mines or maybe even a Costco Warehouse, but we're not.

### In previous chapters I've discussed fortifying your home and neighborhood so in this chapter we're going to discuss the most basic form of shelter there is: clothing.

### If you've watched any episode of "Naked and Afraid" the first things the naked people try to do after finding a water source is erect a shelter. They have no clothes so shelter from the elements leaps to the top of survival needs. If they had clothing the show would be much more boring and the couples would suffer substantially less.

### Lucky you, you have clothing AND a house. So, comparatively speaking, you're quite well off.

### But seriously, what is your most important item of clothing? I think most people would respond that it would depend on the time of year and the weather. They would go for some item that covered their private parts. I disagree. I'm going to state flat out that footwear is your most important item.

### If I had to bolt from my home and only had time to grab one item of clothing it would be shoes or better yet boots. So long as your feet are taken care of you can go for help and you can move around and assist others. Keep in mind I live in Arizona in a place where most all the native plants have thorns that could flay a Cape buffalo's hide and the soil is mostly broken rock. Anyone trying to walk on that surface without adequate foot coverings will not get far.

### But even if I lived somewhere with five feet of snow on the ground I'd take boots or shoes before anything else. So long as your feet are protected your naked body can withstand cold temperatures for much longer than you'd think possible. Certainly long enough to reach another shelter, be it your car or a neighbor's place, or an unheated storage shed.

### And if you keep an Every Day Carry (EDC) bag by the door you'll soon have at least a poncho or rain gear to put on and a means to start a fire to keep warm.

### So let's talk footwear.

### Normally I slip into a pair of tennis shoes to go outside for casual errands like harvesting from the gardens or taking out the trash. That's because I'm too lazy to lace up my boots for such minor chores. But if I'm going for a walk or planning on doing any serious work I put on my walking shoes or work boots. Remember the old saw, "If you take care of your feet they'll take care of you."

### I know I covered much of this in the transportation chapter but bear with me. I know what you view as appropriate footwear is up to you, but in a SHTF world you should have several pairs and several different types of shoes and boots. And to do it right you should have pairs in your current size and in at least one size larger than you normally wear. Why would I buy shoes that are too big? Because, if you are on your feet all day walking or working your feet will swell. And if it's cold outside you should be wearing two pairs of socks.

### Socks

### Back in my winter mountaineering days I wore a thin liner sock under a heavy wool sock inside my hiking boots, ski boots or whatever else I was putting on my feet. The liner sock was often made of nylon, or polyester though I had a couple of pairs made of silk. Such materials are almost frictionless so they help prevent blister formation. The heavy wool is will keep your feet warm even if they get wet. Wool also helps to keep your feet dry by wicking sweat away. There is no substitute for good quality wool socks if you are hiking or travelling cross-country on foot.

### I just Googled liner socks and was somewhat surprised to find that almost forty years after my backpacking/mountaineering days they are still made of nylon, polyester or silk. Though todays are "engineered" to wick moisture away from your feet and some are made from recycled materials.

### Here's a link:  http://www.rei.com/product/860633/rei-ecomade-coolmax-liner-socks?cm_mmc=cse_PLA-_-pla-_-8606330007&mr:trackingCode=32C6C421-B911-E311-A755-BC305BF82162&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=plaonline&mr:ad=86749100560&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=79924463440&msid=CkDqiBiQ_dc%7Cpcrid%7C86749100560%7C&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_PLA&gclid=CjwKEAjw0NytBRD-1d3QsdHNpR0SJACGXqgRCAtejd9KCTpPVZbN3J3H6w53l7Ir0Cdv-vJ03wvVRRoC-nPw_wcB

### A word about color. I always wore white socks (so geeky me) because I didn't want dyes soaking into my feet if I had a blister and it broke. I was told that if that happened colored dyes added to the chance of infection. I never verified that statement just went with it because I never really cared a whit about what color my socks were.

### Recently my wife and I went to a local Alpaca Ranch that was holding an open house and crafts fair. In their store we came across alpaca wool socks and got a few pairs. Simply put they are the most comfortable socks I've ever worn, in warm weather or cold. And like all wool socks they stay warm even when wet. I have to wash them in cold water and air dry them—but that's what I did with ALL my wool clothing so it's no big deal. I now keep a couple of pairs in my Get Home Bag—more on that in Chapter 17. If you're interested here's a couple of links to _Alpacas of the Southwest_.

### http://southwestalpacatours.com

###  www.facebook.com/Alpacas-of-the-southwest-342241999139430/

### Boots

### The kind of boots you need really does depend on where you live. Here in the desert I prefer boots with solid arch and ankle support and breathable uppers to let heat and sweat escape. I use them for hiking in rough terrain as well as for working, whether that's "digging" in our rocky soils or when I'm in carpenter mode building something.

### In the Colorado mountains I wore stiff, Vibram-soled boots with great ankle support and heavy leather uppers. Never once did I suffer a sprained ankle or any other foot injury more dangerous than a blister—and I soon learned how to not get blisters. I also learned to carry spare laces so you might want to note that they'd be a good item to stock.

### If you live a swampy, or at least wetter area you might want hip waders or pac boots with rubber lowers and leather uppers. The point is, you know best what you'll need in your neighborhood. My only advice is to buy good quality items that fit correctly because if TSHTF you will be working and working hard in whatever footwear you choose.

### Now for a quick word about specialty foot coverings. Today you can get a specialty shoe or boot for almost any endeavor. One that you might want to look into is a boot you can ford streams in without having to worry about damaging the boot—or walking forever with wet feet. Lots of folks use Crocs as camp shoes and for fording wet areas. In my day we didn't have crocs so I either slogged through then dried my feet and put on dry wool socks or, if I knew I'd have to ford multiple times, I'd take off my socks and just wear my camp shoes. When done fording for the final time I'd dry my feet with my bandanna and get back into my wool socks and hiking boots.

### Other Footwear

### I'm not going to get into all the infinite varieties of tennis shoes and other footwear out there except to mention camp shoes. By that I mean slippers and moccasins and possibly sandals. I'm including these here because after a hard day's work or hike taking your boots off is somewhat akin to entering heaven. Even when I went backpacking I took a lightweight pair of elk-hide moccasins to slip into after I made camp for the night. A good pair of slippers will feel like nirvana to your poor tired feet. A decent alternative would be a pair of sandals as they would allow your feet to air out nicely.

### Underwear

### This is not going to be a discussion of boxers vs tighty whities. Lots of folks, admittedly mostly guys, don't bother with underwear and I can sympathize. Going commando is pretty comfortable but if you live in a place where winter cold can snap trees, long (or insulated) underwear can be your best friend if you work outside.

### Material: When it comes to men, cotton is the fabric of choice of most manufacturers, but for my money (and it is pricey) silk is best from a purely practical standpoint. It doesn't chafe and feels warm in winter and cool in summer. Hard to beat that. Silk is especially good for longies, which are available at both _LL Bean_ and _REI_.

### I think most women would agree that silk is the primo material for underwear. You might be surprised at the brownie points you can garner from your wife or girlfriend if you get her silk undies and I'm not talking Victoria's Secret stuff here (unless she likes that). And if you don't know her size get her a gift certificate to Nordstrom's or her favorite place to shop for such things.

### Because of the amount of physical activity most of us will be required to do if TSHTF she might want to consider getting some "sports" bras. My wife says they give great support and keep "the girls" from jostling around.

### Pants and Shorts

### For most of my life I was a jeans man but since we've moved to Arizona I wear shorts almost year round. Oh, I'll still put the long pants on when I'm working outside, especially if I have to get down on my knees to do anything, but in this heat shorts are more comfortable. If I lived someplace greener and buggier I'd go with tough, durable, jeans for sure. Once again, you know your environment better than I do so choose for durability as well as comfort.

### And for you women, well, while pioneer women wore long dresses, I'd still advise pants, but that is up to you.

### If you're in a cold climate and anticipate working outside for long periods of time, get some wool pants. Otherwise, denim is fine.

### Shirts

### I predict long sleeved shirts will make a big comeback if TSHTF so I'd advise stocking up on them. If nothing else, they'll be a great trade item. The reason for my thinking is this. We'll all be spending much more time outdoors, which means we'll want more protection from the elements and from bugs. Long sleeves, much like long pants, accomplishes this. And oddly enough they are warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

### I like 100% cotton shirts but I have several wool flannel shirts too. Actually, come to think of it I have a few cotton flannel shirts as well. None of these get much use here in Arizona but I just can't bring myself to give them up.

### If you've ever seen Arabs or other desert dwellers they wear loose flowing robes with long sleeves and usually they are wearing white—a nice reflective color. Again, if you've ever noticed Mexican laborers working in fields or at landscaping they are all well covered. Those folks know how to dress for heat and we'd be well advised to follow their example. I'll definitely be wearing long pants and long sleeves. Camo would be nice. ☺

### Outerwear

### For cold weather climates few things can beat a good set of insulated coveralls. You ever see people on snowmobiles odds are that's what they have on—though they call them snowmobile suits. I wore them, at least in the early mornings, while building houses in the mountains of Colorado in the wintertime. Actually working in them they'd soon get too warm and so they'd come off and I'd end up working in a medium or lightweight jacket. The important thing was to dress in layers and to shed a layer as soon as you started to sweat. You do not want to get wet while working in the cold because when you stop you'll get chilled and that can lead to fevers and illness, even hypothermia—definitely something to be avoided.

### Hoodies are a popular and I think well-chosen outer garment for urban winter wear. I like the ones with the kangaroo pouch pocket in front as it's a good place to conceal a gun or knife. Hey, hundreds of muggers can't be wrong.

### I've always been a fan of ponchos and carry one in my Get Home Bag in my car. They are a wonderful invention that in addition to keeping the rain off of you can be used to fashion a waterproof shelter or to shade you from a fierce summer sun. They make a great windbreak and a terrific ground cloth to keep moisture from wicking up from the ground into your sleeping bag if you're forced to sleep outside. A poncho is probably the most flexible garment you can own.

### If you live in one of those swampy areas, or if you just like to get in the water to fish, hip-waders will be in your closet.

### Heavy canvas or duck pants or even leather chaps will come in handy if you have to work through thick brush but as there isn't much of that in suburbia that's all I'll say about them.

### A trench coat or duster can look cool but I've always thought they'd be cumbersome. I've never owned one so will reserve all comments save one. A friend told me his can completely conceal a shoulder-slung Mossberg 500 shotgun. Oookay.

### Raincoats and foul weather gear are staples in some folk's lives. If you're a commercial fisherman for example you know more about good quality foul weather gear than I do. And while raincoats are far more fashionable than a poncho I've already made my preference clear. To each their own and all that.

### Headwear

### In my opinion a hat should have a brim wide enough to shade your face, ears and the back of your neck. A chinstrap is a very good idea in windy areas like the desert, the mountains, the plains or if you're talking to a politician. But even a headscarf or a bandanna is better than nothing.

### I've already mentioned my favorite desert hat but it's worth repeating. My hat is from the Herschel Hat Company. It is a model called the Aussie Breezer and is designed for desert living. It has a broad enough brim to shade my face and neck, a mesh sideband for ventilation and a solid crown for shade. Mine is a color called "Earth" and like most Herschel Hats is American made. It's crushable, yet retains its form and I've beat mine to death for seven years now with no worries.

### http://www.henschelhats.com/hats/american-made/

### I've seen guys who work outside all summer in our intense heat wearing flap hats. Some of these resemble a ball cap with a wrap around flap of material that shades their neck and ears. Others look more like mine but again with that flap of material. Here's a link.

### http://www.amazon.com/MG-Flap-Hats/dp/B00N831320

### We need to keep our heads from over heating or over cooling. In fact, because there is so much blood circulating through our brains, we lose more heat through our heads than any other area of our body. So if it's cold out put on a hat, or at least a knit cap. The ball cap/hoodie combination is popular and effective. And if it's hot out a hat will help prevent sunburn and overheating, especially if your hair doesn't cover quite as much of your scalp as it used to. 

### Now I suppose the ideal headwear for post-SHTF times would be a Kevlar helmet. It certainly would be a good idea to have one if you anticipate getting shot at. Here's a link if you're interested.

###  http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/used-us-military-surplus-helmet-with-kevlar?a=1510509&pm2d=SEM-SPG-DSA-SITE&gclid=Cj0KEQjw8-GtBRCMl7m54PzgjNQBEiQAIZckv5bAD0OC12UTdt0z-Z-A-jU3HGBlkoFabF0cz8jcxf0aAuSS8P8HAQ

### Likewise, you should always carry at least one bandanna. Here's another totally flexible and useful item. It can be used as a dust mask by pulling it up over your nose, a washcloth, or simply wet and tied around your neck to cool you down. You can tie them around your forehead as a sweatband. And who knows? Wearing one up over your nose might keep you from becoming sick if you encounter ill people.

### Another very cool personal cooler is the _Endora Cool Bandanna or Personal Towel_. You activate it by soaking it in water, wringing out the excess and giving it a sharp jerk. Then simply wear it around your neck or over your head and you will feel twenty degrees cooler for hours. My wife and I got ours at Lowe's.

### Gloves

### I've probably worn out hundreds of pairs of leather gloves in my lifetime, but I just keep coming back to them. Can't think of anything better for keeping stickers, splinters and other unwelcome guests out of my hands. They are also great for avoiding black widow spider bites when rooting through the woodpile. My absolute favorites were made of elk hide but I know folks who swear by deer, goat or pigskin. The thing I liked about the elk hide gloves was their durability and dexterity. I could pick up small and thin objects with these gloves on. They ran about $20 per pair but then again regular old cowhide gloves cost close to that now.

### When I did winter mountaineering I had a pair of fleece-lined mittens—mittens being warmer than gloves. Snowmobilers and downhill skiers use much heavier insulated gloves and who can blame them?

### For ski touring I used leather gloves with silk glove liners.

### Race car drivers, Supercross riders, pit crews and construction workers dealing with high heat environments often wear vented _Mechanix gloves_. I may have to give these a try as regular leather gloves get pretty warm outside in an Arizona summer. Here's a link.

###  http://www.mechanix.com/magazine/the-specialty-vent-glove--no-more-swamp-hands

### Snipers, Special Forces operators and many of our boys overseas in the sandbox wear _M Pact_ or _M Pact 2_ gloves from _Mechanix_. The design offers knuckle protection while freeing up the index finger for easier, smoother trigger guard access and mobility. I've decided I have to try a pair of these. Here's a link.

### <http://www.mechanix.com/tactical/m-pact-covert>

### Mechanix makes lots of other gloves too and they look to be very good quality. They have one pair with a full leather palm and breathable upper with knuckle impact resistant plastic that I would have loved to have back when I was a grease monkey in my dad's service station. Imagine, no more barked knuckles when the wrench slips.

### While I'm on the subject of gloves I think it wise to stock up on rubberized gloves and latex gloves. You'll use the former for heavy duty cleaning (or for picking prickly pear fruits) and the latter for attending to people with bloody wounds (prevents the transmission of blood borne pathogens). Also useful as a trade item if you have a surplus.

### But for gardening and my occasional carpentry projects I'll stick to old-fashioned leather for now. If any of you know of something better, please let me know.

### Sunglasses

### In a harsh desert or even a sunny but snowy environment you need either polarized, or very dark sunglasses. Eyes get sunburned and in the worst cases you can go snow-blind without them so get them and use them if you don't already. In a dimmer environment, indoors, dark forest or jungle you need light enhancing sunglasses.

### But eye protection is just one reason to wear sunglasses. Have you heard the expression, "The eyes are the window to the soul?" Well, if you are wearing sunglasses your eyes are hard for someone else to read. That's why so many policemen wear them, plus there is a bit of an intimidation factor, not that you or I would ever want to intimidate anyone—wink wink.

### Sunglasses are also great for keeping wind, dust and other foreign objects out of your eyes.

### I've had a bad personal tendency my whole life to buy cheapo sunglasses. I'm hard on them. I lose them. I break them and I get them scratched up. That's why I usually have three or four pairs laying around. I do NOT recommend cheap sunglasses for survival situations though stocking some as trade items might work.

### I'm seriously considering biting the bullet and buying a pair of _Wiley X Revolvr sunglasses_. Their smoke grey lenses are dark enough to protect your eyes in bright light but not so dark you can't use them in dim light. They wrap around but allow full peripheral vision. They exceed the ANSI Z87.1 rating for high velocity ballistic glasses meaning you can use them as eye protection when shooting at the range. Yes, they'll run me around $75.00 but they are excellent quality and replacement lenses are around $20. All Wiley X glasses come with a neck strap and a zippered case both of which I WILL be using.

### The only reason I haven't already ordered the above sunglasses is because I'm still deciding between them and a pair of _Wiley X Knife Black Ops Ballistic Sunglasses_. These are a bit darker and the lenses are polarized which I like. As with all Wiley X glasses they are rated for ballistic wear. This means they are good shooting range glasses and they won't shatter and put out your eye if you're motorcycling around and hit a bumblebee. Given my personal preference for polarized sunglasses I'll probably end up going with these.

### Cloak of Invisibility

### I know you think I'm joking but I'm not. A Ghillie suit can make a sniper virtually invisible and it can do the same for you. Google them and you'll see you can get them from $40 and up. Or you can make your own—the most effective ones are always homemade from native materials. Here's a link

### <http://www.instructables.com/id/Proffesional-Ghillie-Suit/>

### But I'm not really talking about Ghillie suits. I'm talking about a for real cloak of invisibility. Think Harry Potter or the Klingon cloaking device except this is real world. A British company called _HyperStealth Biotechnology_ has developed Quantum Stealth fabric that bend light waves around the wearer making it all but impossible to see them. It also hides the wearer from thermal and infrared scans. This is truly science fiction becoming science fact and I WANT one.

### Here's a link. It's number 5 on the list.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/27-science-fictions-that-became-science-facts-in-2#.vjVyyGmYyQ

### Bug Spray

### You may not consider bug spray shelter but it sort of is. You probably already have a favorite and if it works well for you, good. But if you live in an area infested with ticks or their ever so annoying baby brothers, chiggers, get a spray that kills bugs, instead of simply repelling them.

### For decades, my wife and I used _Permethrin_ , and I highly recommend it. It kills, mosquitoes, flies, ticks, chiggers, mites, spiders and basically anything else insectoid or arachnoid. Good stuff. We ignored their warnings about applying it on skin—they say to only put it on clothing or tents—but the stuff does not absorb into your skin and get in your blood like DEET does so in my opinion that makes it a safer repellent. Still, YOU should follow their directions because I don't want to get sued because someone did a monkey see, monkey do thing and put it on their skin and had a reaction to it.

### Here's a link.

### <https://sawyer.com/products/permethrin-premium-insect-repellent/>

### I've heard all about using natural repellents and some of them may be effective. Heck, Permethrin in its natural state comes from chrysanthemums. But the natural permethrin isn't as persistent as the stuff from _Sawyer_ —which will stay on your clothing for up to six washes. Like I said, good stuff, and when it comes to defense against insects I refuse to cheap out.

### That's all I have to say on the topic of clothing/shelter. If you have things you think I should add please email me about them via the contact me page on my website.

Chapter 13

### Health/Medical Supplies/First Aid/Trauma Care

### I need to begin by saying, no...EMPHASIZING, that I AM NOT A DOCTOR or any kind of medical professional and SO NOTHING I SAY HERE SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. We clear on that? Okay.

### I should probably have put this topic up near Chapter One since without your health you are in a world of hurt in any post-SHTF world. No doctors or EMT's or Nurses, unless you have one in your MAG. No dentists or veterinarians. No functioning hospitals or emergency care centers—unless you are truly lucky.

### So what do YOU do when you get shot, cut the crap out of yourself with a machete, knife or chainsaw, burn the dickens out of yourself with a torch, hot oil or (as I did once) hot apple pie dropped on your foot as you took it from the oven? (I hear you laughing).

### What if your wife slips on the ice and breaks her hip, or your kid gets sick with God knows what?

### Seriously, if you don't have a doctor or nurse or someone with medical training in your group you are going to feel helpless and I can tell you from experience that is a terrible feeling—because you, or someone you love, is likely to die.

### In any SHTF scenario I can envision, illness or injury is much more likely to be fatal than gunshot wounds—simply because illness or injury are much more likely to happen. Remember, you and yours will be working outside at any number of tasks that can result in accidents or exposure to people who are sick. And the desperate need to get work done will pretty much eliminate taking days off just because you don't feel good.

### I'm going to cut right to the chase here and recommend a few books that can help you survive such difficulties. Then I'll get back to you stockpiling some supplies.

### The first book is by Doctor Ryan Chamberlain, a physician with a Prepper bent, who also has an excellent website and blog. His book **"The Prepper Pages: A Surgeon's Guide to Scavenging Items for a Medical Kit and Putting Them To Use While Bugging Out"** is a priceless volume in terms of the information it contains. It is no exaggeration to say this book could save your life or the life of someone you love. If I could only have one book on SHTF medicine this would be it. Get it, read it and keep it.

### Here's a link.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Prepper-Pages-Surgeons-Scavenging-Medical/dp/1492939374/?ref=asap_bc&ie=UTF8

### A second great book also by Doctor Ryan Chamberlain is **"How To Treat Life-Threatening Conditions Preppers Get!: The Prepper's Guide to Dealing With the Most Common Infections & Illnesses Plaguing Preppers (Volume II).** This book is another must have for your Prepper library.

### Here's a link.

###  http://www.amazon.com/How-Treat-Life-Threatening-Conditions-Preppers/dp/1502769441/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_y

### Another book you'll definitely want from the Doctor is **"Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse: First Aid Kit Building and Mini Med School for Preppers (The Prepper Pages)."** This book is filled with interviews and medical records from the battle of Britain. Those folks were enduring a real life and death SHTF reality. Food, gasoline, power and medical care were being rationed and an enemy was bombing them every day. There are Prepper stories here that will make your hair stand on end. But those stories have a lot to teach those of us who try to prepare for emergencies. This is a great book.

### Here's the link.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Zombie-Apocalypse-Building-Preppers/dp/1505738784/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

### His website www.ThePrepperPages.com is well worth visiting and joining. It's becoming very popular among Preppers and other folks with good sense. I visit it frequently because it's chock full of terrific articles and necessary information.

### No discussion of Prepper medicine is complete without mentioning, okay, highlighting, the books and website of Doom and Bloom.

### That would be Doctor Joseph Alton and Nurse Amy Alton whose book **"The Survival Medicine Handbook: What To Do When Help Is Not On The Way"** is another must have. Some call it the Bible of survival medicine.

### As I mentioned, Joe and Amy ( _Doom and Bloom_ ) run the famous Prepper website www.doomandbloom.net and while this book is all around great it is especially important to have if you or anyone in your MAG is planning to have children—and believe me some of you will, whether it's planned or not. Dr. Alton is an obstetrician and Nurse Amy is a certified midwife, so again get it, read it and keep it in your library.

###  https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Medicine-Handbook-essential-medical/dp/0988872552?ie=UTF8&keywords=the%20survival%20medicine%20handbook%20the%20essential&linkCode=sl1&linkId=3df8060db4325335ba22d2740311ccf3&qid=1465324287&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4&tag=doomandbloom-20

### Other books in this vein are:

### **"Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies"** by Hugh L. Coffee.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Ditch-Medicine-Advanced-Procedures-Emergencies/dp/1581603908/ref=pd_sim_14_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=13SY5R4C47A2XYRX72PT

### **"Where There Is No Dentist"** by Murray Dickson, which is important for obvious reasons.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Where-There-Is-No-Dentist/dp/0942364058/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=13SY5R4C47A2XYRX72PT

### When I say you **must** have these books in your library I'm not joking. Not only can they save you and yours in times of need but the knowledge in them will be invaluable to others. I'm talking trade here folks. Doctors don't work for free and if you've mastered the skills in these books or even encounter people who need the knowledge contained in them you can strike a deal—renting the books out in exchange for goods you want, or "doctoring" those who need it in exchange of something of value to you. After all, there quite likely won't be any AMA or lawyers around to sue you for trying to help.

### There are numerous other books out there that could be valuable but these I've recommended will give you a great start. Also, many such books—especially the Military Field Manuals on Emergency Surgery—are mostly about stabilizing a victim until proper medical care can be had and we all know how unlikely that will be when TSHTF.

### All of the books I've recommended deal with what I would call traditional Western medicine. Since I know next to nothing about Eastern medicine or hypnosis I'll leave those subjects to others. I do know that hypnosis can substitute for anesthesia in some cases and that pincushion therapy—sorry, couldn't resist—I mean Acupuncture, can also be very effective in a variety of circumstances. But that's it. It would probably be a good idea to research these types of medicine as well as herbal medicine to see if you can get some value from them. I certainly intend to do so.

### Many Preppers are into Herbal Medicine or Essential Oils. Again, I confess my ignorance of their beneficial uses, but not having a closed mind I will research them when I get time.

### But for now let's get back to the medical things you'll need to help insure your health and survival.

### Gear

### Multi-Vitamins: I'm starting with these because they help promote a strong immune system and that is the primary thing that will help you heal from a wound or an illness. If you and your family aren't already taking them, you need to consider doing so and stocking up on them.

### Honey: that's right, honey. It not only boosts your immune system it also acts as an antiseptic on wounds. Messy? Sure, but would you rather die of an infection? Also, it's easy to get kids to take honey. Other medications not so much.

### First Aid Kit—there are those who think any old store bought kit will get them by and they are wrong. The only first aid kit worth having is the one you assemble yourself. After all who knows you and your family better than you? You know what medications you and yours need and which ones they are allergic to.

### That said, following the advice in Dr. Chamberlain's books will give you some great ideas and a terrific head start in assembling your own kit.

### Of course the basics begin with:

### Band-Aids in all shapes, sizes and types (I'm partial to the flexible ones, usually in three quarter or one inch)

### Bandages in various sizes, and clean, sterilized material for wrapping or padding wounds

### Gauze Pads in assorted sizes, especially two inch and four inch

### Gauze Rolls

### Non-Latex Gloves (the purple Nitrile gloves)

### 3Ace Bandages or other flexible bandages

### Spray on or Liquid Bandage (New Skin--this is good stuff, try it)

### Large Triangular Bandages for slings

### Moleskin Pads or Roll

### Quick Clot

### Tape (and yes duct tape can be used but white first aid tape is easier to apply)

### Duct Tape

### Ear Loop Masks (N-95)

### Scissors or EMS Shears

### Antibiotic ointments (such as Neosporin, Betadine or Iodine)

### Sunburn cream or spray

### Sunblock (a really strong one like Zinc Oxide or SPF 50 types)

### Bacitracin or Polysporin burn ointment--Neosporin also works since it's anti-biotic. A thin layer of Aloe Vera gel or Petroleum Jelly can also help for minor burns. (Never put Butter on a burn).

### Zanifel—(or other Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac treatment--much better than the Calamine Lotion we used when I was a kid because Zanifel actually washes the urushiol toxin off your skin, relieving itch in as little as 30 seconds—where _was_ this stuff when I was young?)

### Rubbing Alcohol and Alcohol Swabs

### Cotton Swabs and Cotton Balls

### Q-Tips

### Hand Sanitizers

### Soap, anti-bacterial okay but not required (Research shows that simply washing your hands with soap does just as good a job as the antibacterial soaps, without the let's-build-a-germ-resistant-to-antibacterial-products problem).

### Peroxide (still can't believe all the things this is good for in addition to being an antiseptic)

### Cold Packs

### Distilled or Boiled Water

### Bug Spray

### Eye Wash (sterile)

### Nasal Saline Solution (and a Neti Pot—these things work wonders on stuffed up noses, especially if caused by allergies, and they are also great for removing/washing away blood clots if your nose gets broken)

### Nasal Spray (Afrin)

### Nasal Decongestant PE (like Sudafed or Claritin D—now only available over the counter and only once every thirty days)

### Benzocaine (Oragel for toothaches, earaches, etc.—sort of a local anesthetic)

### Thermometer

### Flashlight (Preferably a headlamp style to keep the doctor's hands free)

### Tweezers or Forceps

### Nail Clippers

### Turkey Baster (filled with distilled water it can irrigate wounds allowing the doctor to see what he or she is doing—or possibly a bulb syringe could be used)

### Scalpels (or even in a pinch a sterilized box cutter with sterilized razor blades)

### Suturing thread (though fishing line, plain floss or regular (preferably undyed or bleached) white thread can be used in a emergency)

### Curved Suture Needles

### Floss (unwaxed and unflavored)

### Hemostats or Surgical Scissor Clamps

### Surgical Sponges

### Stethoscope

### Heat Packs or a Heating Pad or Hot Water Bottle

### Space/Mylar Blankets

### Fine Needles (great for removing splinters and cactus glochids)

### A Blood Pressure device

### A Magnifying Glass

### Antihistamine (like Benadryl or Contac, or Claritin D)

### Aspirin and Low Dose Aspirin

### Ibuprofen (Advil)

### Tylenol

### Aleve

### Imodium AD (which is Loperamide, or other anti-diarrheal med)

### Cortizone-10 (Hydrocortisone cream)

### Dynarex (bee sting swabs)

### Laxative (mild)

### Antacids like Zantac or Tums or Peptol Bismol chewables

### Cold and Flu medicine

### Mucinex and Mucinex DM (cough and nasal congestion relievers)

### Cough Medicine

### Throat Lozenges (helps with cough or sore throat)

### Nausea Medication (Dramamine)

### Anti-Fungal ointment—Nystatin and Triamcinolone Acetonide (Exema, Psoriasis and allergic reactions—it's a topical steroid)

### Tinactin Spray or cream

### A&D Ointment

### Baby Powder

### Vaseline

### Skin Lotion of your preference

### Vicks VapoRub (or other mentholateum)

### Tucks Witch Hazel Pads

### Boudreaux's Butt Paste (along with A&D Ointment one of the best treatments available for diaper rash or any other irritation in sensitive areas)

### Birth Control and Condoms

### Tampons and Menstrual Pads

### Monistat (Yeast Infections)

### Epsom Salts (if you've never soaked tired feet in Epsom salts you're missing out—and it also helps prevent or control toenail fungus)

### Packets of Electrolyte solution (they turn water into Gatorade) to combat heat exhaustion or dehydration such as can come from diarrhea

### ChapStick/Blistex

### Abreva/Carmex (Cold Sore Medication--Zinc Oxide, Aloe Vera, Vanilla Extract, Witch Hazel, Peroxide and even Vaseline petroleum jelly can help)

### Apple Cider Vinegar (another product with a multitude of uses)

### Potassium Iodide (radiation blocker)

### Mouthwash

### Toothbrushes and toothpaste (good oral hygiene is a necessity, especially when you lack dentists)

### Other Vitamins: B-12, B Complex, C, D-3, as well as Calcium

### Any medication you and your family need including Epi-Pens for your allergies.

### This little list would get you started--thank God you're bugging in, right? It won't handle major traumas where you'd need IV rigs, blood transfusions or (shudder) bone saws and rib cutters but it's a good beginning for your bug-in trauma center

### Overall Health and Fitness

### I'm in my sixties and since I spend a good part of my day parked on my behind in front of a computer (writing) I'm overweight. I've been trying to lose weight for more than two years now and have met with limited success. I've lost some but not enough to satisfy me. Did I mention I'm Type II diabetic and that the most common side effect of my diabetes medications is weight gain? It's almost enough to make me believe all those Big Pharma conspiracy theories.

### Yeah, yeah, I know. Eat less and exercise more. I've actually done pretty well at eating less but the exercise more has been an uphill battle. I spend two or three hours every day out in the gardens where I'm planting, weeding, watering, harvesting or making more raised beds. I also do some digging--as in using a rock bar to create holes in our "ground" if I'm putting in fruit trees or helping my wife with a new flowerbed. It is a lot of work/exercise but evidently, at least according to my somewhat sanctimonious scale, not enough. (I swear the thing smirks at me).

### In the fall, winter and spring months I hike at least a mile a day but again, it's not enough. And in the summer time the garden hogs my early morning hours so I can get done before the heat smacks me like a bug hitting a windshield. Of course I garden year round--one of the things I like best about Arizona--and the seven months of the year it isn't hot I have plenty of time for hiking and gardening.

### But enough about me.

### You're probably smart enough to have either remained fit or joined a health club. I certainly hope so, for if you've let yourself go like me we will both be in for a rude awakening when TSHTF and we aren't fit enough to do the work required to survive.

### So, if you are fit, for God's sake stay that way. And if you're not and don't get fit before TSHTF you'll probably end up a statistic, i.e. dead.

### UPDATE: The following is for those who are overweight like me and know they need to do better. It is a plan I developed and implemented only three weeks ago and it has resulted in me losing more weight and feeling better than I have in a long time.

### Step one was to start logging every bite of food I eat (and being brutally honest about it). I use a website called www.myfitnesspal.com and I like it as it helps me to eat less since I can see how many calories and carbs each item is adding to my waistline.

### Step two is to walk/hike at least one mile per day no matter what. It's too hot is no longer an excuse. I just get started well before the sun comes up so I have time for my gardening chores too. A couple of side benefits to this are my endurance is getting better and my Weimeraner loves going with me. Plus I sweat a lot, which somehow helps, right?

### Step three (for me at least) is to join a health club with an Olympic-sized pool. I used to swim a mile a day and that really melted weight off of me and toned me up, so I decided to resume the practice and the pool is indoors so no "too hot outside" problem.

### Step four, if you're diabetic, is to stop or seriously reduce, your consumption of white foods. White bread, rice and/or potatoes will seriously mess up your A1C if you fail to eliminate them from your diet.

### Now there are some notable exceptions to this last rule. When I bake blueberry zucchini bread, for example, I use white sugar and white flour. My wife hates whole wheat anything so I don't use it and I figure the detrimental effects of white sugar and flour are offset by the healthful benefits of zucchini and blueberries. Right? So far it doesn't seem to have harmed me.

### Stocking up on Antibiotics

### I know some farmers and ranchers who never buy antibiotics from pharmacies when they get sick. They just go to the local feed store and get horse pills—literally. Turns out the antibiotics used for horses are the exact same kind and purity used for humans. You just have to adjust the dosage unless, of course, you weigh 1200 pounds.

### The same goes for most fish antibiotics and even those for large dogs. Your local pet store will have fish "pills," usually in powder form. You just have to know what kind of antibiotic you need.

### I'm allergic to penicillin so I avoid any 'cillin type drug. But Erythromyacin works fine. Zithromax, Ciproflaxin (Cipro) and Levoflaxin (Levoquin) are also available as fish antibiotics. The normal dosage is 250mg but you can get "forte" dosages of 500mg.

### Cephalexin or Keflex is called _Fish Flex_. Folks who are allergic to penicillin have roughly a 10% chance of reacting badly to Keflex. I tolerated it just fine until I became diabetic and then I had to stop using it since it does not react well with the metformin I take for diabetes. It's used to treat upper respiratory tract infections, skin infections and urinary tract infections.

### _Fish-Flox_ is Cipro but you should research cipro thoroughly since it has major or moderate reactions with 710 other drugs. Oddly enough it works fine for me and doesn't react with any of my diabetic meds. Weird, huh.

### It's recommended for treatment of, among other things, urinary tract infections and, of course, Anthrax.

### _Fish-Mox_ is Amoxicillin. Used with other meds for ulcers and also before medical or dental procedures to prevent heart infections--especially for those who have had rheumatic fever.

### _Fish-Cillin_ is Ampicillin. Treats Flu, Gonorrhea, E. Coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Streptococci and some strains of Staphlococci.

### _Fish-Penn_ is Penicillin. All sorts of bacterial infections including ear infections.

### _Fish-Sulfa_ is Sulfamethoxazole or trimethoprim. Treats gram positive infections such as urinary tract infections (UTI's), ear infections, Staph, Broncitis, Shigellosis, and Traveler's Diarrhea. Again, for me, it reacts with Metformin. Too bad.

### _Fish-Cin_ is Clindamycin which is useful for those of us allergic to penicillin. It's also used to treat serious problems such as bone, dental and vaginal infections.

### _Fish-Zole_ is Flagyl (Metronidazole) and is used for non-yeast bacterial vaginal infections, other GI infections as well as those of the skin, joints and respiratory tract.

### All of these antibiotics have interactions with other drugs so research them carefully before you use them. And as for me, I'll continue to use regular prescription antibiotics from my doctor until TSHTF at which time necessity may dictate the use of Fish or Horse antibiotics.

### Here is a link to an excellent article on veterinary medications humans can use.

###  http://www.truthistreason.net/guide-to-veterinary-drugs-for-human-consumption-post-shtf

### One further word about urinary tract infections. Check out the Ladies section at the _American Prepper's Network_. Tons of good info there.

###  http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewforum.php?f=92&sid=3eab2d5d577441e81f615b85f0d6baf3

### You should check out their first aid and medicine thread too.

### <http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewforum.php?f=95>

### Caring for Your Teeth

### Surely you realize by now that caring for your teeth is imperative. I mean, aside from the poor social and health aspects of rotting and missing teeth, who wants to end up looking like a broke down hockey player?

### Besides, oral surgery after TSHTF will be decidedly unpleasant (and yes, I do occasionally resort to understatement—think screaming meemees).

### So I heartily advise you to stock up on toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash and every other type of dental hygiene product you can think of, even Polident or some such cleanser if you have false teeth.

### I'll freely admit that every toothpaste I've tried triggers my gag reflex so I don't use any. The mechanical action of the toothbrush, plus flossing and some mouthwash seems to work just fine.

### I seem to recall using baking soda or sometimes just salt on a toothbrush when I was younger but I haven't tried it in decades. I'm sure it works just fine but it definitely lacks appeal to me.

### The important thing, no matter how you do it, is to take good care of your teeth. The alternative is poor health in general and misery that is truly terrible to contemplate.

Chapter 14

### Other Necessities

### Tools

### By and large most of your other needs can be summed up in one word: Tools. Now when I say tools most people automatically think about hammers, shovels, power saws and the like. But a book can be a tool. The information contained within can help you accomplish a goal or the book itself can simply be used to prop something else up. A simple stick can become a club. A rock can be a deadly weapon.

### Matches are tools. You can use them to start a cook fire or as the trigger for an incendiary booby trap. Bleach is a tool that not only sanitizes rags—especially those used for TP after the TP runs out—but can also disinfect bad water to make it potable or even be used (with exceeding caution) to create toxic chlorine gas for defense.

### A gun is a tool that can defend your home and loved ones, provide food for them or simply for fun. Yeah, yeah, I know guns aren't toys. But target shooting and skeet shooting are fun and if you don't think so I genuinely feel sorry for you.

### The point is that everything you use to perform a task, from a frying pan to an ink pen, from a bulldozer to a tire iron, is a tool—and you need more of them than you have.

### For one thing you need more than one of each kind of tool. What happens if you break a shovel handle? Now you'd just go to the store and buy a new handle or a new shovel, but after TSHTF that isn't an option. If you had to manufacture a new handle you'd need tools like drawknives and spoke shaves along with rasps, saws and sandpaper. Then, of course, your new handle should be finished with some sort of preservative—linseed oil, stain, varnish, anything that will keep bugs and weather out.

### You will also need Neatsfoot oil to keep your leather gloves, holsters, saddles, tack or even your leather upholstery supple and clean.

### Now I've already spent considerable time on tools in prior chapters but there are a few I've given short shift to and others I may not have mentioned at all. So let's get started.

### Files

### Every type of cutting, digging, drilling or slicing tool you have will need to be sharpened, and without electrical power, files and whetstones are simply the best way to do so. You'll want files in different sizes and shapes. You'll want rattail and/or half-round files for curved surfaces and flat or triangular files for straight or vee cut surfaces.

### A good quality file, which is the only kind to have, will be made of hardened steel. Such files will hold an edge and be harder to break than files made from softer steel.

### Flat files can be single cut, double cut, rasp cut or curved tooth. For metal, a double cut file is best for removing larger amounts of material while single cut files leave a smoother finish. For sharpening axes, hatchets and shovels I've mostly used the single cut type. Rasp cut files are better for removing lots of wood quickly—yes, files are used to shape wood or plastic as well. I've never used a rasp on metal but I suppose you could.

### Files are graded in teeth per inch. A "rough" file is 20 tpi. A "course" file is 25 tpi. A bastard file is 30 tpi. A "second" file is 40 tpi. A "smooth" file is 60 tpi. A "dead smooth" file is 100 tpi and a "super smooth" file is 180 tpi. It is best to have a large selection of files. Many artisans make beautiful knives using only files to shape the blades.

### If possible you should always use a _bench vise_ to secure your work before you begin filing. Doing so can save you cuts and barked knuckles. The most important accessory to have when using a file is a _handle_ that fits over the tang. Otherwise the tang can savage your hand. A piece of _chalk_ is good to have around to prevent "pinning." Pinning is what happens when a tiny piece of metal gets "pinned" between the teeth of the file. Some folks call this "loading." Rubbing chalk on a file before using it will prevent most "pinning" which in turn will prevent most uneven filing. While some people use oil I've always found it to cause MORE metal "pins" to stick. Whatever you use to prevent "pins" some will happen and that's what the _file card_ (a very short bristled wire brush for cleaning) is for.

### _Oil and a wire brush_ or _wire wheel_ are useful if you are ever careless enough to let a file get rusty. But you would never do that, would you?

### Note: for smooth files and super smooth files the metal wires on a file card may be too coarse to get the pins out so use a stiff bristled paint brush to do the job.

### When purchasing files take a good close look at the teeth to see if they are cleanly cut. If they are there's a good chance the file is decent quality. If they aren't, steer clear.

### Finally, when using a file only apply pressure on the "push" stroke. Do not saw back and forth with a file. It won't make your work go faster and doing so repeatedly can dull the file and load it up with "pins" faster.

### Whetstones

### While I have known people, some of them my own relatives, who use a whetstone on axes and hatchets, I don't. For me a file works fine on such tools. When I was a kid we had a large, round whetstone wheel. You sat on it like a bicycle and "pedaled." It was a coarse wheel and as such was fine for axes, hatchets, shovels and hoes. It could put a new edge on an axe in almost no time and was kind of fun.

### But a knife, other than one with a serrated edge must be honed to maintain a proper edge and that means at the minimum a coarse and a fine grained whetstone and 3-in-1 oil. The stones I use are called _Arkansas Stones_ and I've had them since I was a teenager. One is 400 grit and the other 1000 grit. Used with a drop or two of oil they've kept every knife blade I've ever used razor sharp. After fifty years the softer 400 grit stone is beginning to wear thin and I'll probably have to replace it before I kick the bucket.

### I know there are better quality sharpening stones out there ( _Ohira_ to name but one) but these inexpensive Arkansas stones have proven good enough for me.

### I now also have a pair of Carborundum stones I use for quick touch ups.

### The Vise

### A bench mounted Vise is one of the most useful tools you can have. It's like having a third hand when you're working alone. In addition to a regular vise I also have a couple of woodworking vises. These are metal vises with wood inserts on the jaws to prevent damage to wood surfaces when they are clamped in the vise.

### If you do much work with wood a _Rockwell Jawhorse_ or even a _Black & Decker Workmate_ will come in very handy to secure your work, as would a variety of woodworking clamps.

### Clamps

### If you ever have to glue anything together, you'll find clamps a necessity. Most of mine are small, hand-held devices somewhat similar to _Visegrips_ (which you should also have) or _"C" clamps_. Others are larger and longer and most resemble bar clamps. No matter the size the thing I use them for most often is holding two pieces of wood together until the glue dries. That means I tend to favor soft-face clamps so as not to mar the wood. Having an assortment is best. Tell mama, Ray the writer said so.

### The Axe

### It was only a bit more than one hundred years ago that a man could head off into the wilderness with an axe, a drawknife, an auger and a mallet and build a cabin. Shovels and other such gardening or farming implements were often hand crafted from hard woods. Nowadays people most often use an axe for trimming limbs or cutting firewood—though most of us use a chainsaw. The thing is, if TSHTF fuel for chainsaws will disappear and then what do you do? You go back to using saws and axes.

### A battle axe was once a formidable weapon of war but I'm not going to get into either those or tactical hatchets for the very good reason that I wouldn't know what I was talking about.

### I've chopped several cords of wood in my day so I have personal prejudices about proper wood-cutting axes. First, I recommend a double-bitted axe for chopping down trees. They typically weigh more than a single bit axe and as such have more heft and cleave deeper. Also, as hard wood can dull an edge, having two edges means you only have to stop and sharpen your axe with some oil and a file you brought along for that purpose half as often. Moreover, a dull axe is dangerous as the blade can deflect off your target and into your leg or foot. So unless you have bleeding profusely on your bucket list, keep your axe sharp.

### The handle of an axe is just as important as the blade. When looking to buy one select good, close-grained, hardwood handle with the grain running parallel to the blade. If you can find such a handle in hickory, consider yourself blessed.

### BTW, if your axe handle cracks without actually breaking, reinforcing it with several wraps of duct tape (or better yet, Gorilla Tape) will add years to its useful life. I speak from experience here.

### Eventually your axe head gets loose. Hi-ho danger! A loose head can not only fly off, it is much more likely to deflect (with all the blood and drama previously mentioned). This is why an axeman will carry a small wedge or two. I prefer hardwood wedges to metal because over the years I've noticed wood wedges swell and shrink at basically the same rate as your wood axe handle so they stay firmly wedged in place longer than the metal variety.

### I try very hard not to split firewood with an axe. Not only does this dull your axe very quickly but axes are lighter than mauls and thus can be more easily deflected by a knot into a leg or foot. Since I like my legs and feet, I use a maul and large metal wedges, both of which should be kept reasonably sharp. If you don't have a maul and at least two wedges get them now. Okay, maybe not until after you finish this book.

### The Multi-Tool

### Did you carry a Swiss Army Knife when you were younger? I did and I found it useful for everything from cutting fishing line to removing splinters. It was my go to can opener when I was camping out. I even used the tiny scissors to snip loose threads. I think the only part I never used was the "wire stripper." To this day I carry one in the center console of my car.

### Now mine wasn't the two-inch wide model that has everything you need to rebuild civilization on it. Mine was the Tinker model. It's lightweight and makes a decent all around pocket knife as well as being a good multi-tool.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Tinker-Translucent-Pocket-Sapphire/dp/B0007QCOC4/ref=sr_1_13?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1447511165&sr=1-13&keywords=swiss+army+knife+victorinox

### When The Leatherman Tool first came out I was quick to grab one and I've never been sorry. It's a Swiss Army Knife on steroids—much more robust—and extremely useful. I now keep a Leatherman in each vehicle and in my Get Home Bag. My first Leatherman was the old PST model though I've since lost it and replaced it with the Leatherman Wave. I really like the 40-piece driver bit kit that comes with it, but found it more useful with the optional bit driver. The Wave is expensive but I'll probably be able to hand it down to my son.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N456FGG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00N456FGG&linkCode=as2&tag=thebackpion-20&linkId=TWZRXG53JQYGFEGM

### I have heard many good things about SOG brand multi-tools but have never used one.

### Pocket/Purse Knives

### My first pocket knife was a Case my grandfather gave me when I was six years old. I was the first kid in school to have a pocket knife and it was my first "show and tell." I was the envy of every boy in my class. Today, of course, bringing a "weapon" like that to school would get me expelled or brought up on criminal charges. A pocket knife is not a "weapon" though it could be used (as a last resort). It's a tool, often the first tool a child receives to learn responsibility. I heave a heavy sigh for the decline of civilization.

### Two years after I got my Case knife, having demonstrated I would use it responsibly and having NOT lost it, my grandfather gave me a bolt action Springfield .22 caliber rifle (by then I was hunting with him regularly). And even then, back in the "good old days" I was NOT allowed to take that to school.

### Okay, enough of this maudlin dithering.

### A Prepper (and please note I did not say a man) needs a good pocket/purse knife. Once you start carrying one you won't believe how often you use them. No more scurrying to the knife drawer, just pull out your knife, do whatever needs doing and amaze your non-carrying friends. I use mine for everything from digging dirt from under my fingernails to opening packages or mail.

### I find a blade length of about two and one half inches to be most useful in a pocket knife. High carbon steel is pretty easy to sharpen and holds an edge well but so does 1660 Stainless Steel. The blade should lock open so you can't accidentally fold it and cut yourself while you're using it. I don't like smooth, shiny handles and prefer a non-slip grip. I also prefer to be able to open it with one hand.

### For all of these reasons my current pocket knife is a _Kershaw Leek Serrated model_. It's a Ken Onion design, spring-assisted, modified drop blade folding knife that I can flick open with one finger. It does have a small serrated area on the blade near the hilt. And to demonstrate how capable I am of ignoring my own advice, the whole knife is made of 1660 stainless steel so the handle is smooth and a bit shiny. It looks like it will be great for skinning small game. It IS one of the models that is Made in America. And that, aside from the knife feeling really good in my hand, is why I accepted the smooth handle.

### Here's a link to the Kershaw Leek Serrated Model

### <https://kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/serrated-leek>

### Pocket-sized Knife Sharpener

### For years I've had a Smith's PP1 Pocket Pal Multi-Function Sharpener that I think cost me around six bucks. If you are in the woods it will keep your knives sharp until you can get home and hone them. What can I say? It works and it slips in your pocket.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013Q34LG6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B013Q34LG6&linkCode=as2&tag=thebackpion-20&linkId=BW25PO3CPLAC5BR2

### Sheathe/Belt Knives

### I carry a belt knife (a folding knife with a belt clip) almost everywhere I go. Mine has a three-inch blade and features a single finger flip open design that I really like. It's a _Hoffman Richter Tactical Folder HR-15_ model that also features a partially serrated edge made of 440 stainless steel and a quote skull crusher/glass breaker lanyard loop instead of a butt plate. I got mine for $9.95 and though it's really heavy and seems solid the reviews on Amazon make me think I got what I paid for. There are far superior folding belt knives out there and I'll be buying one soon—probably one that is Made in America.

### Note: There are around 330 million people in the U.S. and that means there are at least 900 million opinions on what constitutes the best sheathe knife.  There is no single knife that is best for all situations. Combat knives are designed and balanced differently than Utility or Survival knives. Filet or skinning knives are great for their purpose but I wouldn't want to chop firewood with one. You get the picture. A Prepper should have several different knives and know how to use them.

### In my opinion a sheathe knife should have a blade made of high carbon steel for ease of sharpening and for holding an edge. The knife and tang should be one piece. The handle should be of a slip resistant material like leather, wood or rubber, though a textured synthetic will work. It should have a full guard to prevent your hand from slipping into the blade. I like non-serrated, drop tip designs (where the back of the tip is sharpened for a couple of inches) that are hollow ground, though a few serrations can be useful if you're sawing through webbing or thick sinew.

### Something like a Ka-Bar is what I'm talking about, though I'd only buy one that was Made in America since too many knives come from China these days and are of inferior quality. Mora knives (made in Sweden) are also of top quality and get a lot of favorable reviews by people who know knives. Of course if you can afford a custom made knife by Randall or Dozier by all means go for it.

### One of my favorite sheathe knives is a Buck Pathfinder I've had for at least thirty years. And just to show how inconsistent I am it has a "clip" style point and the blade is made of 420HC Stainless Steel. Buck knives says this provides the best compromise between corrosion resistance, ease of sharpening and edge durability. Who am I to argue? I mean, thirty years and it's still going strong. It is not my Every Day Carry knife because the blade is five-inches long and in some states that would get me in trouble.

### Above all the best knife for you is one that fits your hand, is "balanced" right for you and that you have a lot of experience using.

### Now, a final word of caution about blade length and concealed carry, less than four inches is legal to carry in most States, though even in Arizona (perhaps THE most knife and gun friendly State) it is illegal NOT to inform a policeman you are carrying a knife if you are (for example) pulled over for a traffic offense.

### Flashlights

### Since I covered using flashlights as emergency lighting in a previous article I'll skip repeating my preference for headlamps and focus on flashlights that can be used as weapons.

### _Maglite_ flashlights have, in my opinion, always been the crème de la crème of flashlights. The all aluminum, two or three D cell models can be used as clubs—usually without damaging them. The model I'm posting a link to can blind an opponent with 625 lumens or disorient/confuse them with a strobe, though I do wonder if the strobe wouldn't also disorient you.

###  http://maglite.com/shop/flashlights/full-size-flashlights/maglite-3-cell-d-led-3rd-gen-flashlight-571.html#.Vk8oD4R2zhM

### They even have rechargeable models now.

###  http://maglite.com/shop/flashlights/full-size-flashlights/mag-charger-led-rechargeable-system.html#.Vk8pS4R2zhM

### _Surefire_ flashlights are considered by many experts to be the best _tactical_ flashlights around. In particular, _SureFire's HellFighter_ ® _WeaponLights_ that can be mounted on your pistol or rifle are well known for their ability to blind foes. They are extremely shock resistant (a good thing when mounted to a gun). Their one drawback is that they are not adjustable. They project an intensely bright beam that does its job but isn't of much use as an ordinary flashlight. Also, they are a bit pricey.

### <http://www.surefire.com/illumination/flashlights.html>

### Duct Tape/Gorilla Tape

### Duct Tape is so useful, so indispensable, it's, well...indispensable pretty much says it all. Whole books have been written about this magical stuff. What other tape can save people's lives by binding their wounds, hold a broken gunstock together, patch bullet holes in airplanes, seal leaks in your A/C or heating ductwork (using metallic duct tape only) and stick race cars back together during pit stops?

### So get lots of it but make sure it's the good quality stuff. There are many cheap knock offs out there that won't do the job right. So many, in fact that I no longer buy Duct Tape.

### What??? Heresy!

### Hold on, calm down. I now buy Gorilla Tape. I could bore you to tears singing the praises of Gorilla Tape but suffice it to say it's Duct Tape on steroids—stronger, stickier, in that it even sticks to rough, uneven surfaces other tapes won't, tougher and more durable. In short, it's better in every way. Here's just one example.

### Four years ago I broke an axe handle while splitting some abominably hard and knotty wood. I know. I should have been using a maul but I'd misplaced it so used my axe. When I went looking for a replacement handle I couldn't find a good close-grained handle with the grain running parallel with the axe head anywhere.

### I bound that broken handle back together by wrapping Gorilla Tape around it for the entire length of the break (and then some). As far as I can tell it's good as new. No weird vibrations when I use it. It's solid as a rock. As a guy I am required by genetics to love a product like that.

### Baling wire

### Before God created Duct Tape there was baling wire. Every farm or ranch I ever worked on had machinery held together by this stuff. I still keep a couple of rolls of it around and I still find it useful. Especially if the repair is going to "live" outside where the sun would eventually disintegrate Duct Tape.

### Safe (1hr fire-rated min)

### I never thought I'd need a safe but then I realized one of the most common disasters to befall us as individuals is a house fire. Now, you may not have a lot of stock certificates laying around. I sure don't. And I don't have a ton of cash I need to protect either.

### But what will happen to your guns and ammo if you have a fire? Your jewelry?

### Are your real estate deeds, automobile titles, insurance documents, your most precious family photos, going to survive a fire?

### What about your last will and testament? Your Birth Certificate?

### The point here, of course, is that we all have paper documents we can't afford to lose. Paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit. (Remember Ray Bradbury's book " _Fahrenheit 451_ " where the "firemen" were burning books?) So anything you put your valuables in must keep the interior temperature below that point and the best thing to do that is a safe with an absolute minimum one-hour fire rating at 1700 degrees. House fires can burn at any temperatures between 1200 and 1800 degrees and they'll likely burn for more than an hour—unless your fire department is a quick responder. A good safe will keep your documents and cash and other combustibles from incinerating during the worst of the fire's heat and will also protect them from all the water used to extinguish the fire.

### By the way, that last bit about water, whether from leaks, floods or firemen is why my wife and I use our vacuum sealer to seal up our important papers. Here's a list of things it's a very good idea to preserve.

### A copy of your primary ID (driver's license, state ID card Passport)

### A copy of your social security card

### Medical info (List of current medications, known allergies, doctors names and phone numbers, surgeries, dentist and optometrist phone numbers)

### Marriage Certificates or divorce decrees.

### Birth Certificates

### Home inventory (we videoed this one and burned it to disk)

### Thumb drives of all your books if you're an author

### CD's of your musical compositions if you're a musician

### Next of kin information (names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses)

### Deeds

### Automobile Titles

### Cash

### DD214 and other military papers

### Safety deposit box locales if you have any

### Bank account info and maybe a statement

### Tax returns for at least seven years

### IRA, 401k, social security statements, pension plans, and any other retirement planning info

### A Passwords list along with a list of any accounts you have online

### Copies of Family photos—find more important documents to seal

### Adoption records

### Appraisals for jewelry, coin or stamp collections, etc.

### Incorporation or LLC business papers

### A copy of your car registration

### Citizenship papers

### Any contracts you may be a signee on

### Bankruptcy filing copies

### Insurance policies—vital as folks who endured Katrina, Hugo and other hurricanes or tornadoes have discovered

### Insurance documents (health insurance or Medicare card, supplemental medical insurance card)

### Mortgages Loan Paperwork

### Bank account info and maybe a statement

### Tax returns for at least seven years

### Death certificates for immediate family members

### Credit card information

### Durable Power of Attorney if you have one

### Judgments or Final disposition of any civil/criminal court cases

### Lawyer, financial advisor, accountant, executor of your will, contact info

### Living Will

### Last Will and Testament

### Passport

### Stocks/bonds/brokerage account information

### Trust documents

### Warranties

### And anything else I've left out that's important to you.

### We place all thin paper documents (you know, the ones that a vacuum sealer would wad up as it sucked the air out) between two pieces of cardboard. I then round the corners so any sharp edges of cardboard won't poke through the bag, then seal them before placing them in our safe.

### Now some folks will bury cash and guns and other valuables in the "back forty." After all, deep holes were invented before safes. And that's fine so long as: 1—You can find them again after a major disaster such as a forest fire or flood have come through and destroyed all your precious landmarks; 2—You buried them deep enough they won't melt if the forest /meadow or whatever above them burns; 3—You vacuum sealed them in a waterproof container along with oxygen absorbers to prevent corrosion; and 4—You also dug your hole deep enough to avoid frost heaving and not so deep you hit water. Easy peasy, right?

### Other folks trust banks enough to put all such valuables, except for guns and ammo, in a safety deposit box. But before you do that, did you know the box and all its contents are essentially the property of the bank? How would you get access if the bank is closed for the duration of an emergency? How would your heirs gain access in the event of your death? Seriously, one of the worst mistakes people make is to put their wills in a safety deposit box. Then they die and before anyone (their spouse or children) can clean out the box it is sealed and they have to go through probate—so much for having a will. NEVER put a will in a safety deposit box.

### Since I live in a desert I just might try burying a few valuables, especially if I'm worried about FEMA going around confiscating my guns. But for maximum safety against the likeliest of disasters (fires and burglars) I'm going to get a safe. And I'll either get one with an old fashioned mechanical combination lock (EMP proof) or if it has an electronic lock it must also have so-called Redundant locks (a mechanical lock in case the electronic lock fails).

### A really good website to aid you in finding the best safe for you is:

###  http://consumerfiles.com/best-gun-safe-under-1000-dollars-review/

### I'm researching safes costing under $1000 because that fits my budget and because I think most of you could afford that much if you decide to do so. Sure, there are better safes for more money but remember I'm primarily protecting the contents against fire. I figure my big dog and my not-in-the-safe guns will deter burglars. And any safe worth buying will be too heavy for burglars to steal.

### The main one I'm interested in so far is the _Second Amendment Gun Safe_ by _Blue Dot Safes_. It is one-hour fire rated at 1700 degrees and has an intumescent expandable heat seal around the door so not even smoke can get in. It comes standard with an electronic lock but is available with a mechanical lock if you request one. I'd order it through Amazon if possible to take advantage of my Prime membership's free shipping (can cost up to $500 since the thing weighs 650 pounds). This safe is not Made in America  so I'm still looking. It is made in Taiwan so I can live with that if I have to. I refuse as a matter of principle to knowingly purchase anything from mainland China. I apologize if my rant on this subject is growing tiresome but I buy American first because doing so supports American jobs and strengthens our American economy.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Dot-Safes-Fire-Resistant-59x28x20-Inch/dp/B00CSITFAI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_200_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41jPvNK-9%2BL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=09TDQB8H9BHZWM76SND1

### The _Tradition 19 Gun Safe_ by _Winchester Safes_ is Made in America but it's only fire rated for 45 minutes at 1200 degrees. It has an Palusol expandable heat seal but apparently only comes with an electronic lock. I haven't been able to find out yet if this safe comes with an emergency backup key in case the electronic lock fails.

### Since my goal in having a safe is to protect my valuables from fire I've decided having two safes is better than one. This _First Alert 2087F Waterproof One Hour Fire Safe_ is small enough to fit inside either the _Second Amendment Safe_ or the _Tradition 19_ (though you'd have to sit it inside them sideways).

### It's also the safe I'll buy first. Yeah, it's small and only weighs 76 pounds, but it comes with a one-hour fire rating at 1700 degrees, a mechanical combination lock AND and emergency override key and it's cheap. I haven't been able to find out where it's made yet, but it gets great reviews.

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MPMEZM?ie=UTF8&tag=cf002-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000MPMEZM

### Since I believe more layers of protection is better when it comes to fireproofing my important documents I'll probably also put them inside _U.S. Patrol JB5076 Fire Resistant Document bags_. Here's a link.

###  http://www.amazon.com/U-S-Patrol-JB5076-Resistant-Document/dp/B001BF00VC/ref=pd_bxgy_60_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AJTADWNSWGMGMMBHZA6

### Then I will throw in a few _Silica Gel Dry Packs_ to absorb moisture. I'll put these in the larger gun safe as well to help prevent corrosion, which admittedly is not a huge problem here in bone dry Arizona, but dry packs are cheap so why not.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Packs-Silica-Gel-10-Pack/dp/B0038MWTTW/ref=pd_bxgy_60_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=12Q2FKTPYHY5A2HZ72P2

### So, to sum up. I'll place cash or important documents in a Fire Resistant bag, place them inside the First Alert 2087 F, throw in a couple of Dry Packs, then put the First Alert safe inside whatever larger one-hour fire rated gun safe I get. That way I'll have my documents in what amounts to a two-hour rated fire safe without the horrendous expense of buying such a safe. Also, no burglar can walk off with the littler safe.

### Once I've done all that I'll tape the combination to the safe on the door so I won't forget it and lose the backup keys. NOT!!!

### Firewood Cutting Saws

### There's a pretty good chance if TSHTF you'll be heating your home with wood or coal. Now if you're smart and well prepared you'll have a home that is both heated and cooled by the sun, preferably using Passive Solar systems.

### If you couldn't afford to do that you'll need tools to cut and gather firewood. I've already covered the axe and the maul. I have a distinct preference for Husqvarna e series chainsaws and I pretty much drool over the 450, which will be the next chainsaw I get.

### <http://www.husqvarna.com/asia/products/chainsaws/450-e-series/>

### But the problem with chainsaws is that you will eventually run out of fuel, chain oil and chains for them if such supplies are no longer being delivered to your friendly neighborhood store.

### When my wife and I purchased our Colorado property in the 80's we found an old, rusty two-man timber cutting saw. With a bit of oil and wire brushing—okay, a lot of both—and some serious filing and sharpening we restored it to usefulness. I had to replace the bolts attaching the handles as they'd pretty much rusted away.

### Such saws cut on the pull stroke so using one takes a bit of coordination between the folks on each end. They do the work, but it is advisable to use a bit of oil or some lubricant on them as you use them to reduce the amount of sweat pouring from your body.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Lynx-Two-Man-Crosscut-Saw/dp/B00A2MZUQA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448124976&sr=8-1&keywords=Two+man+timber+saws

### Such Timber or Crosscut saws are far superior to any other hand saw for downing trees. They also are faster than an axe—especially if you aren't all that experienced with axe work. Again, if you plan to heat with wood, such a saw should be your backup.

### Limb saws are useful for delimbing (is there such a word?) downed trees in the absence of a chain saw. I like the ones with a single heavy blade (as opposed to the flimsy models that look a bit like overgrown hacksaws). I use an axe or hatchet to knock the small stuff off before setting to work sawing the larger limbs.

### Limb loppers, along with limb saws are great for pruning off smaller limbs. The trick is keeping them sharp and getting sturdy enough loppers so you don't bend the handles. Yeah, the ones made from heavy gauge steel or aluminum cost more than the the light gauge aluminum models but once you've bent the handles on the lightweight models into a pretzel you'll discover the extra cost and weight are worth it.

### Tape Measures

### I've lost track of the number of tape measures I've broken or lost over the years. One went down a well and one is now an accidental time capsule in a poured basement foundation. No matter how good a quality they all eventually gum up, stick, or break. I've used _Stanley's, Etronics, Komelons_ and _Tecktons._ All of them work well and eventually wear out with use—and since I was a building contractor I used them a lot. I even carried a rag I used to wipe them clean as they retracted but they still all broke over time.

### I've used retractables, reel tapes and even cloth measuring tapes from my wife's sewing cupboard.

### Her, "Have you seen my tape measure?"

### Word to the wise. If you use hers, put it BACK.

### The only fix I know for the "eventually they break" problem is to buy several. For several years I used the Sears Craftsman tapes and when they broke I took them back and got a new one for free. It didn't solve the breakage problem but it did solve the "it costs good money to replace them" problem. I wonder if Sears still does that?

### Back in my grandfather's day when he was building houses he used a foldy-out expandable measuring stick, also known as a flat read folding rule. His unfolded to eight feet as I recall. He built a lot of homes with one of those, but as soon as retractable tape measures came out he switched over because they were faster and more convenient. Long story short, I now have a _Lufkin folding rule_ as a backup to my several tape measures.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Lufkin-066F-6-Flat-Read-Folding/dp/B00002NB82/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1448126043&sr=1-1&keywords=wood+measuring+stick

### Gardening Tools

### While I would love be in a place where I could use a tractor or even a rototiller to do the "heavy lifting" parts of gardening, I do not. And, eventually such tools will break down or run out of fuel and become really over-sized paperweights. So I'll confine this discussion to hand tools.

### **Shovels** : I have and use a variety of shovels—round tips, square tips, scoops, spades and hand trowels. I even have a folding shovel I carry in my car. You know what they are used for so I won't bore you with the gory details. You should have at least one of each type and more than one round point.

### **Garden Forks** : Whether you call them garden forks or spading forks I use them for turning the soil in my raised bed gardens. In that regard they are more of a tilling instrument than digging. They are easier to use for that function than a shovel. They usually sport four tines and I like the ones that have thick, heavy tines as they won't bend as easily. They are also useful for digging potatoes.

### **Hoes** : There are dozens of types of hoes but mine is the old traditional rounded top, squared bottom type with a long handle that is very useful for weeding without getting a backache. I also cock it at a 45-degree angle and use the triangular point to make furrows.

### **Cultivators** : Since I do raised-bed gardening here in the desert I really don't need one of these—at least for working in my raised beds. I do use mine for turning or tilling my compost piles. It looks like a hoe but with three curved tines My grandfather had a walk behind cultivator he used on the two-acre family garden. If I lived in an area where I could have a really big garden, I'd definitely want a good cultivator as a backup for when my rototiller broke or ran out of fuel in a SHTF situation.

### **Rock Bars** : (Not the kind you get drunk in listening to Rock Music). Also called Digging Bars. I really hate these things but where there is rock or caliche they are a necessity. I use them as much as I use shovels—usually to break the rock/caliche up so I can shovel it out of the hole I'm creating. I've learned from hard experience to only buy those Made in America because the ones from China are made of soft iron and they bend—seriously—and once they bend they're junk. The American made ones do cost more but they are made of sterner stuff (high carbon steel) and I have NOT been able to bend them. I recommend a model that has a chisel or wedge shape on one end and a sharp point on the other.

### The cheap ones cost about $20 from places like _Home Depot_. Mine cost almost $40 and I got it from _True Value Hardware_. I've had it for so long the sticker with the name brand has worn off.

### **Rakes:** Nothing beats a good, long handled garden rake for smoothing fresh turned soil and nothing beats a leaf rake for, well, raking up leaves to feed your compost pile.

### **Small Hand Tools** : I use hand trowels, three prong cultivators, scissors, clippers, pruners and small knives for a variety of gardening tasks—the cutting tools mostly for harvesting or pruning.

### **Hori hori knife** : Also known as a Farmer's Dagger is a long bladed, rather blunt pointed knife useful for everything from pruning to weeding and digging.

### **Wheelbarrow or Garden Cart** : I have both. I like using a wheelbarrow and my wife loves her garden cart. Both are great for transporting dirt or any other backbreaking load so if you don't have a good, solid wheelbarrow or cart get one.

### I've always favored the single wheel models since they are more maneuverable but this model recently caught my eye (as new tools often do). See what you think. If I ever succeed in wearing out my old wheelbarrow this is the one for me.

###  https://www.worx.com/en-US/Aerocart.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=wheelbarrow&mkwid=srSYtgngf_dc&pcrid=83098825997&plc=&pkw=wheelbarrow&pmt=e&cvosrc=ppc.google.wheelbarrow&utm_campaign=NB+-+Wheelbarrow+-+Exact&utm_adgroup=&gclid=CjwKEAiA7MWyBRDpi5TFqqmm6hMSJAD6GLeAezQb7f-vu1l19oe5InypXn-LoX86qHbYaOHmx-nwcRoCJmTw_wcB

### The wheelbarrow I have is this model.

###  http://www.homedepot.com/p/True-Temper-6-cu-ft-Wheelbarrow-with-Steel-Handles-and-Flat-Free-Tire-C6ORUT14/202057391

### It is rugged and all I have to do to keep it functional is keep the pneumatic tire aired up with a bicycle pump. Oh, I highly recommend pneumatic tires. They make any given load ride better and feel lighter. Pushing a solid wheeled model over rough, sandy terrain is akin to pushing a rock.

### I have no idea where my wife got the dump-bed garden cart she uses and I couldn't find a photo of one that looked like it on the internet. It looks like a two-wheeled wheelbarrow to me, but with a "U-shaped" metal handle. It's okay and she loves it but it was also designed with a hitch so it could be towed behind an ATV or small garden tractor. Whenever I use it I find the handle so short I have to be very careful not to bang my shins on the stupid hitch. It only cost $20 so I keep my complaints to myself.

### **Hand Seeders** : I spend entirely too much time thinning small-seeded plants like lettuce, broccoli or turnips because I dumped too many seeds too close together in a given furrow. To that end I've ordered a hand seeder that will supposedly solve this problem. We'll see. If I had the patience I could manufacture my own seed tapes and use them but I don't.

### I realize there are many other gardening tools ranging from soil dampness meters to electronic soil pH meters, bulb planters and more ad nauseum. I consider many such items gimmicks and don't use them. I have a chemical pH test kit that I do use and my soil dampness meter is my finger.

### **Chicken Wire** : I use 1" chicken wire to fence rabbits out of my raised beds and keep them from "ringing" my fruit trees. I also line the bottom and sides of the inside of my raised beds with it to keep desert pack rats, ground squirrels and pocket gophers from burrowing in.

### **Bird Netting** : If you don't want birds eating your fruit from your trees or "scratching" out your seedlings you'll use bird netting to cover your fruit trees and gardens. I have hoop house frames over my raised beds and in the summer those hoops hold bird netting up off my plants. While that means the birds can't get to and eat my insect pests, they also can't gobble down my veggies.

### Fertilizers and Pest Control

### I like to be as organic as possible. I build my soil by composting vegetable scraps. I hand pick pests, use companion planting to reduce their numbers and, in short, do everything I can to NOT use chemical pesticides or fertilizers. But when it comes right down to who is going to eat my crops—me or the bugs—I'll spray neem oil or pull out the Sevin and dust away. Note: since we are blessed with bees I don't spray neem oil or dust with Sevin when they are out.

### Since our native soil mostly rock, very alkaline and very poor with almost no organic material, I do use sulfur and gypsum and chemical fertilizers along with bone meal, blood meal and compost whenever I plant fruit trees. I then feed those trees twice a year (in fall and spring) using the same things. It seems to work as I usually get good crops.

### I also used to mix Miracle Grow Garden Soil (which contains some fertilizer) in with my compost and native soil when I'm filling my raised beds. But I no longer do so because the harsh chemicals will kill the worms I have in my garden beds.

### Air Rifles

### Okay, I can almost hear you scoff. "I have real guns," you say. "What do I need an air rifle for?"

### Do you re-load your own ammo? If so, good. If not get a re-loader and learn how.

### Do you have a large supply of lead bars and a smelter to cast your own bullets?

### Can you manufacture your own gunpowder?

### Do you need to get rid of rabbits or other garden pests inside the city limits without having your neighbors call the cops on you?

### **That's** why you need an air rifle. And even if you CAN cast bullets and make gunpowder you will eventually run out of primers.

### Air rifle ammunition is cheap and readily available. For my .177 caliber _Beeman_ break barrel model a can of 500 top quality _Crosman_ or _Beeman_ loads costs about six bucks, so you can lay in a lifetime supply for you and your kids for less than one hundred dollars.

### A small caliber (.177 or .22) air rifle is quiet enough to be used in town without freaking your neighbors out.

### An air rifle is a great way to teach your children gun safety and how to shoot without it costing you an arm and a leg.

### Air rifles come in calibers ranging from .177 to .45 and the larger caliber models can therefore be used for hunting deer or even elk if you can get within 100 yards or maybe even 150 yards.

### I use mine for small game like cotton tails and jack rabbits. It is a .177 caliber so I won't be using it for big game or even javelina. But it serves its purpose well. At the distances I typically use it—under 50 yards—I really didn't need a scope, but I put one on anyhow.

### I prefer break barrel models to CO2 cartridge models because (and here's another one you can say with me) eventually you'll run out of CO2 cartridges. While the spring on my break barrel model will also eventually wear out, I seriously doubt it will do so during my lifetime. And replacement springs are available if you wanted one as a just in case spare.

### While researching air rifles before I bought one I stumbled across this beauty. The $1,000 price tag means I can't afford it but it's so cool I thought you'd enjoy a peek at this _Airforce Texan_ .45 caliber sweetheart. It sends a .45 caliber round downrange at 1000 feet per second.

###  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2699648539/airforce-texan-air-rifle-45-caliber-pellet-synthetic-stock-bull-barrel-matte-with-spin-loc-air-tank

### A much less expensive ($300) but still good quality air gun is the _Gamo Mach 1 Pigman_ in either .177 or .22 caliber. It's a break barrel model like mine so it's a single shot that has to be re-cocked as you reload it. It sends the .177 out at 1420 FPS and the .22 at 1040 FPS.

###  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1725837844/gamo-mach-1-pigman-edition-air-rifle-black-synthetic-stock-blue-barrel-with-gamo-airgun-scope-3-9x-40mm-matte

### This _Crosman_ .22 (1000 FPS) is a winner at $129.

###  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/146120/crosman-phantom-air-rifle-22-caliber-pellet-black-synthetic-stock-matte-barrel-with-scope-4x-32mm

### My _Beeman Sportsman RS2_ .177 air rifle ($77) lays claim to 1000 FPS. It's a heavy beast but it shoots good and does the job I bought it for.

###  http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/beeman-rs2-air-rifle-combo-sportsman-series?a=691420

### Just for fun I'm throwing in this link to a fully automatic .177 air rifle because I didn't even know they made such a thing.

###  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/910879/umarex-steel-force-m4-style-6-shot-burst-full-auto-air-rifle-177-caliber-bb-collapsible-synthetic-stock-black

### If you choose a .177 caliber air rifle, you'll need a cleaning kit. This one will work on .177, .22 or .25 weapons.

###  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/145166/gamo-airgun-cleaning-kit-177-22-25-caliber

### And any air rifle will continue to function better if you use a bit of lightweight oil on them.

###  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/868912/crosman-pellgunoil-airgun-oil-1-4-oz-tube

### Air Pumps

### Air rifles that use compressed air can be recharged from a scuba tank or any other high pressure air tank but you'll need an air compressor and a portable tank if you are going to use it at the shooting range. The alternative is to recharge it with a hand pump like this one from _Airforce_ that can achieve 3600 PSI.

###  http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2699648539/airforce-texan-air-rifle-45-caliber-pellet-synthetic-stock-bull-barrel-matte-with-spin-loc-air-tank

### While it costs a bit more than two hundred dollars it should last more than one lifetime. It's on my wish list because it can be used as a bicycle tire pump or to re-inflate a flat on a car or to recharge a scuba tank or other compressed air tank for use with pneumatic tools.

### Bows and Crossbows

### Yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to discuss bows and crossbows. I lied. For many of the same reasons it's good to own an air rifle it's a good idea to have and know how to use a bow and arrow and/or a crossbow. I had a 45 pound draw weight recurve bow as a teenager and my best friend and I spent many fun-filled hours at the local archery range. A good recurve bow is a reliable bow to have but it takes hours of practice to learn how to shoot one accurately.

### When my son achieved the ripe old age of eleven I got him a Compound Bow with a 45 pound draw weight. The mechanical advantage gained from using pulleys in compound bows is that, once you draw back past the break point, drawing and holding to aim gets much easier. I got bow sights and installed them and within a couple of hours he was hitting every target he shot at and so was I.

### In Medieval times only English longbow men—trained from an early age to draw 150 pound pull weight bows—could kill an armored knight from a safe distance. Then crossbows came into vogue and any old yeoman could stand up to a knight in battle. That was pretty much the end of knights.

### Now the longbow had its distinct advantages, chief of which was that a trained archer could send 12 arrows down range while a crossbowman was shooting three. And the longbow had far greater range than the crossbow being able to reach out and touch someone 300 yards away. See the battle of Argincourt, where the English forces under King Henry V defeated a French force four times its size, due in large part to English longbow men. (Though admittedly the muddiness of the battlefield played a major role as well).

### So a good bow is a fearsome weapon in the right hands. It is also one of the best backup weapons you can have since it's quiet and you can learn to make your own arrows and even bow strings. You can even learn to make a decent bow. Now I'll admit none of these skills are without challenge but it's preferable to learn them than to die of hunger because you couldn't hunt for food should the need ever arise.

### Or, even easier, buy a good recurve bow and a good compound bow and some extra bowstrings and pulley parts and a bunch of target and hunting arrows and go out and have a blast.

### Crossbows

### I'll confess I have absolutely no direct experience with crossbows, so all the info I'm passing on to you comes from research. Crossbows are far easier to learn to shoot accurately than a regular bow. Cock the thing, insert a bolt, aim it more or less like a rifle and let fly. You too can be Daryl of the Walking Dead, who would be excited as a kid at Christmas to own this _Ten Point Vapor Crossbow Package_. (The price alone made me clutch my chest and wonder if I was having a heart attack). It's on my "if I ever win the lottery" list. It is a compound type.

###  http://www.cabelas.com/product/TenPoint-Vapor-Crossbow-Package-with-ACUdraw/1579183.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=/catalog/search/?N=&Ntk=AllProducts&Ntt=TenPoint%20Crossbow&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&WTz_l=Header;Search-All%20Products&WTz_st=&WTz_stype=SP&form_state=searchForm&recordsPerPage=56&search=TenPoint%20Crossbow&searchTypeByFilter=AllProducts&x=10&y=6&WTz_srn=SeeAllItems&Ntt=TenPoint%20Crossbow&avad=164057_b9f33341&WT.mc_id=al115891&Subid1=SID&subacctid=115891&subacctname=115891&adname=Custom+Link&adtype=cl&adid=NA&utm_medium=AFF&utm_source=Jehad_Nazzal&rid=12&WT.tsrc=AFF

### If I decided I must have a recurve type crossbow and money was no object (HA!) I'd probably go with one like this, though I'd try hard to buy one from 2014, since quality company _Excalibur_ was just purchased by (yuck) _Bowtech_ (the yuck, comes from terrible customer reviews I've read). Who knows if that will downgrade the quality of the Excalibur or not.

### <http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IFWHWTC/?tag=bestcrossbow-20>

### Now since I still have no idea which type (compound or recurve), which draw weight, or even how much I'm willing to spend I'm going to post a few links to Top Ten Crossbow Review sites and drop this topic. You are always better off doing your own research anyhow.

### http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com

###  http://toprated.ecomparisons.com/Best-Crossbows?gclid=Cj0KEQiAj8uyBRDawI3XhYqOy4gBEiQAl8BJbaBxdb-buOgD8P5v7n693hifRWale-LAGY5a8mnacXQaApJN8P8HAQ

### <http://pickabow.com/best-crossbow/>

### http://www.crossbowbootcamp.com

### One last advantage to crossbows is that few States demand registration, so unless you register it with the company from which you buy it no one will know you have it. That's my innate distrust of our Federal Government talking, but some States—if you live in any of them you know which ones—are almost as bad.

### There you go. Choose wisely.

### Hand Pump for Your Well

### If you are one of the fortunate few who have a potable well on your property, your number one Preparedness expense should be to get and install a hand pump. That way when electrical power fails—and it will, even if you have a solar powered pump—you can still draw water from depths of up to 300 feet, and some claim 350 feet (static head).

### I know I devoted an entire chapter to water earlier but this part about hand pumps bears repeating. Please do yourself and favor and click on the following links to upgrade your knowledge about them.

###  http://www.resilientdesign.org/hand-pumps-an-option-for-back-up-water-pumping/

###  http://flojak.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAuremBRCbtr-1qJnKi-4BEiQAh0x08C2sf2zHxM0rt7xgcQPDQHOJ0ekIj_Tg-A4Xguu-TawaArrS8P8HAQ

### <http://www.simplepump.com/?refid=kp>

### http://bisonpumps.com

### Once again I'll offer the reminder that both the Simple and Bison pumps can pump water into a pressurized container so that you could maintain water pressure in your home's plumbing system. It's nice to be able to take a shower or use your sink without having to pump water and carry it into the house. Ask your wife or husband and I'm pretty sure they'll agree.

### Other Tools

### Basic carpentry, plumbing and mechanics tools are necessities for Post SHTF and, in my opinion for Pre-SHTF everyday life. But then I'm a tool guy. I built homes for a living, did fix and flips and remodels. All of which meant I needed a lot of tools. Poor me (okay, that was sarcasm).

### Anyhow, I could spend as much time shopping in a hardware store as my wife did in a sewing shop. Nowadays neither one of us spends much time shopping. Welcome to the joys of living on a fixed income. (Would I like some cheese with that whine?)

### But like I said, I have a bunch of tools. Do you?

### Hammers

### Hammers are among the most useful and flexible tools every invented so it is useful to have a variety of hammers. Why? Because driving a brad with a framing hammer will likely destroy the finish on the work you're putting the brad in and because you'll probably end up with smashed fingers, all bloody and painful.

### A tack hammer is a small hammer that, like its name implies, is for driving tacks, brads and other tiny nails.

### A finish hammer is the kind you are probably most used to seeing or using. It's fairly light weight with a smooth face so you don't mar the surface of whatever you are putting a nail into.

### A framing hammer has a heavy 28 or 32-ounce head and a knurled or otherwise rough face. In experienced hands it can drive a 16d nail into a 2x4 with a single blow. It has a long handle for added leverage and would do a lot of damage in close quarters combat if used as a Warhammer. Get one and swing it around (when no one else is looking) and feel the Viking warrior within you rise.

### A two pound, short-handled sledge is great for driving things into the ground or spikes (really big nails) into timbers if you're building a raised bed. They are also good for "adjusting" things back to square if they get a bit off during construction.

### A rubber or plastic mallet, also in the one to two-pound range, is great for tapping on things you don't want to harm. Same for a wooden mallet.

### Ball peen and flat-faced hammers are great for working on metal, especially if you have a forge, a bellows and an anvil—and who doesn't? If you detected sarcasm again your sarcasto detector is fully functioning.

### Some of my hammers are one-piece metal types where I never have to worry about the handle coming loose. Others have wood handles that must be tightened up with small wedges on occasion.

### I also have pneumatic nailers both framing and finish but I'm not counting on them being used as anything but anchors once the power goes out.

### Fasteners (Nails, Screws, Screwdrivers and Glue)

### Do yourself a favor and buy at least two 50-pound boxes of loose, 16d framing nails. Then get the same quantity of 8d and 6d nails in both box common and galvanized. Except as clubs, hammers aren't much use without nails. So if you ever think you'll need to build or repair wooden things you will need nails.

### The same can be said for screws. Get an assortment in various head types and lengths. Hey, if nothing else you can use the small ones as slingshot ammo.

### My favorite screwdriver is my _18V DeWalt screwgun_. I've had this bad boy since the 90's and aside from replacing the rechargeable batteries a few times it's still going strong. But then we come up against that same old problem of what if there's no electrical power. That's when an assortment of Phillips, Flathead, Allenwrench and other wood and metal screwdrivers comes in handy. The really big flathead screwdrivers can also be used as pry bars or digging tools. And, of course, should nasty situations arise you can always stab someone with them.

### Glue

### I almost never buy any glue but _Gorilla Glue_ anymore because I mostly glue wood and the stuff works like a weld. If I was gluing leather I might use a hide glue and if I was working with metal I'd probably use an epoxy but since I almost never do such work Gorilla Glue is my go to.

### Welders

### I'm not going to get into welding because in a SHTF world I don't think arc welders or oxy-acetylene torches are going to function very long. I included this just so you'd know I didn't overlook the topic—just decided to ignore it.

### Pliers

### I don't even know the names of all the pliers I own and use. Sure, there are standard, household type pliers, dikes or diagonal pliers for cutting wire, electrician's pliers for doing a variety of tasks, slip-joint pliers, needle-nosed pliers, curved jaw pliers and fence pliers. Then there are flat nose pliers, ring pliers, Visegrip and C clamp pliers, nippers, and on and on.

### I bought most of my pliers decades ago from _Milwaukee Tool Company_ back when they were being Made in America. I don't know if they are still being made here or not. I hope so. In any event, they have proven extremely reliable over decades of use and abuse.

### <https://www.milwaukeetool.com/company>

### Flat Bars

### These are the ideal tool if you have to pry anything loose from something else. I have some as small as four inches long and as big as forty inches long. The small one is called a trim bar and the monster is called a _Gorilla Bar_. Guess which one is for demolition.

### In between those two is a twelve-inch model that is extremely useful if you have to do repairs on a composition shingle roof since you can slip it between the shingles and pry up roofing nails. This allows you remove shingles without destroying them. Which means you can re-use shingles you have to take off to get to the damaged area you have to repair.

### This size flat bar is also a pretty good nail puller when you're salvaging lumber or repairing something that was nailed together.

### I could go on for days about the different types of plumbing, electrical, carpentry and mechanic tools you should have but I'm going to cut you a break and leave it up to you to find your own. My sole words of advice here are always buy quality and get more than one.

### At the beginning of this chapter I mentioned books being tools and they are, but I'll cover your Survival Library in a later chapter.

Chapter 15

### Foods and Medicines Overlooked or Glossed Over Earlier

### Baking Soda

### The uses for baking soda are almost limitless. Here are a few reasons why you should keep lots of this stuff in stock.

### Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it to bee stings to relieve pain and swelling. That same paste can remove sweat stains from clothing—just apply, let it sit for about an hour and wash. The paste can be used to remove the gooey residue left when you peel labels off of bottles or jars and it's a toothpaste substitute. Add baking soda to your bath to relieve itchy, sunburned skin. Mix a bit with vinegar and use a scrubby pad to get rid of soap scum buildup. But be careful, too much vinegar when mixed with baking soda produces those chemical volcanoes so many kids use as science projects. Mix baking soda with warm water and let your nasty looking discolored toothbrush sit in it overnight—wah-lah, clean as new. Clean dried up gunk in your microwave by putting a couple of teaspoons baking soda in a bowl of water and nuke it for four minutes, then let it sit for a minute or two, remove the bowl and wipe the micro out with a warm rag. Place an open box of baking soda in your fridge to deodorize it. Oh, I almost forgot. It's useful when you're baking bread, cakes and cookies too.

### Okay, I had to stop and take a breath. Baking soda plus vinegar make a cleaner that can be used on floors, sinks, shower doors and on and on. Make a paste of it with hydrogen peroxide and it will get that ugly brown baked on gunk off your cookie sheets and leave them looking like new. Sprinkle equal parts baking soda and salt wherever you see ants and they won't come back.

### Look, I could go on forever but instead of doing that here's a few links to give you some more ideas why having a lot of this on hand is a really good idea.

### <http://www.thankyourbody.com/uses-for-baking-soda/>

### <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/40462096628285102/>

### <http://thewhoot.com.au/whoot-news/diy/baking-soda-uses>

### <http://craptastical.com/oven-needed-cleaning/>

###  http://theeverydaycinderella.blogspot.com/2013/02/clean-your-stove-vents.html

### <http://housekeeping.about.com/od/environment/qt/bksd_drains.htm>

### I could keep going but if you aren't sold yet you're a lost cause.

### Vinegar

### Like Baking Soda, Vinegar is one of those staples you should keep more of that you think you'll need. One of the things I use vinegar for most often is washing fruits and berries. Seriously, strawberries can last for weeks. Fill your clean sink with cold water. Add one cup of vinegar and stir it up, then put your fruits, veggies or berries in and let them soak for ten minutes or so. The water will look dingy and all the pesticides, wax and other junk on your them will be gone. Rinse well so your fruit doesn't taste like vinegar. I usually use Apple Cider Vinegar for this but regular old white vinegar works as well.

### My second favorite use is as a window cleaner. I mix a cup of vinegar with a gallon of warm water and use dampened old newspapers as cleaning rags. My streak-free windows sparkle for weeks.

### Back when my wife was a smoker she'd place a small bowl of vinegar in our bedroom to absorb the cigarette stench and it worked great.

### When I remember, I add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the laundry as a fabric softener—and if you have some really funky clothes it will get the stink out. I always add some when washing my tennis shoes.

### Vinegar is a good weed killer so if you're using it as an insecticide do NOT spray it on your veggies directly.

### Here's a link to 40 ways to use apple cider vinegar to improve your health as well as for cleaning a variety of things.

### <http://favpins.com/40-ways-to-use-apple-cider-vinegar/>

### If you have skin tags you can remove them with apple cider vinegar.

###  http://www.herbsandoilsworld.com/how-to-remove-skin-tags-with-one-simple-ingredient/

### And here are fifty more uses for vinegar.

###  http://blogs.babycenter.com/life_and_home/50-uses-for-vinegar-who-knew/

### And finally here are some tips for how to NEVER use vinegar, and they are well worth reading. Hint: mixing vinegar with bleach will create deadly chlorine gas. Using it to clean your car will strip all the wax off it. It will pit marble countertops and stoneware. It is of no use cleaning greasy items. It will corrode aluminum or cast iron cookware—so only use it on stainless steel or enameled cast iron cookware. Read on.

### <http://www.networx.com/article/8-ways-not-to-use-vinegar>

### Salt

### It is impossible to have too much salt. Salt is essential to life and by that I literally mean without some salt in your diet you will die. So unless you live near a good, reliable source of salt (ocean, Great Salt Lake, salt mine or salt lick) you need to store way more than you think you need. It has the advantages of being really cheap so even several hundred pounds won't set you back much.

### Salt for cooking: I've heard all the arguments about using non-iodized salt and I think they are basically BS. Iodine is an essential micronutrient that, while present in ocean water, is almost non-existent in soils in the United States. Iodine deficiency results in goiters—something almost unheard of in the US since the advent of iodized salt. For this and numerous other reasons found in the following articles I recommend storing iodized salt as opposed to the supposedly healthier varieties.

###  http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2011/10/The-Silent-Epidemic-of-Iodine-Deficiency/Page-01

###  http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/symptoms-of-iodine-deficiency/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA1dWyBRDqiJye6LjkhfIBEiQAw06ITnPfPHi8h3rMrDXlfNUUisiOAsLEui7lXqRfjk_RHogaAlfN8P8HAQ

### <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074887/>

###  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/complementary-medicine/201108/iodine-deficiency-old-epidemic-is-back

### This is pretty serious stuff folks, so I hope you followed the above links and were inspired to do some research on your own. Store iodized salt, or if you can stand the stuff eat the seaweed the Japanese eat. It's iodine rich.

### Salt has been used for thousands of year for preserving meat in the absence of refrigeration. There are numerous tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere on the subject so I'm not going into it here. Suffice it to say this is another good reason to store salt.

### Salt as a trade item. Salt was so valuable at one time it was considered a currency. Roman soldiers were paid with it, which is the origin of the word salary. People who don't have salt will eventually die from the lack, but before they do they'll develop such a profound salt craving they'll be willing to kill for it. A better idea is to trade some of it to them before they get so nuts they'll drink your blood for its salt content. (I've always harbored the suspicion that this was the true origin of vampire myths).

### Wheat Berries

### Until I started baking my own bread I couldn't stand commercially produced whole wheat breads and just assumed I didn't like any whole wheat bread. Boy was I wrong. Home-baked bread, even the stuff using commercial All-Purpose flour is so much better than store bought there is no comparison. This is especially true of whole wheat breads. I have no idea why unless it's because if you grind your own flour it's fresher.

### Anyhow the point is, if you like bread you'll need a grain mill (which I covered in depth back in Chapter 6) and some wheat berries to make flour. Fortunately, wheat berries are inexpensive and can be stored for years in a Mylar bag with some oxygen absorbers.

### Oats

### Oats have less gluten than wheat so if you are gluten intolerant, or if you just like oats, store them the same way you'd store wheat berries. Steel cut oats are believed to be he healthiest oats to store.

### Rice

### I love rice, mainly because I love oriental food and most of it was created for use with rice. The health nuts I know are always going on about the benefits of brown rice but that stuff won't store for long. It will go moldy no matter what you do to try to make it last. Regular old white rice will (like wheat) store for years in a Mylar bag with oxygen absorbers.

### Lard

### I can just see the health nuts screaming and flapping their gums that I'm the Devil, but the hard fact of the matter is, lard lasts longer than cooking oils when there is no refrigeration. And while a person can learn to render oils from black olive trees it's easier to render lard from pigs.

### A side benefit to having lard around is you can dip your bullet tips in melted lard and if you should be forced to shoot an Islamofascist they won't get to enter paradise when they die. Payback is a b*tch.

### Sprouts

### Why Sprouts?

### I briefly touched on Sprouts in my _Dying Time Newsletter_ (which I hope you've already signed up for at www.RaymondDeanWhite.com) and in Chapter 8 of this book, but it's time to expand on the subject.

### Sprouts are one of the best survival foods you can grow for several reasons. They are quick and easy, tasty, very nutritious and you don't need any light or soil at all to grow them.

### Some sprouts such as alfalfa, broccoli, clover or radish can be ready to eat in as little as three to five days. Bean, pea and other such sprouts take a few days longer.

### Growing sprouts is easier than any food you can grow yourself. All you need is a clean jar (any color or size—though I use clear, quart, canning jars), clean water, some cheesecloth or other fine meshed filtering material, and a canning ring. And you don't even need the canning ring—a rubber band will do.

### How to Sprout

### Depending on what size seed you are sprouting and what size jars you have available, you place from ½ teaspoon to ¼ cup of seeds in the jar (I recommend rinsing the seeds off first), cover them with water and let them set overnight. Set the jar somewhere out of direct light, but someplace they can stay at household temperatures. Mine usually set on the kitchen countertop covered by a clean lightweight dish towel. In the morning cover the jar opening with cheesecloth and screw on the canning ring (or put on the rubber band), then drain the water out. Rinse the seeds with fresh water then drain again and put them someplace out of direct sunlight to store them. Rinse them like this twice a day. I do it morning and evening. If you live in a hot, muggy area rinse them three times per day. In two or three days your seeds will sprout and grow and in five to six days they are ready for harvest. But some seeds, the little guys like alfalfa, clover and radish, will often sprout the second day and be ready the third.

### When I'm sprouting alfalfa or broccoli sprouts I set them in sunlight for a few hours to finish them off by letting them green up.

### Now, you can also grow sprouts using sprouting kits or trays as well as jars. Hey, you can even grow sprouts in a stainless steel pan—any container you can cover and drain without losing the seeds. Lots of folks use plastic containers and they are fine too. But no matter what container you use the basics steps in all sprouting are as outlined above.

### I often have alfalfa, broccoli, radish, clover, bean and pea sprouts all growing at the same time. I mix the smaller seeds together and sprout them in the same jar. I do the same for the larger seeds. Then when all are sprouted I can mix the larger sprouts with the smaller ones, providing excellent nutrition and a variety of flavors.

### One thing I've noticed about sprouting broccoli is that in the hot, dry summers we have here in Arizona I need to add a third rinse to the daily cycle—I think to keep the seeds cool. Like I said before, I keep my sprouts on the kitchen countertop while they are growing and our kitchen can get hot. So, during the dog days of July and August I sometimes move my sprouting operation to a cooler room.

### Since you will undoubtedly grow more than you can use in one serving, mature sprouts can be stored in your refrigerator for use over the next several days. Just let them dry overnight after your final rinse—refrigerating damp produce is a great way to kill it. I've heard of properly prepared sprouts lasting in a refrigerator for several weeks, but not around my house. If you go through them as fast as I do succession planting is very important. I usually start a new crop every four or five days, insuring I'll always have some mature sprouts available at all times.

### Seeds for Sprouting

### The only drawback to sprouting is you need a constant source of seeds. Now, if you can grow your own alfalfa, broccoli, clover, wheat, etc., and harvest the seeds you are one huge step up in the battle for sustainability. I've done this with broccoli, which I grow every year in my fall garden, and to a lesser extent with peas. But mostly I now get my seeds by the pound now from a variety of sources.

### Here are just some of the seeds used for sprouting:

### Bean sprouts including Adzuki beans, Garbanzo beans, Lentils, Mung beans, Peas, Peanuts, Pinto beans and Soy beans.

### Brassicas: Broccoli, cabbage, kale (Red Russian), Mustard and Radish.

### Leafy Sprouts: Alfalfa, Watercress and Clover.

### Exotics: Carrot, Dill, Fennel, Fenugreek, Garlic, Leek, Onion, Sweet Pea, Peas.

### Grains: Wheat, Rye, Barley, Corn, Oats, Rice, Spelt, and Triticale.

### Sprout Seed Sources

### I often say that, "Growing your own food is like growing your own money," and if that's the case, then "Having seeds is like having money in the bank." So, you can see that having seeds, storing seeds, and learning how to save seeds from you own crops are all important steps on the road to an independent, sustainable lifestyle. Below are places to find, buy or swap for good quality seeds.

### www.sproutpeople.com Some of my favorite people

### http://www.lifesprouts.com Their Alfa-Plus and Pro-Vita mixes are so good I've done my best to copy it with my own seeds.

### www.burpee.com

### www.parkseed.com

### Your local nursery

### Your local seed swap event

### Your local health food store

### Your own garden

### Preparing to Sprout

### Earlier I mentioned rinsing your seeds off before soaking them to begin the sprouting process. Mung bean seeds are grown in China and are often dried on dirt roads so they can be dusty and even have small rocks or chunks of seed-sized dirt in them. And even seeds you grow and harvest yourself can get some weed seeds mixed in. Therefore, it's just good sense to rinse them clean before you start sprouting them.

### Alfalfa and clover seeds intended for sprouting (as opposed to those that will be simply sown in a field) go through a process called polishing. This is akin to sanding the seed's coat so it will absorb water better. Polishing can leave the seeds dusty so again—rinse them clean before soaking.

### Seed Storage

### Just like most veggies you harvest from your garden that don't require refrigeration any seeds you intend to use for sprouting should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place. By cool I mean 55-70 F. By dry I mean less than 70% (rarely a problem at my place in Arizona). As a practical matter I keep sprout seeds either in my freezer or in my fridge. Most seeds will last for around five years stored this way. However, I never vacuum seal seeds. They are alive and need to breathe. I store mine in old pill bottles or recycled food grade plastic containers. Others use glass jars but I can be a klutz, so I don't.

### Uses for Sprouts

### I use alfalfa and broccoli sprouts on sandwiches and salads. Mung bean, adzuki bean and pea sprouts go in salads, slaws and stir fried dishes such as shrimp fried rice or chicken lo mein. Literally all the sprouts I've tried taste great raw, though I'd go easy on the radish sprouts. They really spice things up. My absolute favorite mix for sandwiches is alfalfa, broccoli, radish, and clover. For stir fried dishes I favor a mix of Mung beans, garbanzos and peas. I also use Mung beans in Egg Foo Yung. I love a mixture of bean, pea and leafy sprouts on burgers. I've topped potato and egg salad with sprouts (mostly bean, pea or corn) and gotten rave reviews from my family.

### I don't juice my sprouts though many aficionados do. Others use sprouts to make Hummus, Essene Bread, Whole Grain Cakes, Whole Grain Bread, or even puree bean or pes sprouts into tasty dips. One of my friends uses Black Bean sprouts in his Black Beans and Rice recipe. Sprouted beans and rice are even good in soups (especially minestrone or gazpacho) and sprouted beans aren't nearly as gassy as other beans—a real plus for some of us.

### The _SproutPeople_ website mentioned above has numerous recipes to try if you ever get tired of using sprouts in your own. One that is on my "to try" list is _Rejuvelac_ —a fizzy, fermented drink made with rye sprouts. I don't much care for beer but I'll not turn down a good whiskey and Rejuvelac is made from Rye so... Another one I want to try is their Madison Market Sprout Mix—hulled peanuts, sunflower seeds, almonds and pumpkin seeds. They call this the Trail Mix of sprouts and claim it is addictive. It sounds delicious but since it doesn't have chocolate it's unlikely to ween me from my own Gorp trail mix.

### Sprout Nutrition

### Sprouts have been grown and eaten for more than five thousand years. Several are even used medicinally. It's common knowledge that sprouts are nutritious but very little scientific research has been done on the subject. What little has been done reveals most sprouts contain protein, vitamins A, B, C and E, calcium, magnesium and amino acids. Many also have Chlorophyll, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous, Potassium and Niacin.

### While you'd expect bean sprouts or peas to be good sources of protein (most run around 20%), alfalfa and clover have substantially more (35% and 30% respectively). Alfalfa is also a good source of vitamin K, which plays a key role in blood clotting and has as much Carotene as carrots.

### Sprouts are like living multi-vitamins. They are an excellent source of fiber and contain enzymes that aid digestion. They don't come with the dietary burdens of saturated fats or cholesterol. And if you eat your sprouts raw these enzymes are not destroyed, as often happens with cooked foods.

### Convinced yet? No? Well then how about sprouts are high in anti-oxidants that can slow the aging process.

### Begin Sprouting Now

### The main reason to start sprouting now is because practice makes perfect. Sprouts are easy, nutritious, easy, tasty, easy, fast and, well, easy. But even so, learning how to grow them now is preferable to waiting until after TSHTF because knowledge weighs nothing and experience gained NOW can save you from fumbling around and messing things up later. This is akin to "the best time to learn gardening was twenty years ago."

### In my apocalyptic novel " _The Dying Time: Impact_ " surviving preppers used sprouts to keep starvation as well as vitamin deficiency diseases like scurvy at bay during the long, dark days of impact winter.

### The fact that sprouts are delicious as well as being good for you comes as a pure bonus.

### I recommend you keep it simple by starting with alfalfa sprouts. While all sprouts are easy, I think alfalfa sprouts are the easiest. And the fact they are sweet doesn't hurt. Before you know it you'll be adding a bit of clover or broccoli and, if you like some zing in your food, radish to your sprouting mix. By getting creative you can build mixes that are sweet, nutty or even "hot." So spread your wings, learn a new skill, and improve the flavor of many of your favorite foods by growing sprouts.

### Epsom Salts

### Epsom salts are high in potassium and therefor are a good thing to sprinkle around tomato plants before you water them. Same for roses. They are, of course, also good for soaking tired feet. They are rumored to cure toenail fungus or at least help you keep it under control.

###  http://creeklinehouse.com/2014/04/10-good-to-know-uses-for-epsom-salts.html

### <http://dearcrissy.com/epsom-salt-uses/>

### Hydrogen Peroxide

### Hydrogen Peroxide is another substance that can be used in numerous ways to make your life easier. Here's a link to an article that describes how to use it and the two different kinds. Note: if you plan to ingest any make sure you are using diluted FOOD GRADE hydrogen peroxide.

### <http://www.happypreppers.com/hydrogen-peroxide.html>

### Vicks VapoRub

### Here's some info I just stumbled across. I haven't used this stuff for anything but a decongestant. Here's 12 uses for Vicks VapoRub.

### <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328481366543629080/>

### And here's 31 uses.

### <http://www.myfrienddebbie.com/article_master.php?id=257>

### Next up we go into greater detail about Communication.

Chapter 16

### Communications

### Talking

### It's really inexcusable that I've left this topic until now. I know I touched briefly on it earlier but here we go into greater depth.

### Communication is one of the fundamental keys to civilization so maintaining contact between the members of your group and between your group and the outside world is vital. Now, that said, two-way comms between members of your group are critical, while being able to _receive_ information from the outside world is much more important than having two-way conversations—though if civilization is still functioning enough that you can get help from outside two-way comms via HAM radio would be outstanding.

### But before we get into radios I'd like to say a few words about the importance of simply talking to the members of your group. A daily meeting where news can be exchanged and gripes aired or problems discussed is essential. It is, of course, important to keep all the people in the group informed of any new develops that could affect them. You know, stuff like...

### "Hey folks, the deep well pump burned out so until we get the Bison pump installed we're all on water rationing."

"Ray just got back from scouting the downtown area and it looks like a large, armed gang is forming there."

### "Jeannie had a baby boy early this morning and she's in need of clean diapers."

### "Fran got cut pretty bad while on firewood detail today so his alternate needs to stand in for him the next few days."

### "Betty and Leona need help picking potato bugs off the plants in the big garden tomorrow. Volunteers? No? Okay, we'll throw names in the hat and pick a few."

### "Chad caught an announcement on the radio that a FEMA relief column is headed into town with food, water and medicine. They should be at the football stadium by noon tomorrow and they say no one bearing arms will be given anything. So we'll have to cache our weapons under guard and send some folks in "naked." All of you going in will still have your credit card knives, but nothing else."

### "Daniel and Chrissy are throwing a pot luck party Saturday to celebrate their son Andy's fourteenth birthday and his official enlistment in the militia."

### "Denise Lachelle said someone stole a five-pound bag of sugar from her pantry yesterday while she was out on patrol. If the thief returns the unused sugar and compensates her for any sugar used by lights out today that will be the end of it. If not and we have to waste time investigating to find the thief, they will be executed."

### "Sara and Jim Cantrell put in some serious volunteer time on their day off to clean the solar array and battery terminals in the recharging station. Also, Michael and Ellen Whitebear dug a new latrine pit for the community outhouse so let's have a big hand for our volunteers."

### You get the drift. Stuff like that should be openly discussed before the entire group. This not only builds group cohesion but keeps everyone on an equal footing so all can contribute to the discussions. That will keep group morale up and make problem solving a group concern since all will feel included in the decision making process.

### Anyone who is successfully married (and by that I mean married for several years or decades) already knows how important two-way communication is. So do people with kids.

### But there's another excellent reason for having such meetings where everyone in the group who isn't on watch attend. And that reason is to spot people who are sullen or withdrawn who may be falling victim to depression. Now those who are getting depressed may try to avoid the meetings, which is why it's important that everyone attends who isn't performing some other essential duty. Don't blow this off. Mental health is just as important as physical health and these meetings can keep people active and involved until eventually your group starts feeling like a family.

### This doesn't mean there won't be fights and disagreements. There are in any family. But by airing grievances in a public forum where everyone can contribute to the solution you can keep such problems from blowing up explosively. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. Open, frank discussions about virtually any subject can calm people's fears, reveal new solutions to disputes and just plain make everyone feel better.

### Radios

### Every Prepper should have more than one emergency radio. Mine is a _Voyager_ and it can be plugged into a wall outlet if power is available. It can be hand cranked to charge the rechargeable battery or I can flip open the built-in solar charger. It receives AM, FM, Longwave, Shortwave and all seven NOAA weather bands. It can be set to automatically deliver severe weather alerts. It comes with a reading lamp, a flashlight and a flashing red emergency beacon. It has a USB port that allows you to use it to charge your cell phone or laptop. In addition to an internal speaker it has a jack for headphones. Mine cost about $49.00 when I picked it up four years ago. And while I'm not saying it's the best emergency radio available—I suspect the plastic crank may fail under hard use—it works for me. I keep one in my bedroom and one in a faraday cage. Here's a link.

###  http://goodideasforlife.com/products/emergency-supplies/light-and-communication/voyager

### There are numerous other places out there where you can find emergency radios. Here's a sampling.

### <http://www.nitro-pak.com/survival-kits/survival-supplies/radios>

### <http://beprepared.com/emergency-gear/communications.html>

###  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_12?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=emergency+radio+with+solar+and+crank+charger&sprefix=Emergency+Ra%2Caps%2C196

### HAM Radios

### I have a confession to make. I don't yet have a HAM license, but it's pretty high up on my get'er done list. The licenses don't cost much and virtually every locality will have a HAM operator who is qualified to teach classes, do testing and such.

### Why HAM radio? The short answer is range and reliability. In any emergency situation you can name HAM operators have come to the aid of their local community, providing emergency communications with Local, State or Federal agencies when cell towers and land lines were down. HAM operators have saved innumerable lives over the years.

### With a HAM set you can listen to or talk to people anywhere in the world—sort of like having a satellite phone, but you're not dependent upon satellites.

### For short term emergencies where cell phone and land line telephone services are down nothing beats HAM radio for being able to contact the world outside your neighborhood or community. If you don't know what caused your SHTF event, you can talk to HAMs in other areas of the country or world to find out. You can learn if rescue efforts are underway. You can guide outside help to you.

### Knowledge is power. If you know what's going on you can better prepare to cope. Conversely lack of knowledge is weakness—leaving you and your community vulnerable. Being a HAM radio operator can give you the information you need to survive in a SHTF world. Therefore, I highly recommend at least one member of your mutual assistance group be a licensed HAM operator.

### Why is it important to get licensed? Normally I look askance at any requirement for licensing as either a government scam to glom onto fees or gain information about me that is none of their business. That said, I have a marriage license (which I personally think is a bullshit requirement since I believe the government has no business whatsoever regulating the civil or religious union of two people) and a driver's license (which I think is a good idea, since I believe people should have to pass a test before operating a motor vehicle on public streets).

### Back in the bad old days before FCC regulations required amateurs to get a license those amateurs broadcast indiscriminately on any frequency and as a consequence chaos ensued. Fire and police services could be disrupted because two HAMs were talking to each other across town. So in this instance there were good reasons for the regulations restricting HAMs to certain frequencies and to getting them tested on their knowledge of how to operate a radio.

### Getting a HAM license once required learning Morse Code but that is no longer the case. I still think learning Morse is a good idea but many HAMs don't bother. You know how, even if your cell phone says you don't have service or you have a very weak signal you can still send a text? That's because texting uses less bandwidth than voice communications. It's the same for Morse transmissions. So if there's a lot of atmospheric interference a message in Morse is more likely to get through. But amateur radio has come a long way since Morse. Now, on some sets, operators can send and receive TV images along with audio—sort of like Skype for radio.

### So learning the proper protocols and operating methods is important to prevent radio chaos. The best means for that is requiring a license. Also, in today's environment, HAMs won't talk to you if you don't have a call sign—which comes with your Technicians license. (The technicians license is the one most HAMs start with as it is the most basic and easiest to acquire).

### One of the coolest things about HAM radios is they come in all shapes and sizes and a great variety of capabilities. From hand-held sets to large, permanent base stations, from local area comms to talking to someone in Australia or an astronaut on the International Space Station HAM radio is the way to go.

### Let's imagine your group is now living in a world without rule of law (WROL). Armed gangs are murdering and pillaging for food and supplies. You and one other member of your group are HAMs and you've been in contact with other local HAMs who tell you one of those gangs is heading toward your neighborhood.

### You might go on a scouting mission to determine if they really are coming at you or you might need to set up an ambush. Most hand held HAM sets, which basically operate like walkie-talkies, come with scrambling capability. So, even if your enemies can hear your transmission, unless they can unscramble it, they won't know what you're saying.

### Also most can be set to vibrate instead of sounding an audio alert at incoming messages. So, if you are in close contact with an enemy, your radio won't give your presence away.

### Aside from being well prepared to deal with emergencies there is another reason to get a HAM license. The HAMs I've talked to at Prepper Expos simply enjoy it as a hobby. They make friends from all around the world. In short, it's fun.

### If you're interested in getting started on the road to being a HAM operator this starter kit looks like a very good deal at $69.95.

###  http://www.radioinc.com/oscmax/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3567

### While many HAMs start out with hand held units the _Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL)_ offers several articles to guide you in buying your first HAM radio.

###  http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Ham%20Radio%20License%20Manual/HRLM%203rd%20ed/Choosing%20a%20Ham%20Radio-2014.pdf

### <http://www.arrl.org/what-rig-should-i-buy>

### The ARRL says most HAMs end up with a variety of radios, so while it doesn't cost much to start out this is a hobby than can end up being expensive.

### General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS)

### You still need a license to operate GMRS radios but you don't have to take a test. You just have to fill out an application The GMRS license is good for family members only. Nonetheless, this is the type of radio many businesses use. They just get separate licenses for their employees. GMRS radios operate in the UHF range and depending upon terrain are usually good for around 20 miles.

### If you are dead set against getting any kind of license but still want to enjoy the benefits of hand held radio communications, there is a radio service available to you.

### Family Radio Service (FRS)

### FRS radios are short range hand held radios for use without a license. Families and even businesses use them. They operate in the UHF range and do not suffer interference commonly found on Citizen's Band (CB) radios in the 27 MHz band or the 49 MHz band utilized by cordless phones, toys and baby monitors. The typical range for these kinds of radios is less than 2 miles since they are restricted to line of sight.

### My wife and I have a pair of _Midland GTX 1050 GRMS/FRS handheld radios_ we use around our small homestead. We also used them when we were moving to Kingman and were both driving separate vehicles. I don't know their range. It's reputed to be up to 36 miles but I think that would only apply in ideal line of sight conditions. I've been meaning to take one with me the next time I go into town to see what the range is but keep forgetting to do so.

### The pair of radios and the charging base cost us about $65 from Amazon, and they are still priced at about that. The only downer is they're made in China. But even at that, they work well for us and we like them and using them has got me much more interested in amateur radio. Fortunately, we have an excellent local radio club.

### The _Mohave County Radio Club_ is very active in Kingman. They hold regular classes to train and license HAMs and are available to offer advice on picking your first radio. Most towns and cities have at least one such club so do an online search for radio clubs in your neck of the woods and get started. Writing this piece has motivated me to join them and begin my own journey into amateur radio. I hope you'll do likewise because, well, here's just one example of the benefits...

### TSHTF big time and you are cut off from communication with the rest of your family. Maybe you were travelling or they were. Maybe you are with your immediate family but your parents or siblings live in another state and you'd like to reach them to find out how they are. If you're at home you go to your base station, fire it up and say (and I'm totally making up this call sign and radio dialogue as I'm not sure of the proper protocol yet), "This is WTF7A00, that's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Seven Alpha Zero Zero, calling anybody in or near Colorado Springs, Colorado, break."

### "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Seven Alpha Zero Zero, this is QRM3ZZZ, that's Quebec, Romeo, Mike, Three, Zulu, Zulu, Zulu, in Colorado Springs. Come in."

### "Thank God, I'm trying to contact my parents and my sisters none of whom are HAMs. Can you assist?"

### "Things aren't too bad here yet so I can try to get a message to them. Give me their addresses and I'll see what I can do."

### Of course if your out of area family members are also HAMs you can simply call them up directly.

### Now, in the event of an EMP, many repeaters and HAM sets will be knocked out of service—but many HAMs are preppers and will have backups in Faraday cages. Also many of those HAMs will know how to repair their local repeater stations.

### In virtually every other SHTF scenario having and being able to maintain radio communications within your group and with the outside world will be invaluable.

### Now, before I sign off I want to mention some of the features you should look for in a hand held radio.

### GMRS and FRS capability: This gives you longer range on the GRMS channels.

### I like radios that can use rechargeable batteries and radios that can be recharged from a variety of sources, 110 V plug, 12V car battery, etc.

### A low battery level indicator.

### A monitor function that lets you check to see if anyone is transmitting on your channel before you barge in.

### The ability to scan all channels for activity.

### Call alerts that sound like animals (crow, turkey, wolf, duck, etc).

### An SOS siren that will let everyone within earshot know you are in trouble.

### Keypad lock—to avoid accidentally changing the frequency.

### An illuminated display that is easy to read in a variety of lighting conditions.

### Ease of changing channels, but not so easy it gets done accidentally.

### Group Mode that allows you to speak to an entire group at once or to any specific individual within that group while everyone can hear what's being said.

### A Direct Call Mode that allows you to speak to any specified member of your group without alerting the other members of your group.

### Privacy Codes—the ability to set all the radios in your group to a specific privacy code on a specific channel so that only those radios tuned to that code and channel can hear/understand you. On my Midland GTX 1050 there are 142 privacy codes that can be used on any of 22 channels.

### The ability to adjust your transmission power level—understanding that the higher the transmission power level the quicker your radio's batteries will run out of juice. My radio has a feature that automatically drops transmission power levels to low when the low level battery alert sounds.

### Silent Operation Mode—when activated it disables any beeps or tones. An excellent feature when you're scouting game (or enemy positions).

### Vibrate Alert—like your cell phone the radio can be set to vibrate when receiving a call.

### Whisper Function—you have to contact other members of your patrol but due to your proximity to undesirables you must speak softly. Whisper mode enables those receiving your call to hear it at a normal, easy to understand, volume.

### eVox—a functions that allows you to use the radio hands free, purely voice activated.

### NOAA Weather Radio Scan—scans all 10 weather channels and will stop on any active channel.

### NOAA Weather Alerts—allows you to receive severe weather alerts from designated NOAA channels. Usually this feature is automatically activated whenever you use the NOAA Weather Radio Scan feature. But it can be turned on independently and left active.

### A Dual Watch Feature that allows you to scan two channels for activity simultaneously—the main channel you are using and the backup channel you would switch to in case of difficulty.

### Microphone/External Speaker Jack.

### I'm sure there are innumerable other cool features to choose but I'm familiar with the above because my _Midland GTX 1050_ has them all. Here's a link.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Midland-GXT1050VP4-36-Mile-50-Channel-Two-Way/dp/B001WM73P0

### Citizens Band (CB) radio

### Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away I was a trucker—a knight of the road, transporter of necessities to those in need. In other words, I drove a big rig. Like many in that profession I had a Citizens Band radio which was mostly used to warn other truckers if Smokey was in the neighborhood. But we yakked away at each other to pass the time and keep ourselves awake. We also told jokes and it was all kind of fun.

### I never personally had to use my CB to report a crime though other truckers have done so.

### I have used mine to report icy or hazardous road conditions and any accidents I came upon. And one time I broke down and had to radio for help.

### Now this was before cell phones and tablet computers, which is what most truckers use now.

### CB radios are short-range, line of sight and are subject to interference from lightning, power lines and other CB'ers who won't shut up. They are better than nothing and require no license to use.

### The main drawback (and I confess my knowledge is dated) is that they are like old time telephone party lines where everyone can hear what's being said but only one person can talk at a time. In other words, it isn't private at all.

### CB'ers who want a "private" chat often invite the other party to go to a different channel—but there's no guarantee everyone else won't simply go to that channel also, and it could already be in use. Still, as I said before they are better than nothing.

### Satellite Phones

### I've never owned or operated one of these things so bear with me while I learn, along with you, the advantages to having one. The good news is there are now less expensive models that can get you up and running for less than $200. The bad news cost-wise is maybe you get what you pay for and top quality portable sat phones ( _Iridium_ , etc) run $1,000 or more. And then there's the cost of a plan—like your cell phone—which varies from fifteen cents to two dollars or more per minute.

### Maybe the best news is that with the proper phone and plan you can call up anyone in any country that allows sat phones. So maybe you can't call your cousin twice removed in North Korea, Bulgaria or Cuba—also some parts of Russia and China. But you can pretty much call anyone anywhere else.

### Now you might want to consider a sat phone if you live in an area where cell phone coverage is spotty or nonexistent. But since you probably live in the suburbs you will have good cell coverage—at least until something like an EMP fries your cell towers and your phone. Of course that type of event would fry your sat phone too, so you'd have to secrete a spare one in a faraday cage. Whether or not an EMP would fry the satellites, well, I don't know. If it was a massive Carrington event, it probably would. If it was a nuclear EMP I don't see why it wouldn't fry at least those satellites that weren't shielded by being on the other side (or at least over the horizon) from the blast.

### If you are only interested in maintaining contact with people in the U.S. or Canada one of the less expensive ($499) model phones like the _Globalstar GSP 1700_ should work just fine. It may take some getting used to as it has a directional antenna—meaning it sort of has to be aimed at a satellite.

###  http://www.bluecosmo.com/satellite-phones/globalstar-gsp1700-satellite-phone

### But if you want true global, including polar region, capability, with an omnidirectional antenna that you don't have to aim, then an _Iridium Extreme 9575_ is more up your alley.

###  http://www.bluecosmo.com/satellite-phones/iridium-extreme-9575-satellite-phone

### There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other sat phones available with all kinds of options and features and if you are interested in them you should research them yourself to determine which is best for your needs.

### As for me I'll stick to HAM and other radios.

### Hand Signals

### Combat soldiers are trained to use hand signals when on patrol to keep the noise level down and the stealth level up. This is a terrific idea and your group should steal those signals and learn them. You and I may never see combat here in the good old USA—and I hope to God we don't. But knowledge weighs nothing and it's far better to know the signs and not need them than need them and not know them. Here's a link on one of my Pinterest boards for tactical hand signals.

### <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/339388521899875704/>

### American Sign Language (AMISLAN)

### This would be the ultimate way to communicate silently within your group. I have picked up a few signs here and there but I don't pretend to know the language. Like any new language it will take practice to learn it but if you think about it the effort would be worthwhile.

### <http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm>

### I'm not going to get into heliographs, Boy Scout trail signs, or smoke signals. If you want to learn about them Google is your friend. Instead, I'm going to wrap up this chapter and tell you that the next topic will be Get Home Bags and a few more overlooked items you might need.

Chapter 17

### Get Home Bags

### What if TSHTF and you are at work, school, on vacation, at the grocery store, or simply travelling to visit relatives? The short answer is that while you may be inconvenienced, perhaps horribly inconvenienced, you are not screwed because you, being a perceptive person who is aware that civilization has a thin and fragile veneer, have a Get Home Bag (GHB). This puts you at least ten steps ahead of anyone who doesn't have one.

### Everyone should have a GHB. If you're unfamiliar with the term, it's anything from a daypack to a full sized backpack or even a suitcase on wheels that contains supplies to help you "get home" in an emergency. There are as many notions about what to put in a GHB as there are people who have them but pretty much everyone agrees on certain basics. Water, food, a first aid kit, something that can be rigged as a shelter, extra clothing (at least socks), a flashlight, a knife or multi-tool and several ways to make fire.

### My personal GHB is a daypack that resides in the trunk of my car and if I switch vehicles it goes with me. In addition to the basics it holds toilet paper, a two-way radio (recharged weekly), and, unless I'm traveling to less enlightened States than Arizona, a pistol with extra ammunition. (Explanation—In Arizona, where we believe your right to defend yourself against criminals and government tyranny is guaranteed by the Second Amendment, you aren't required to get a permit to carry a weapon either open or concealed. But if you get pulled over you are required to inform the officer you are carrying—so as to avoid misunderstandings).

### My get home bag also holds a portable water filter. As I said in Chapter 2 (Water) I'd have killed for one of these things when I was backpacking in the Rockies. No boiling. No chlorinating. Just stick one end the the water supply and suck and you get potable water. I have upgraded my portable water filter from the LifeStraw to the Survivor Filter, but I still have the LifeStraws as a backup.

### So that covers the basic generalities so now let's get specific.

### 1. Plan—The first thing you need to do in any emergency is stop and think, take a deep breath, anything that will help you to keep a cool head. Then you use that cool head to rationally assess your current situation and develop a Get Home Plan. This means not flying off the handle (panicking) and dashing off for home without considering your circumstances.

### Is the weather good or is there a blizzard raging outside?

### Has martial law been declared and travel restricted?

### Does your car even run? Are the airports open and functioning?

### If you can't access an ATM do you have cash?

### What route home is best in the current situation?

### What will you need to get there that you don't have with you now? In the blizzard example and if your car isn't running you might need skis or snowshoes.

### Has law and order started to break down—i.e., are the good citizens of your city rioting and looting?

### You get the idea. Stay calm and develop a plan that has you arriving home safely.

### 2. Water—being a desert rat I always make sure I have water. I carry two sixteen ounce bottles of water in my GHB at all times. One of them is stainless steel so I can use it to boil water for cooking, sterilization or cleaning. I rotate them frequently to assure a fresh tasting supply. If I'm going out of town I carry a wheeled cooler packed with ice and several more bottles of water in the back seat of my car. As mentioned above my kit also contains a _Survivor Filter_.

### http://www.survivorfilter.com

### As a backup in case my portable filter is broken I carry a bottle of _Potable Aqua_ water purification tablets. And just in case I also have a _4-Way sillcock key_ that will allow me to open most outside valves and faucets on commercial structures. It's cheap, lightweight insurance I won't run out of water so long as taps are flowing.

### If you're in your car and it's still mobile another good idea would be to have a pair of siphons in your trunk—one for water and one for fuel—just don't mix them up. 

### 3. Shelter—I carry a lightweight, nylon poncho that has grommets at the corners and along the edges in case I need to rig it as a tarp/shelter; however, it's primary function is as raingear. But if my car is still mobile during the emergency that would be my primary shelter. I'd just rig a lean-to beside it so I could have a cooking fire.

### I also carry a pair of _Grabber Outdoor Emergency Blankets_. These are like the thin Mylar space blankets you may have heard about but on steroids. They are much thicker and tougher. The reason I carry two is so I can rig one as a tarp/shelter or ground cloth and wrap one around me to keep me warm. Again they have grommets so I can use some paracord to convert them into everything from an "A" frame tent to a lean-to. A fifty-foot roll of paracord has a permanent home in my GHB.

### And I still carry a couple of the old-style, cheap, lightweight Mylar space blankets. They fold up credit card sized and weigh just a few ounces. That way if I have to use both my Grabber blankets to form a shelter I'll still have the lightweight Mylar blanket to wrap myself in.

### 4. Fire—in addition to stormproof (water and wind proof) matches I carry a _Bic lighter_ , my _Gobspark Armageddon Fire Steel_ , a small magnifying glass and two film containers full of Vaseline soaked cotton balls for tinder. If I can't start a fire in any conditions with those I'm a hopeless klutz. I also have a tiny, lightweight, butane backpackers stove.

### 5. Food—I carry a five-hour energy drink, a few energy bars, some hard candies in butterscotch and peppermint flavors, a bag of Gorp, and a couple of freeze-dried meals and a bit of salt and pepper. I'm partial to Chicken a La King and Beef Stroganoff. This amounts to enough food for two, or in a stretch three, hungry days of hiking. If I'm going farther from home than a two or three-day hike I throw my old _Kelty backpack_ in the trunk which contains additional provisions. It has saved me more than once, but the best story of how a Get Home Bag (and we didn't call them that then) can turn a scary, life-threatening situation into a comfortable and somewhat fun adventure occurred in the early 70's, when I was in my twenties.

### As I've often stated, I did a lot of cross country skiing, winter mountaineering and backpacking when I lived in Colorado. One day my wife and I finished up a day of skiing in Winter Park and headed back home to Northglenn. The fastest and easiest route was to follow US 40 over Berthoud Pass to I-70 then east. Mother nature had other ideas.

### It was spitting wind driven snow and the road was snow-packed and a bit slick in spots, but the plows had been out so it all looked good. We'd had a cold snap and heavy snow following several days of above average sunny temps. That weather pattern had been repeating itself for about a month and, in fact, I'd cancelled a mountaineering trip to the San Juan Range in SW Colorado because of avalanche danger.

### Anyhow we're puttering along up the pass in a four vehicle caravan, three of us trapped behind a slow moving pickup with a camper shell. We had just rounded a cut back curve when the ground trembled and a terrible sound filled the air along with a blast of wind. Having had some direct experience with avalanches before, I immediately cut the wheels of my old, metal-topped International Scout 4x4, pulled over as close as I could get to the cliff we were next to and stopped.

### The two cars behind me followed my lead but the pickup just stopped in the middle of the road.

### When you see an avalanche on TV or in a movie the are always silent, beautiful plumes of racing snow. This myth is so prevalent they are sometimes called Silent Death. Nothing could be further from the truth.

### In real life a slab avalanche creates a terrible crackling, grinding roar of sound—a bit like a jet passing way too close overhead—that is scarier than hell. And if you're close, the ground trembles, adding to your personal jitters. Even if the slide misses you the air is filled with a billowing cloud of fine snow particles making it impossible to see. And the gust of air alone can knock you down or blow a vehicle off the road.

### That's what happened to us. As the avalanche roared past just in front of us we were buffeted by a blast of air that shoved the top heavy pickup off the road. We were then engulfed in a fog of snow so dense I thought for a second we'd been buried by the slide.

### I checked my wife but aside from being frightened like me, she was alright. I'd seen the pickup as it was swept off the road so as the air cleared I grabbed my collapsible snow shovel and a length of climbing rope from the back of my Scout and my wife and I trudged up the road to see if we could help. A couple from one of the cars behind us came along too. The wife, whose name I learned was Betty, scurried back to keep their three kids inside the car. The man, Earl, stayed to help. They were here on a ski vacation with their kids from Kansas.

### As we neared the edge of the road I could hear someone cussing up a storm. Turns out their pickup had slid sideways off the road about fifteen feet before crunching into a couple of solid trees. The guy who'd been driving was doing the cussing. He'd seen the smashed camper shell and the damage the trees had caused and he was trying to climb up to the road—take one step up, slide three steps back. Meanwhile his wife was already rooting around the damaged camper throwing out stuff they could salvage.

### Both of them were bruised and he had a split lip where he'd hit his mouth on his steering wheel but neither was seriously injured. I threw the rope down to them and the four of us up top went "on belay" as they used the rope to climb up to us. They introduced themselves as Tom and Ginny.

### By that time the people from the other car had joined us—college girls (Christine and Amanda) from Denver University. The girls had more room in their vehicle than my wife and I had in our Scout, or than Earl and Betty had in their car full of kids, so they offered the old couple (must have been in their fifties—you know, old) a ride as we all decided to turn around and head back down the hill to Winter Park.

### At that point our only concern was if we could find lodging for the night. But before we could even get turned around the ground shook and that ear shattering roar hit us and we all dove into our vehicles and prayed. (There are no atheists in avalanches).

### This one bellowed down an old slide slope behind up and, as we discovered when we walked back to check out the damage, had buried the road to a depth of about a dozen feet. The slide in front of us had been larger, dumping around sixteen feet of snow and ice on the road. No way we were shoveling our way through that without it taking us several days. We were blocked in fore and aft—trapped as it were.

### Christine started to cry and my wife, Jane, comforted her while the rest of us sorted the situation out. I told them about my mountaineering experience and that I thought we'd be okay if we camped out up against the cliff as it looked like that would divert any other slides past us. Some were worried about falling rocks—a fist-sized chunk had banged off the top of our Scout during the first slide, but our options were somewhat limited.

### I told them I could get us a fire going for warmth, had a camp stove, and a backpack full of food (an eight-day supply from my cancelled trip that I hadn't unpacked). I said I could also rig up a tarp for shelter from the breeze and still falling snow near the fire.

### At that point Tom and Ginny said if we could help them retrieve some stuff from their camper they had even more food, some pop, beer and blankets. Tom had a white gas Coleman lantern to compliment my flashlight—which we would soon need if we didn't get a move on.

### I pulled a camp saw and a hatchet from my Scout and Earl, along with his two oldest boys, started gathering firewood while Tom and I salvaged goodies from his camper. Jane got a fire going—she blew the others away by using a couple of my Vaseline soaked cotton balls as tinder and sparking it off with my old Buck knife and a magnesium rod. Showing off, but it worked. It got the others interested in our survival skills.

### We set a few rocks around the fire and laid a cookie rack across it to set the frying pan on. Betty cooked up bacon, while Amanda and Christine whipped up cheese omelets. By the time dinner was ready Tom and I had the tarps rigged up and we even had some wet blankets hanging over poles near the fire to dry. Earl and his boys had cut and stacked a large pile of firewood.

### After dinner I pulled out my bag of Gorp (mostly M&Ms and peanuts, remember?) which Earl and Betty's children loved, and a few packages of Mountain House freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream. I'm telling you hardship sucks.

### By the time dinner was done we were all feeling pretty good, figuring we'd be here at most overnight and possibly not that long as reopening a US highway would be a top priority. Oh, for all you youngsters out there, this occurred before the advent of cell phones, laptops, the internet, and even before cheap two-way radios were available. None of us had CB radio, so we couldn't simply call for help.

### Amanda pulled out a guitar and for a while we all sat around singing folk songs and Beatles tunes (Hey! It was the 70's).

### With Jane's blessing, I offered my sleeping bag to Betty and her young daughter. I had a couple of old-style lightweight, flimsy space blankets and that's what Jane and I wrapped ourselves in. Since it was winter everyone had heavy coats, hats and gloves. The college girls, Tom and Ginny, and Earl and his boys divvied up the blankets and we all settled down for the night.

### I didn't get much sleep as all through the night I could hear the distant rumbling of avalanches cutting loose.

### By the time the road crews broke through the upper slide the next morning we'd had breakfast and were packed and ready to go. A sheriff's posse volunteer had shown up on a snowmobile just before daybreak. We thanked him, gave him a mug of hot chocolate (courtesy of my never-ending supply of Swiss Mix), and told him we were fine.

### Some of those fine folks have passed on and I've lost touch with others but to this day my wife and I exchange Christmas cards with Amanda.

### While the supplies old Tom and Ginny had in their camper were certainly helpful, the knowledge Jane and I had plus the survival gear we had in our Scout and in my backpack made all the difference. It turned what could have been a cold, miserable, hungry and possibly hypothermic night into a somewhat fun adventure. I've never forgotten how a little preparedness can go a long way and that's why I ALWAYS carry a get home bag.

### Okay, enough digression, back to GHB contents.

### 6. First Aid Kit—The kit I have in my GHB is very basic. Band Aids in ¾ inch and larger, Neosporin, a roll of gauze, a roll of surgical tape, some duct tape, a clean bandanna, a needle, tweezers, nail clippers, a pair of forceps (the vise grips of EMT's, doctors and nurses), a small tube of New Skin spray on liquid bandage, some moleskin pads for blisters, a small tube of SPF 50 sunscreen and another of zinc oxide for my nose (and ears if I'm wearing a ball cap), some Imodium AD, Advil, Claritin D, A&D ointment, Vaseline, and Tinactin cream. It sounds like a lot but it all fits in a three inch by four inch by one and a half-inch container. Note: Items like Vaseline and other creams and ointments are stuffed into drinking straws with the ends folded over and secured with paper clips and rubber bands. Then those are stored in a Ziplock baggie.

### Back before menopause my kit had a few tampons and pads in it. I probably should keep the tampons. I've heard they are good for plugging bullet wounds (though I'd just as soon never find out), and also make good tinder for starting fires.

### Since I'm type II diabetic I also carry a pill box with a weeks supply of my diabetes medication.

### YOUR first aid kit will be personalized for your needs.

### 7. Extra clothing—In the winter time I wear jeans but most of the year I'm in shorts. I know that in our hot summers I should dress like a laborer in long pants a long sleeved shirt and a wide brimmed hat with a neck flap, but I don't. I should also always wear my hiking boots, but I don't. In the summer it's tennis shoes or sandals. So to overcome this failing I carry a wide brimmed hat, a pair of jeans, a belt, a long sleeved shirt, extra socks and a pair of hiking boots in the trunk of my car. If TSHTF, I'll change clothes before starting any serious trek. Maybe I should go with camouflage pattern pants and shirt, but I intend to blend in, not stand out. I think that's safer.

### The only extra clothing that actually resides in my GHB are a pair of leather gloves and two pairs of alpaca wool socks—warm in winter, warm when wet, cool and absorbent in summer. These are my favorite socks. They are soooo comfy wearing them should probably count as a sin. As I said once before, I got them from Alpacas of the Southwest.

### http://southwestalpacatours.com

### Oh, I forgot. I also carry an Endora Cool Neckwrap for those hot summer days. Wet it, wring it out, snap it and wrap it around your neck like a bandanna and you will feel much cooler than the outdoor temperature. I guess it's technically an item of clothing but it functions like a miniature air conditioner. Here's a link though I got mine from Lowe's.

### <http://www.mycoolingstore.com/mission-athletics.html>

### Well, hell, I also forgot my sunglasses. Since I'm almost always wearing them they're more a part of my Every Day Carry kit.

### 8. Tools—In my car I have several road maps that cover the entire western United States, a Swiss Army knife (one actually made in Switzerland—not some cheap knock-off), a full size Buck Pathfinder hunting/skinning knife, a hatchet—not a warrior's war axe, but a wood chopping tool, a folding camp shovel, a file and whetstone, a folding camp saw, a couple of roadside flares, a solar and battery powered flashlight, a Voyager solar powered/hand crank powered/battery powered emergency radio, a pair of Minolta binoculars and, on long trips, a two-gallon gasoline can full of fuel.

### Residing inside my GHB is a Leatherman Wave multi-tool, a Smith's PP1 pocket-sized knife sharpener, my Hoffman Richter Tactical Folding knife—a larger, heavier, hilted version of my Kershaw (see below). It is spring assisted and snaps open with one finger, a folding solar battery charger and a headlamp style flashlight.

### In my pocket (actually clipped onto the lip of my pocket) I carry a Kershaw Leek Serrated Model spring assisted folding knife I can flick open with one finger. It's part of my Every Day Carry kit.

### Since I'm a writer I carry a notebook and an assortment of pens. I'm also an avid reader so I carry whatever book I happen to be absorbing at the time. Don't know when I expect to find time to read in an emergency but I'm a lifelong, hopelessly addicted reader so I refuse to be without at least one book.

### I also carry a couple of big, black garbage bags, a roll of toilet paper, dental floss, a toothbrush and a package of wet wipes. Yeah, the TP is bulky but it's light and is another one of those items I'd rather have too much of than too little.

### 9. Weapons—Let's start small. Inside my GHB I have a folding wrist-rocket style sling shot and a package of ¼" ball bearings. I used one often as a kid but this isn't one of those "it's like riding a bicycle" things. I can't believe how much ammo I wasted before I could hit something with that thing. It would be good for small game and could discourage, and at close range seriously hurt, an attacker.

### I have the knives listed above and a folding lock blade Gerber. But I've been seriously thinking about replacing my venerable Buck Pathfinder with a Cold Steel Bushman (standard blade design) simply because they are so well made and I think the fact you can convert the knife to a spear simply by shoving a piece of wood up its hollow (but still very strong) handle is cool. The steel and knife have been tested to two tons without breaking so it seems like it's a quality product. The only thing stopping me is it's made in China. Sigh, sometimes having principles is a bear.

### I carry a small container of pepper spray and while it might not ward off a bear it's likely to deter most human attackers and dogs.

### One of the reason I love living in Arizona is that people here respect the Second Amendment and consistently vote for politicians dedicated to protecting our right to bear arms. So, in Arizona, I carry a pistol—sometimes a Smith and Wesson Model 586 .357 magnum, sometimes a 10mm Colt Delta Elite. Both are holstered and worn open carry style.

### When I carry the S&W I add a couple of speed loaders and when I'm wearing the Colt I take along a couple of extra clips, one of which fits in my holster. It's always better to have more ammo than you think you'll need.

### Now you might think folks would look at me funny when they see me packing but it's so common a sight around here no one pays any attention to it. In fact, when I'm at a restaurant or grocery store and see someone carrying I feel more safe, not less, because I know folks who carry tend to be level-headed and well-practiced with their weapon.

### 10. Communication—Anytime I leave home I carry my cell phone, but at home I don't and it's usually turned off. On trips I also carry my Midland two-way radio. I no longer have a CB radio in my car but it's a good idea and I'll probably get one installed.

### 11. Extra Cash—pretty self-explanatory, but in countries like Argentina or Venezuela where economic chaos is running rampant, cash is king. Well, gold is king. Cash is at best a lowly prince.

### 12. The Bag itself—My get home bag is a simply Hi Tech six pocket day pack. When fully packed it weighs about 25 pounds and is medium comfortable to carry. It has a belt strap to help you carry the load on your hips instead of on your shoulders—something any backpacker knows is a good idea. But the belt strap is thin instead of thick and padded as it should be so it cuts in to me at times. However, the shoulder straps are nice and wide and padded.

### Still, I've been considering upgrading my GHB to a 3V Gear Paratus 3 Day Operator's Pack. 3V makes top quality, tough, durable, functional gear. It costs about $80 but should be a once in a lifetime purchase.

###  http://3vgear.com/index.php/packs-and-bags/vvv-gear-paratus-3-day-operator-s-pack.html

### 13. Packing tips—Always pack the heaviest items closest to your back. The exceptions to this rule is your water bottle, which should be accessible in an outside pouch, your sheath knife which again should be on your hip belt and your gun which should also be holstered on your hip. Packing this way gives you a better center of gravity and helps you walk easier under load.

### Be certain your pack comes with a well-padded hip belt.

### Get or make smaller versions of everything. Remember how I stuffed creams and lotions into straws? I've considered dumping my Hoffman Richter folding knife and just going with my Buck Pathfinder because of the weight. You don't need a whole roll of duct tape. I use about ten feet of black Gorilla Tape rolled around a pill bottle.

### Get items that are good for more than one purpose. A multi-tool could replace your pocket knife. Reading glasses could substitute as a magnifying glass to start a fire. Your poncho or Grabber space blanket can be a shelter.

### Design the contents to fit your locale. If I lived someplace where there was lots of water, I might add lightweight fishing gear to my GHB. Hey, I might even have a boat. If I lived around tons of mosquitoes I'd have insect repellent in my pack. Part of your planning—remember item one?—is considering any obstacles you might encounter getting home and putting items in your bag to help you overcome those obstacles. Several Preppers recommend the N95 Face Mask to protect you from dust or debris but around my neck of the woods such a mask would make you stand out like a beacon on a dark night. But YOU might want to consider one.

Chapter 18

### A Few _More_ Items You Need

### Your EDC (Every Day Carry)

### Just like your Get Home Bag the items you choose for EDC should be tailored for your needs. If you are a woman your every day carry is your purse and it contains the things you KNOW you'll need and use on a daily basis. I'd like to suggest four additions if you don't already have them.

### First, a small multi-tool like the Swiss Army knife. For decades I carried a Tinker model. The pocket knife and screw driver features were what I used most often.

### Second, a small spray bottle of MACE, or bear spray. It could save your life or prevent a rape.

### Third, a pistol, caliber of your choosing. Now if you are unfortunate enough to live in a State that sets up roadblocks to defending yourself against criminals you will need to get a Concealed Carry Permit (CCE) and I strongly advise you to do so. If, however you live in a State where they make it all but impossible to get a CCE, like New York or New Jersey well...it's better to be tried by twelve than carried by six. Or you could move. Just sayin'.

### Four, a small, yet very bright flashlight such as this Cree Q5 model.

### <http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GXZBYVK/?tag=h1111-20>

### I'm a guy and I don't carry a purse or a man bag so my personal EDC consists of some extra cash, a Bic lighter (and I don't smoke) and my Kershaw Leek Serrated pocket knife. Rare is the day I don't use that knife more than once. I love the spring-assisted, flick it open with one finger action. And the ability to open a knife without having to use both hands is handy and convenient. Mine was Made in America and I got it for about $27.00 on sale at Big 5 Sporting Goods. Here's a link, not to Big 5 but to Kershaw so you can see what it looks like if you're interested.

### <http://kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/serrated-leek>

### I'm always wearing a hat and my sunglasses so I don't really count them as EDC items. It's more like I regard them as clothing. But they are part of my EDC and so is my RFID blocking wallet. As I recall mine ran about ten bucks. Cheap insurance.

### If you've never seen one of these things they are usually made of aircraft grade aluminum, though mine is covered with leather, and they block skimmers from stealing the magnetic information from your credit cards. I'll be honest. I don't know how prevalent this kind of theft is and I don't really care. Having such a wallet gives me some peace of mind and that's good enough for me.

### My pistol. Honestly, I don't carry it that often on my person. I know, I'm an idiot for not doing so, especially after I just told you, if you're a woman, that you should be carrying one. But here's the thing. I live in an extremely low crime area. My .357 is heavy and the strap-on holster is uncomfortable. My 10mm resides in a clip-on holster and is always trying to pull my darned pants down. Oh, yeah, don't think I can't hear you snickering. One of these pistols resides at all times in my GHB when I'm out and about and at home, well, can you say shotgun? But like I said, I mostly don't carry because I just haven't yet found a replacement holster that feels good. When I do I'll carry a lot more frequently.

### So why don't I tuck it down the back of your pants? Because it isn't secure, is slow to draw, is harshly uncomfortable and only idiots and Hollywood wannabes carry like that.

### A quick side note about ammo. My .357 is usually chambered with light load jacketed hollow point (JHP) .38 Special rounds. The good thing about them is lack of penetration so if you should ever, God forbid, have to shoot someone in a crowed area it is much less likely to go all the way through them and harm someone behind them. The bad thing about such rounds is the lack of knock down power. The magazine in my 10mm is also stacked with light load JHP hollow points. Same good point but decidedly more knock down power. I'm also a better shot with the 10mm than the .357, probably because the 10mm has less recoil, but I also like the sights on it better.

### Of course I could get a lighter pistol, a 9mm or a .380, and I could always get an ankle holster. Nah, that would look really silly with the shorts I wear.  But the lighter weight pistol??? Hmmm...

### You probably noticed by now that my EDC consists of stuff that fits in my pockets or is worn on my person. That may be because I'm retired so I don't need to carry a briefcase around with me. It could be because anytime I'm away from home I have my Get Home Bag with me (in the trunk of my car).

### Okay, so much for my EDC. You will tailor yours to fit your anticipated needs and your own comfort level. Here's a link for you to explore more.

### http://everydaycarry.com

### Hand Powered Siphon Pumps

### It's hard for me to believe I overlooked these until now. If you've ever had to suck on a hose to get a siphon going (and ended up with a mouth full of gasoline) you understand how useful something like this can be.

### I have a _World Marketing 602A_ hand siphon pump I use to transfer fuel from 5-gallon gas cans to my vehicles and emergency generator as well as to drain my lawn mower for winter storage. As with any siphon the outlet hose must be lower than the inlet hose. It only takes a few "pumps" to start the siphon and then it will continue to flow (without additional pumping) until the container you're pumping from is empty or you lift the inlet hose out of the liquid and break the siphon. There is also a small cap on the squeeze pump you can open to break the siphon. This thing is very handy and in a SHTF scenario, especially after an EMP, it would be very useful for siphoning gasoline or diesel from ruined vehicles so you can keep your pre-1974 cars and trucks running.

### Like any cheap tool my siphon pump will probably last at most a few years. I've had mine for five years now and it's still working, but it's plastic so the squeeze pump will eventually fatigue and break. I flush mine with water after every use, let it dry, then keep it stored in my garage. During our hot Arizona summers I keep my garage well ventilated to prevent heat build up that can make plastic brittle. In order to protect the plastic pump and hoses from UV deterioration I never leave them outside (except when they are drying out after being flushed clean).

### I also use one of these to siphon water from 50-gallon barrels. They are so cheap I have three more in air conditioned storage.

### Please note I am NOT recommending any specific pump. The ones I added links to below are suggestions only. Most of them have at least 50% five star reviews on Amazon but you need to decide for yourself which one is best for you.

### _Jackrabbi_ t hand cranked pump by _Black and Decker_ $60.75—Mixed reviews as some have used it for 20 or 30 years and others claim it's very hard and jerky to operate and breaks easily.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Jack-Rabbit-Pump/dp/B004L0O3F8

### _Hopkins 10803 FloTool Transfer Pump_ $12.50

###  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D2QL0DU/ref=s9_top_hd_bw_g263_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=1PK4VZT7KMT968TZG66R&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=a1c49512-8a42-53c7-86ea-99b4ba210a5d&pf_rd_i=15707711

### _World Marketing 602A Manual Hand Siphon Pump_ $4.80 Extremely simple operation and siphon works well so long as receiving container is lower than the container you're pumping/siphoning from. Excellent reviews.

###  http://www.amazon.com/World-Marketing-602A-Manual-Siphon/dp/B000LJKZSM

### _Gempler Hand Siphon Pump_ $32.50 Looks a lot like the Hopkins pump with mostly good reviews.

### <http://www.gemplers.com/product/7722/Hand-Siphon-Pump#TAB-INFO>

### _Siphon Mate Pump_ $34.75 This one has more than one hundred reviews 55% of which are five star.

###  http://www.amazon.com/Siphon-Mate-Transfer-fuel-water-109PC/dp/B00JGX2H2Q/ref=pd_sim_sbs_86_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41Uiq2KE0AL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=19P7PQK5758HBY43BJMG

### Drum Pumps

### If you have fuel or oil stored in 50-gallon drums a rotary or reciprocating drum pump is just the thing. My dad used to run a towing and repair business and he had two fifty-gallon tanks on his tow truck (one for regular gasoline and one for diesel). We used rotary pumps to deliver fuel to stranded motorists who'd run dry.

### Back on the farm several barrels of lube grease and oil were pumped in the same manner. Our 500-gallon gasoline and diesel fuel tanks were on stands above ground so we could refill the tractors and vehicles by pulling up next to them and using a gravity feed line.

### But since we're talking suburban survival here it's highly unlikely you'll have even a 50-gallon gasoline drum.

### So why would you want a manual pump that works on such barrels? Because if the power is out for an extended length of time such a pump can be fitted with a longer hose and used to pump—not siphon—fuel from the underground storage tanks of your local gasoline station.

### They can be used to pump water from your swimming pool or spa or from a lake or river.

### Now I'm not talking about using one to pump water from your well. I already covered hand pumps for wells (Flo-Jack, Bison, etc) though I suppose if you had a shallow enough well a rotary or reciprocating drum pump might work. No, I'm talking about keeping yourself supplied with fuel and water if you don't own a gas station or have a well.

### This _Wesco Aluminum_ non-sparking rotary hand pump looks a lot like the kind my dad and I used. Note that any pump you use with gasoline should be non-sparking, otherwise you could end up with BOOM! That's one of the reasons I shy away from electric pumps for gasoline—the other reason being they'd likely be useless after an EMP.

### It's $120.00 but better safe than sorry.

###  http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/material-handling/drum-barrel/drum-pumps/wesco-non-sparking-aluminum-drum-pump

### _Northern Tool_ has an excellent selection of hand pumps for gasoline.

###  http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?N=0&Ntk=All&Ntt=gasoline+hand+pump&Nty=1&D=gasoline+hand+pump&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&cmnosearch=PPC&utm_source=google_PPC&utm_medium=FuelTransferLubr&utm_campaign=Generic&utm_content=gasoline%20hand%20pump&mkwid=s1bzAiukq&pcrid=74368700471&mtype=b&devicetype=c&storeId=6970&langId=-1&type=search&gclid=CIXOnpHJmsoCFZODaQodsMcBUw

### _New Pig_ has some very nice pumps including this pricey $416 stainless steel beauty.

### <http://www.newpig.com/pig/US/stainless-steel-rotary-pump-drm988>

### Plastic and Bird Netting

### Rolls of six-mil plastic are good to have around. The clear type is useful for covering the PVC hoop houses you built to extend your garden's growing season. The black plastic is good for warming the soil in the spring so you can plant earlier and get good germination from your seeds.

### Bird netting can keep birds from decimating your gardens and the fruit on your trees. It's hard to put over full-sized trees, or even mature semi-dwarf types, but if you want to eat the fruit instead of simply feeding your local bird population, it's worth doing.

### That said, I planted a mulberry tree last fall for the express purpose of decoying birds away from my other fruit trees. Birds love mulberries. Hey, I love mulberries too, but by planting one it will keep the birds away from my plums, peaches and nectarines—or at least that's the theory. Others have done this successfully. My own grandparents had an entire row of full-sized mulberry trees running along side their huge garden and it seemed to help.

### Fencing and Tee Posts

### I think I mentioned earlier how I used multiple layers of one-inch chicken wire (often called poultry netting) on the bottom of my raised beds to keep pocket gophers and pack rats out of my gardens. I also use it around the perimeter of my raised beds to keep cottontails from chowing down on my crops.

### If you have deer or raccoons to contend with you need either big, **outside** dogs (our Weimeraner is an inside dog), or much more serious fencing. Most folks I know use welded wire fence supported by Tee Posts. Sometimes they use four-inch by four-inch, or two-inch by four-inch rolls of welded wire but many use a graduated size that starts at one-inch by two-inches along the bottom and increases to four-inch by four-inch at the top. Six-foot tall rolls deter most deer.

### Such fencing has other uses as well. I use four-foot tall four-inch by four-inch welded wire fencing in my gardens as pea fence and to support tomatoes. I anchor and support the fencing with small tee posts or wooden stakes. I like the tee posts better because the wood stakes rot out in a year or two. This year I'm going vertical so I'll secure the welded wire to poles (either with baling wire or plastic wire ties) and form vertical trellises for pole beans, cucumbers, squash and cantaloupe.

### Chain link fence can also keep deer, skunks and other undesirables out of your gardens. But if you have a sit down lawn mower, ATV, or garden tractor (you lucky dog) you can rig a chain link fence drag harrow behind your machine and tow it along, ripping out weeds and leveling the soil in your gardens.

### I built mine using two four by fours, a four foot by six-foot length of old chain link fencing, some baling wire and fence staples. I wove baling wire around the perimeter of the fence to keep it from unravelling or curling up too bad, then stapled the wire to the wood four by fours. I drilled holes in each end of the front four by four and bolted an eight-foot length of chain to each hole. I then wrap the middle of the chain around the ball hitch of my ATV and start harrowing. The four by four stapled to the rear of the chain link acts as an anchor to keep the back end from flapping loose as I "plow." I also sometimes throw a wood pallet onto the chain link fencing to weigh it down—I attach it with a few zip ties.

### I don't use this device to harrow my raised beds, of course. I use it to keep the weeds down on our two-acre parcel.

### Now, I thoroughly get how after TSHTF my ATV might not work until I replace the points and condenser but hey, those spare parts are cheap and reside, wrapped in bubble wrap, in a popcorn can faraday cage, so I have hope.

### In case you have no idea what I'm talking about when I mention a drag rake or a harrow, here are a few links.

###  http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/195367-chain-link-fence-drag-harrow.html

###  http://www.bowsite.com/dbforums/thread.cfm?forum=4&threadid=423034&MESSAGES=17&FF=4

###  http://www.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_make_a_drag_rake_from_chain_link_fence

### ATV

### If you don't have a pre-1974 vehicles you can use after an EMP, or if there hasn't even been an EMP and your regular car or truck isn't operable a 4x4 All Terrain Vehicle could be your best friend.

### Uses: Tractor, Snowplow, water hauler, game hauler, fun.

### My _Polaris Sportsman 4x4 ATV_ has a trailer hitch and, you guessed it, a small trailer—and, woo-hoo, it's a dump bed trailer—that my wife and I find invaluable, time-saving, back-saving and just generally terrific for an ever expanding list of outside chores. I think I've mentioned we have to deal with a lot of rock on our place. Formerly all that rock went into three-gallon plastic buckets or my wheelbarrow which I then manually hauled (oof, grunt, sigh) down to a small wash that borders our place. I'd then dump the rock in to slow runoff and help prevent erosion. Now I just load the rock into the ATV trailer (minimal grunting involved) and run it down to the wash.

### We also used to carry armloads of weeds to our burn barrel. Now, here in Arizona most weeds are armed and I'm talking thorns as big as 8d nails. Carrying armloads of those by hand was no fun at all, though torching them did make me feel a bit better. Now I pile them in the ATV trailer and zoom to the burn barrel.

### Raised beds need more soil? Fill the trailer and away I go. I'm telling you I love this ATV and as a side benefit, it's fun to ride.

Chapter 19

### Entertainment and Morale

### Story Time and News Swapping

### I cannot overestimate the importance of maintaining good morale in your family and in your group. Depression can ooze in like a slime mold or hit like a battering ram, leaving you feeling listless and hopeless. It is almost as deadly as an enemy bullet. To combat the malaise of depression you or some member of your group who has the gift of gab should tell stories, preferably funny stories because laughter is the best medicine for depression.

### Story hour should be a daily tradition—perhaps in the evening just before the children are put to bed. Stories can humorous or instructive or, better yet, both. The intent being to take people's minds off the daily struggle to survive and lift their spirits. Seriously, no matter how well prepared you and your group may be folks are going to feel deprived (no TV, no fast food, no going out to a movie). Some may even feel bullied (into doing tasks they hate) after TSHTF. You can recognize the necessity of having to weed a garden, change a soiled diaper, wash "family rags" after you run out of TP, stand mid-watch or go out on patrol, but few among you will enjoy such tasks. After a while minor irritations at having to do such things can wear you down, like wind and water eroding a mountain.

### Again, no matter how well you think you are prepared, if a disaster like an EMP or full scale economic collapse occurs the reality of living without being able to go to a hospital in an emergency, or to a grocery store for food, or of being able to turn on a tap and have fresh, potable water will come as a distinct shock. And if part of your preparedness planning isn't how to deal with you and your people coping with that shock things will spiral out of control very quickly. Your family and/or group members will get angry and start snapping at each other and before you know it such events can escalate to violence. It could be a fist fight or murder—within your group.

### Hopefully you have written a charter—a Constitution, if you will—for your group that details how such situations will be handled. But mere laws are no deterrent against passion, they deter only those who are reasonable—and when you're angry or enraged reason flies away like a frightened bird.

### One of the best ways to nip this kind of stuff in the bud is to maintain open, honest communication among group members. And that, which goes hand in hand with maintaining good morale, is why having a daily gathering of all members not on watch is so important. I don't care if you call it story hour, gripe fest, or daily news, having a daily get together to swap stories, gripes and news is the best way to keep a lid on your new situation.

### One of the best ways to maintain everyone's interest during story hour is to have everyone participate. By that I mean everyone in turn relates a story, a bit of news or airs a grievance followed by a general discussion of the issue. Yeah, I know, this is like public speaking and a lot of folks aren't comfortable doing that. But they need to be made to understand that their participation is important. Now, I don't mean to suggest that everyone in a large group contribute in every daily meeting, but it is important that everyone who needs to do so be allowed to speak up.

### For those who are simply so shy they have difficulty speaking in public an alternate is to have them read a chapter from a book of fiction—something lighthearted would be best. This will entertain the young ones and give them something to look forward to at the end of days that promise to be long and difficult.

### Of course some news will be so critical you won't be able to wait for story hour. A scout returns and tells you a large, armed group is approaching your neighborhood. The person you have monitoring your emergency radio tells you a relief column is pulling into your town with food, water, and medicine. In such an event you'll have to call an emergency meeting or, better yet, broadcast the news over your groups HAM or GMRS radio network (covered in Chapter 16 on Communications).

### The Importance of Fiction Novels

### I've been an avid reader since I was laid low with rheumatic fever at the age of ten. That was when I stumbled onto Andre Norton and her apocalyptic book, "Star Man's Son." Can you say hooked? From there I proceeded to devour books by Robert Heinlein (especially Lazarus Long tales), Keith Laumer (love those Retief stories), Louis L'Amour (go Sacketts) and too many others to list. Almost all of them were tales of adventure laced with a sense of honor. They inspired me to become a writer and I can only hope that my book, "The Dying Time: Impact" mimics them in that regard.

### Good fiction can fire the imagination and raise weary spirits. It can expand a youngster's vocabulary and even teach them spelling and critical thinking skills. Aesop's Fables can teach them about morals and ethics. Books by Gary Paulsen (Hatchet) and Sara Hathaway (esp., Day After Disaster) can teach wilderness survival skills in an entertaining fashion.

### My point here is that well-written fiction can both maintain morale and teach valuable things to readers in your group.

### Why Non-Fiction Books Are Critical

### What if TSHTF before you've mastered all the skills needed to survive and thrive in a post-apocalyptic world? You've become a terrific gardener but something's wrong with your chickens. You're a good hunter but you never got around to learning how to reload. You're pretty good at first aid but your teenager has a rotten or broken tooth or worse yet, a swollen, painful abdomen and your group doesn't have a doctor or a dentist. You eat meat but have never butchered any livestock or game.

### Reality check: No matter how thorough your planning and preparations, you cannot be prepared for every eventuality. Shit happens and when it does you need to deal with it.

### If neither you, nor anyone in your group, has the knowledge or skill to address the problem the best solution can probably be found in a book. Books on topics from Aquaculture and Beekeeping to Small Unit Tactics and Survival Medicine, fill my book shelves and reside in boxes in a large, critter-proof storage shed. They are all part of my survival/prepper library.

### For the past two years I've become a Kindle addict and mine has several hundred books stored on it already. But what happens if my Kindle and my computer get fried? Some of the books on it I've downloaded to my computer and printed out and placed in a ring binder, but ANY book I think could be of critical importance I purchase in print. So long as I don't suffer a fire, a flood, a tornado or some other such disaster, I'm golden.

### The knowledge stored in those books is invaluable both because my group may need it and because we can trade or rent that knowledge to others for items we may need. Books can educate you in fields of knowledge in which you are ignorant. That is their value and it is inestimable. Knowledge is power.

### Education

### While we're on that topic, in real life today there are those who seek to keep others ignorant. They mostly do this by substituting propaganda, indoctrination and brain washing for true education. Parents who have wised-up to this trend counter it by homeschooling their children or by sending them to charter schools. While it is any parent's duty to teach their child right from wrong, decent morals and ethics, most children will learn these by observing how you act, rather than by listening to what you say. Actions do speak louder than words.

### That said, I believe the single most important thing any person can learn or teach others is how to think for themselves. The best teachers invariably use the Socratic Method, which means that instead of telling someone how to do something or what the answer is, they ask clever questions that lead that person to developing the reasoning skills to solve their problem on their own.

### I was once asked if I had to choose five books to have as a Prepper what would they be. After a great deal of thought I decided I would have to focus on books that would help me and those in my group teach our children. They are our future and if you don't teach them well you are robbing them.

### "Aesop's Fables"—useful for teaching morals and ethics to the young but also entertaining and thought provoking for adults.

### "The Republic" by Plato—Socratic dialogue at it's best. A very good primer on how to think for yourself, how to question, and how to behave ethically by the man whose writings about his mentor, Socrates, has largely shaped thought, at least in Western Civilization, for the past 2,000 years. It is a compelling tale detailing the philosophy of how life should be lived, how justice should be administered and how leaders should lead.

### "How to Think Like a Scientist" by Stephen Kramer and Felicia Bond—learn how to answer questions correctly and learn how to frame experiments to prove your answers correct.

### "The Boy Scout Handbook 12th edition"—in my opinion the best edition before political correctness took over, for teaching young people outdoor skills and other valuable lessons. I recommend the coil bound edition as it is more durable and please buy it from www.scoutstuff.org, so the proceeds goes to the Scouts.

### "The Organon: The Works of Aristotle on Logic" by Aristotle—a much more difficult book on logic for adults. Mastering these principles will help you solve any problem logically, rationally and convincingly. It's not an easy read but man does it ever provide food for thought.

### Now if I had to choose a few "How To" books on Prepping that didn't have to focus on teaching children, they'd be:

### "The Prepper's Guide to Surviving the End of the World as We Know It: Gear, Skills and Related Know How" by M.D. Creekmore—Informative, instructive, well-written advice from a man who actually lives the life he preaches.

### "The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds: 322 Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs" by Robert Gough and Cheryl Moore-Gough—if you don't already know how to save seeds this is the book for you.

### "Lyman 49th Edition Reloading Handbook"—because unless you have an eidetic memory this isn't a subject or trial and error.

### "The Prepper Pages: A Surgeon's Guide to Scavenging Items for a Medical Kit and Putting Them to Use While Bugging Out" by Doctor Ryan Chamberlain—absolutely priceless. It's no exaggeration to say this book could save your life or that of someone you love. Lots of great practical how to information here. I was torn between this one and another of his books titled, "Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse: First Aid Kit Building and Mini Med School for Preppers (The Prepper Pages)."

### "Home Butchering and Meat Preservation" by Geeta Dardick—because this is something else you want to get right the first time.

### "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery—covers virtually everything, at least in basic terms, that you need to know to live off your land.

### "The Ball Blue Book"—the bible of canning.

### "Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills" by Abigail R. Gehring. The description speaks for itself.

### "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, translated by Ralph Sawyer—If you ever think you may need to fight a battle, or write about a battle, or study a battle, this is the book for you. This edition is so well translated the subtlety, finesse and wit of the original comes through.

"The LDS Preparedness Manual" V8 the 2012 edition—If there is a bible for emergency situation preparedness, this is it. If I had to choose just one book, this would be it. At more than 500 pages it is comprehensive and informative to say the least.

"Disaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms (Expanded Edition) by Arthur T. Bradley—Written by an engineer who works for NASA (you have no idea how tempted I was to say Rocket Scientist) this book details how to survive such events and how to protect your personal electronics and even automobiles. Want to know how effective your homemade Faraday cages are at protecting your stuff? This is the book for you—and me, as it turns out.

"Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family" (3rd Edition) also by Arthur T. Bradley—This one ranks up there with the LDS Preparedness Manual as a must have and I'm serious. It's exhaustive coverage of practical advice for surviving any disaster is the best. Step by step planning without the scare tactics so many of these books throw at you.

### Now let's talk fiction books and ebooks. I suspect that after TSHTF no one is going to want to read apocalyptic fiction but before the event or events happen they are great reads. So let's start with apocalyptic fiction.

"The Dying Time: Impact" by Raymond Dean White (Hey, if I don't toot my horn who will? Besides, the appendixes alone are a valuable how to do it resource)

### "Lucifer's Hammer" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle—simply one of the best ever.

### "The Stand" by Stephen King—a masterful classic.

### "One Second After" by William Forstchen—possibly the best EMP novel out there.

### "Sedulity" by David Forsyth—Wow! The apocalypse while on a cruise ship. Riveting.

### "The Jakarta Pandemic" by Steven Konkoly (part of the Perseid Collapse World)—Excellent Prepper advice wrapped up in a pandemic scenario.

### "Stone Age" and others by M.L. Banner—A Carrington Event EMP ends the power grid and away we go. Just wait until you meet the King family.

### "Redfall" the series by Jay J. Falconer—Nanobot rain messes up everything and Simon Redfall finds himself in the middle of it all.

### "Day After Disaster" by Sara Hathaway—a strong woman protagonist (and it's about time we had one in this genre) separated from her family struggles to return home amidst chaos and danger.

### Non-apocalyptic fiction:

### "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy plus "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkein.

### "Dune" by Frank Herbert.

### Anything by Robert Crais—P.I. stories with humor and flair.

### The Spenser series by Robert B Parker—more P.I. tales with humor and flair.

### Anything by Michael Connelly—esp the Harry Bosch books, truly some of the very best crime writing you can find.

### Anything by Louis L'Amour—Best western writer EVER!

### "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and anything else by Robert Heinlein—a truly entertaining sci-fi mind.

### Science fiction by Isaac Aasimov, David Drake, David Weber, Andre Norton, David Brin, Keith Laumer, Ray Bradbury and Gordon R. Dickson, just to name a few.

### The Jack Reacher books by Lee Child—action-filled adventures by one of the very best.

"Tap Doubt: Your Next Drink of Water Could Kill You" by Raymond Dean White and Duane Lindsay—terrorists are poisoning America's water supplies. All the best element of chilling suspense, a wickedly clever con game and some laugh out loud humor.

"American Jihad" by Raymond Dean White and Duane Lindsay—taking the war on terror to the terrorists one bullet at a time. (September 2016)

"Missing Amanda" by Duane Lindsay—1950's Chicago is a tough place, especially if you're a PI who takes on the mob and the political machine that runs the city. Lots of humor to go with an intriguing plot. A purely fun read.

### All of the above books hold a place of honor on my bookshelves and I have hundreds more in boxes, stored for entertainment, education, study, trading or lending.

### Music

### Few things can lift spirits and improve morale faster than music. I don't care if it's a waltz by Strauss, "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles or "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga music can soothe angry, disturbed feelings faster than anything except a mother's hug. Pretty much anything but Gangsta Rap would be acceptable in my group.

### When I was a young boy being raised on a small farm near a small town in SE Kansas our community would gather every Saturday night for Amateur Hour. Volunteers would play instruments and sing while couples danced in the street and children ran wild, playing tag or hide and seek. My mom had a terrific voice and she'd sing at these events. I remember my dad saying when they were dating he didn't need a radio in his car so long as she was along.

### Men and women would gather in groups to discuss local events or simply to swap gossip. Everyone had a good time and while beer was consumed by some adults I can't recall anyone ever making a scene or starting a fight.

### Amateur hour helped the community bond and remain close knit.

### Do not make the mistake of assuming you don't have time for such pursuits, because if you don't work to keep up morale, your community, no matter how small or large, will eventually fall apart.

### Games

### Board Games

### We didn't have "Call of Duty" or other intriguing computer games when I was young so I'm not going to get into those. (Who knows if computers will work after TSHTF.) We had board games like Monopoly, Risk, Parchesi, Backgammon, Scrabble, Clue, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, and Chess. Depending on the size of your group you may need several chess and checker sets. Strategy games like Chess, Checkers or, better yet, Go can help develop critical thinking and analytical skills. The advantage of all these games is no power source is required, aside from lighting if they are played at night.

### Trivial Pursuit, Dominoes, and Mexican Train (another dominoes game), are excellent party games. Gather your friends. Have a few drinks and enjoy yourselves. Don't get cutthroat. Remember you're trying to maintain or build morale so having fun is the priority.

### Card Games

### If you ever wanted to learn to talk in code learn Bridge. Every bid is a coded message describing your hand to your partner. Most card games involve using strategic and tactical thinking skills. Bridge excels at teaching both.

### Spades, Hearts and Whisk were favorites of mine, but bridge almost ruined my college years. There was an ongoing game in the student union that ran 24 hours a day. I was bad. Sometimes I'd get so involved in a game I'd miss class, or ten.

### Contact is a survival oriented card game that could be very useful for finding compatible members for your mutual assistance group. It poses often difficult choices that are morally ambiguous at best. Each player discusses in turn what they would do and why they would do it. That is followed by a general discussion and a vote on which player's answer is "best." Just like real life the situations described on a card often, and quite deliberately, lack specific details that could make resolving that situation easier.

### For example—and I'm not taking this one from the deck—just making it up. "It was a hard winter. Bellies are lean, tempers short. Starvation has been barely kept at bay by your group's best gardener/farmer, a person whose depth of knowledge has been critical to your people's survival. They just killed their spouse. What would you do?"

### This game is rarely fun in the traditional sense, but it is very interesting.

### Educational/Verbal Games

### Don't laugh, but verbal games such as Animal, Vegetable or Mineral, or Twenty Questions are excellent for teaching children (and older folks as well) how to think logically and critically. Each question is chosen to enable the questioner to narrow down the categories of potential answers until arriving at the correct one. Twenty Questions is often the more difficult game since the person with the answer isn't limited to Animal, Vegetable or Mineral and can be thinking of the Large Magellanic Cloud, or a mathematical concept like the Pythagorean Theory.

### Scavenger hunts, in addition to being useful for your group's survival, can also be an educational experience for your children. For example, each child or team of children get a list of edible or medicinal wild plants or tree leaves to collect. They have learned to identify these plants or trees from your group's naturalist/herbalist who may use books or flash cards along with field trips.

### All games (with the exception of Contact) should be fun first and educational second since your goal is to keep your group's morale up.

### Sports

### I haven't left sports for last because they are least important. Rather it's more likely your daylight hours will be filled with so much work neither you nor your children will have time to play baseball, football or any other sport.

### This is sad because team sports teach kids how to work together to achieve a goal as well as promoting physical fitness. It's also sad because I'm a Denver Broncos football fan and when civilization starts falling apart such events will likely disappear. Big sigh, followed by huge sigh. Pity poor us.

### If you can make time for athletic activities by all means do so, but I think sports like hunting, fishing and scavenging supplies will be more in keeping with your priorities. Physical fitness will be achieved through hard work and relatively lean rations. Teamwork will be learned by working together, whether in kitchens, hauling water, in fields, restoring houses, on patrol or learning military drills. One good thing about this is that staying busy tends to keep morale up and prevent the onset of depression.

### Summary

### I'll be the first to admit that after TSHTF reality will almost certainly be grim. No matter how well you think you've prepared, hardship and sacrifice may be your daily fare. That is why it is critical to make time to have FUN. Otherwise you just get old and cranky and who in God's name wants to live like that? Life was meant to be LIVED, not merely endured, so go have yourself some fun! Get out your guitar, piano, recorder and make music. Fire up your CD player, iPod w/speakers, or jukebox and dance with your wife. Play a game with your children. Find JOY in being alive. Far too many won't be.

### The End

### But Keep Reading for Previews of My Other Books

### I'd like to thank you for reading **Bugging In: What To Do When TSTF and You Live In Suburbia** and hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did researching, living and writing it.

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### I am an independent author and as such I spent endless hours hammering away at my keyboard to produce this book—a thankless task until someone like you (may God bless all readers) comes along, reads my book, and posts a review. That last item, posting a review—hopefully both on Amazon and on Goodreads—is vitally important as reviews determine whether we indie authors prosper or perish. That is why I am asking you to write starred reviews for me. You cannot imagine how helpful they are, or how much they enable me to keep on writing. To make posting reviews easy for you I am including links below.

### Links to Amazon and Goodreads for Bugging In

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### And now for a free preview of

### The Dying Time: Impact

### When the Impact destroyed civilization and re-sculpted the globe the only survivors were the hastily expanded crew of the ISS, who watched the devastation below with growing horror, while wondering if they would ever get to go home, a few Preppers, whose stores of food and other commodities made them irresistible targets and the desperate hordes who would do anything—eat anyone—to live.

Chapter 1: The Bad News

### Washington, D.C.

### Everyone will be dead in two months.

### Carl Borzowski, Science Advisor to the President of the United States, sat at his government issue, brown metal desk, head in his hands and tried desperately to think of some way to save humanity. A tall, slender, good-looking man with thinning blonde hair, devoted to mathematics, physics and Jack Daniels whiskey since the split with his fiancée, Monica, he knuckled his eyes and sighed--a long, deep, weight-of-the-world gust that left him drained. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized it had only been twenty minutes since he'd learned the world was going to die. He wished he could toss back a shot right now but he never brought whiskey to work.

### "Riiiing!"

### Carl stared at the retro-style phone on his desk like it had leprosy. Beads of sweat formed on his upper lip. He knew he had to pick up, but what if it was Harry calling again, probably confirming the worst.

### "Riiiiing!" The tone was intrusive, strident, annoying, jarring and, above all, demanding. His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the receiver.

### "Borzowski," he announced. At least the tremor hadn't reached his voice. Yet.

### "It's Harry Garrison, Carl. I'm sorry, but it's going to hit. And it's bigger than we thought."

### "Extinction Level Event?" Carl asked. Please, no.

### "The asteroid is almost twelve miles wide, Carl," Harry explained gently. "Extinction Level is putting it mildly."

### "Jesus!" Borzowski whispered.

### "I need to see the President, Carl. ASAP."

### Carl stared at the pewter gray carpet, then at the oak-framed photograph of him with the President. His heart galloped like a Kentucky Derby thoroughbred. He wiped the sweat off his palms on his pant legs. He wondered if this was how combat troops felt when bullets started flying, because he wanted to find a hole.

### Instead, he took a deep breath to steady himself and said, "Of course. I'll set it up. How soon can you get here?"

### *

### The White House

### Donna Markwright, personal secretary to the President of the United States answered the phone on the first ring.

### "Markwright." She was all business; the kind of woman who wore severely tailored business suits and her hair pulled back in a tight bun. The President depended on her and she took that very seriously.

### "Donna?"

### She winced, the too-familiar greeting grated on her nerves like an off-key soprano. Some people had no sense of decorum.

### "Yes, Doctor Borzowski," she replied with what grace she could muster.

### "I need to talk to the President."

### The President? Her eyebrows arched. Borzowski usually referred to him as The Man. She hated it when people called the President, The Man. It made him sound like a cop.

### "Dr. Borzowski, the President is still at breakfast. And from there he's going straight into a crisis meeting with..."

### "Me," Carl interrupted. "Listen, Donna, there is nothing, you hear me, nothing more important than this. Put me through, right now."

### For the first time, she heard the strain in his voice and wondered...he did sound a bit shaky.

### "Carl," she said, softening a bit for her niece Monica's sake. "If you've been drinking..."

### "I wish."

### Two words, so raw and anguished they hit her like a slap in the face.

### It was her job to run interference, but all her years of experience told her this was BIG.

### "Hold one," she said and keyed the intercom. "Mister President?"

### Hammond Powell lowered his fork into his scrambled eggs and flicked the intercom switch.

### "Yes, Miss Markwright?"

### Her lips twitched in a fleeting smile. The President always treated her with respect, though in her heart of hearts she would love for _him_ to call her Donna.

### "Doctor Borzowski on line one, Sir. He says it's urgent."

### The President sighed. Everything was always urgent. "Put him through."

### He picked up the phone and said, "Carl, what's up?"

### Blood drained from his face as he listened.

### As soon as Carl was off-line the President toggled the intercom. "Miss Markwright?"

### "Yes, Sir?"

### "Get Farley up here. I want the Security Council, the SecDef, the Joint Chiefs, and Eli Cohen from NASA here in one hour: no excuses. I want Salazar from FEMA and Winthrop from Homeland. Tell them all to come in through the tunnel in the Executive Office Building. I don't want to stir up a fuss with the press. And notify my Secret Service detail that Carl will have a Dr. Garrison with him, so get Garrison on the 'approved' list now. And hold any call that isn't from Carl."

### He disconnected and leaned back to think, absently pushing his breakfast away. Eggs were cold anyhow.

### Thirty-seconds later White House operators were frantically dialing, texting and dispatching runners.

### *

### The Situation Room

### The President, flanked by Farley Moffat, his Chief of Staff, and Morgan Hamilton his National Security Advisor, walked swiftly into the room and took his seat at the head of a long, dark walnut table. Arrayed down both sides were the Secretary of Defense, the Joints Chiefs and the rest of the National Security Council and Eli Cohen from NASA. At the opposite end from the President sat Carl Borzowski and Harry Garrison.

### The silence was deafening.

### The President cleared his throat and said, "Carl, why don't you bring us all up to speed."

### Carl Borzowski ran a hand through his thinning blonde hair and rose to his feet. "Gentlemen," he began. "I'd like you to think back to 1994 and the concerns raised by the scientific community when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into Jupiter. You might even remember several "impact" movies that were made shortly afterwards."

### Men shifted in their chairs and exchanged uneasy glances as they realized the direction this was heading.

### Carl continued. "For a while we beefed up Star Wars spending, seeking a solution in case we discovered an object headed for Earth." He looked away from them. "We failed to find that solution, but Dr. Garrison's Spacewatch Program has found an asteroid that will hit Earth in about two months."

### Frightened eyes spotlighted Harry Garrison.

### "Are you sure it will hit?" Eli Cohen's words overrode others who had all tried to speak at once.

### The bleakness in Carl's eyes answered him.

### "How big will this...ugh, event be?" Farley Moffat asked.

### "Remember the Extinction Level Impact Studies?" Carl replied.

### Farley nodded. "The E.L.I.'s," he said. Eli Cohen covered his face with his hands. He understood.

### "Mid-range, is the best we can hope for," Carl answered.

### Juan Salazar, from FEMA, grunted.

### General Roland Mabry, Secretary of the Air Force, caught Carl's eye. "Want to refresh my memory?"

### Carl gestured to Harry Garrison, who cleared his throat and said, "The Earth itself will survive...lower orders...possibly a few vertebrates."

### "Jesus!" Farley Moffat swore. "Isn't there something..."

### "This is ridiculous," Morgan Hamilton interrupted, glaring at Harry Garrison like he wanted to kill the messenger. "You honestly expect us to believe some...some rock is going to kill us all. Pure Hollywood."

### Dr. Harold Garrison, a small, dark man who, second only to his family, loved Chicago Cubs baseball and old Marvel comic books, climbed slowly to his feet. The concern in his eyes, the grave expression on his face silenced the bickering in the room. "That 'rock', Mr. Hamilton, is a mountain twelve miles wide moving at forty-three-thousand miles per hour. It's a cosmic bullet and we're the bull's-eye."

### "Dr. Garrison?"

### "Yes, Mr. President?" Harry welcomed any escape from the irrational denial of the National Security Advisor.

### "If I remember correctly, an asteroid like the one you are talking about would cause a nuclear explosion like an atom bomb?"

### "No, Sir. Not exactly. But any object that big and that fast is going to lose a lot of mass when it hits."

### "Lose mass?"

### "The force of the impact will convert a significant percentage of the asteroid's mass directly to energy, E = mc2, a non-radioactive nuclear explosion of several hundred million, possibly billions, of megatons."

### Stunned silence greeted that statement. Eyes widened among the Joint Chiefs.

### "That's right, gentlemen, an explosion so vast it will make setting off all the world's nukes in one place at the same time look like popping a pimple!"

### The President asked, "What about fallout?"

### "Unless we nuke it beforehand the fallout won't be radioactive, and I stress the word 'radioactive' because there will be fallout of a different, and extremely deadly sort."

### "And what might that be?"

### "May I?" Garrison asked, keeping his eyes on the President, while pointing to a large globe he had brought in for the meeting.

### "Please do." Some murmurs from members of the NSC drew a sharp glance from the President.

### Instant silence.

### Harry strode over to the globe. As he spoke his fingers traced the outlines of continents, beginning with North America. "Almost 80% of the world's population lives in coastal areas. An Impact such as this will literally shake the world, triggering massive, catastrophic, earthquakes, seaquakes and landslides on a scale previously unknown. And quakes cause tidal waves, tsunamis, proportional in size to the strength of the earthquake. But worse will be the wave generated by the strike itself. Theoretically there is no limit to the size of such a tsunami. Imagine a wave fifteen hundred feet tall, stretching from horizon to horizon, smashing into New York City at 200 miles per hour. Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington, every city all the way to Miami will be gone in an instant. The wave will inundate Florida and could breach the Appalachians and flood into the Ohio River Valley.

### "Now multiply that by every coastal city in the world. Fifty to eighty percent of the world's population would die within 24 hours. Most of the survivors will be left homeless, shell-shocked, injured, wandering or scrambling amidst the ruins in search of friends and family. Tens, and if we're lucky, hundreds of millions of survivors will need food, water, shelter, and medical attention. And where will it come from?"

### His audience stared at him like deer-in-the-headlights.

### He took a sip of water and pointed to the West Coast of North America. "As anyone in California can tell you, earthquakes are quite capable of destroying highways and buildings. But these quakes will trigger volcanic eruptions, wreck dams, releasing horrifying flash floods, collapse bridges, cause landslides and avalanches, snap power and phone lines, rupture gas mains. Fires will ignite and rage unchecked, because water lines are broken and useless.

### "No firemen, no policemen, no way to call for help. No power, no food, no water, no shelter and no way in or out...and that, gentlemen, will be just the beginning."

### The President and others in the room sat forward, leaning toward him, listening hard.

### "At the point of impact a mushroom cloud will form. Billions of tons of superheated pulverized rock, dirt, plants and animals will be ejected into the upper atmosphere where some of it will combine with smoke from burning cities and forests. The rest will fall back to Earth. It will rain magma, gentlemen, burning those cities and forests, flash-drying plants to the point of ignition...broiling people and animals. The debris that reaches the stratosphere will form a cloud, eventually blanketing the Earth, shutting off the sun.

### "Temperatures will drop as darkness falls, water will freeze, plants will die. The cold and dark could last for months, more likely years, we just don't know. It is possible every living thing on our planet above the level of amoebas could perish.

### "If we don't destroy or divert this rock..." he swept the globe off the table, smashing it on the floor.

### Alexander Winthrop from Homeland Security was the first to find his voice. "Won't any place be safe?"

### Harry Garrison shrugged. "Maybe interior mountain areas, a few caves, deep mines or prepared shelters like Mount Weather, but it is extremely unlikely any human being will survive for more than a month or two after impact."

### When the meeting broke up, two hours later, every resource the government had was being mobilized to avert the disaster.

### *

### But all over America a small percentage of the population, dismissed as crazies by the press and often by their own relatives, had been preparing to survive what they believed was the coming societal collapse. Known as Preppers, many had gone back to the land and built small self-sufficient homesteads, complete with solar, wind, mini-hydro or other alternative sources of power. They grew heirloom vegetables so they could save seed and preserved their food by freezing, canning, dehydrating or pickling it. They kept chickens and other fowl for eggs and protein, raised rabbits and hogs for meat and goats and cattle for milk and cheese.

### Others, trapped in cities and unable to have large gardens and livestock, developed container gardens for fresh food. All, whether urban or rural, stocked up on canned, freeze-dried or dehydrated food and barrels of water, communications equipment, medical supplies, guns and ammunition and other useful items. All of them had prepped for the disasters they thought most likely to occur. Some of them thought they were ready for anything.

### They were wrong.

### Please keep reading for a free preview of After The Dying Time (Book 2 of The Dying Time Trilogy).

### In a post-Impact world there are Kings, subjects, slaves and those desperately fighting to remain free. Twelve years after The Dying Time Impact, Joseph Scarlatti reigns as King of California, or at least that's what he's called to his face. Behind his back the words tyrant, butcher, monster and cannibal are spoken softly in fear of being overheard. His spies are everywhere. His empire spans the remains of the entire West Coast. But his need for power is all consuming so he invades the Colorado Freeholds and the Nation of Deseret (formerly Utah) and he hasn't forgotten about gaining control of the top secret weapon that can assure him of world domination.

Chapter 1: Bad Things Come in Threes

### The Freeholds, Central Colorado Mountains

### July 16, 12 Years After Impact (A.I.)

### Michael Whitebear bolted up in bed, heart pounding, head swiveling, eyes darting around the room. What? Stark memories, welcome as a bloated corpse, assaulted him--artillery, gouts of flame, bodies, the stench...

### Crack, boom! He flinched as the bedroom windows rattled and torrents of rain hammered against them, then expelled a long, shuddering breath as reality shoved his nightmares back inside. Just a storm, he thought, as thunder echoed overhead.

### He raised his right hand to brush away beads of sweat from his forehead and for the first time noticed the pistol. He couldn't even remember grabbing it. Lips twisting into a self-amused smile he laid the .357 back on the bed stand. Better to have it and not need it...

### Slipping back beneath the covers he snuggled up to his wife, Ellen, whose sleep-warmth thawed his chill. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths and tried to fool himself into believing he could get back to sleep.

### He raised an eyelid and focused a gold-tinted, brown eye on the backlit clock that shared the bed stand with the gun, a reading lamp and a glass of water. 4:17 a.m.

### Ellen stirred and mumbled, "Everything all right?"

### "Yeah," he lied. No sense upsetting her. But like a dog at the back door, wartime ghosts clawed at his mind. What the hell was wrong with him? Jumping at shadows and thunder like a little kid. He hadn't spooked like this in years.

### He counted lightning bolts and listened to peals of thunder as the storm passed over and moved off into the distance, but no matter how hard he tried to relax his mind wouldn't let go.

### Glaciers formed and spread across the continent. Mountain ranges eroded one grain at a time. He glanced at the clock again. 5:22 a.m.

### Okay. Enough.

### Michael slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans, then opened the patio door and stepped out onto the redwood deck that overlooked the valley of the Freeholds. The rain-damp wood chilled his bare feet. Goose bumps tingled his arms and back. Ink-blot clouds dotted the clearing sky. A horned owl hooted from the depths of the forest, a bleak, lonely sound, until it was answered from across the valley. Light from a waning crescent moon revealed a glistening mist hovering over the river. He waited, feeling the ebb of night.

### Pink dawn-glow outlined the peaks of the Tarryall Mountains. A chickadee called from the aspen behind him. Rain-washed air smelled of pine forest, damp earth and freshly cut hay.

### He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, rhythmically, sweeping the cobwebs of fear from his mind. It was just a dream, a bad dream that left a stain on his morning.

### BOOM!

### Michael hit the deck so hard splinters stabbed him. No dream, that. He lunged to his feet and back through the bedroom door screaming, "Ellen! Hit the alarm! We're under attack!"

### Without breaking stride he vaulted the bed, grabbed his .357, snatched an Uzi from the gun-rack and bolted back out onto the deck. The alarm blared as the door slammed behind him.

### He jumped down the deck stairs and into the saddle of his trail bike. A quick kick-start, a twist of the throttle and he was fishtailing out of his driveway, spewing gravel as he headed for the hangar and the tiny plane housed there. Through squinted, wind-whipped eyes, he saw other men and women firing up motorcycles and saddling horses. The militia was forming with a speed that showed they knew their lives and homes hung on minutes.

### *

### The Pegasus ultralight, painted like an old P-40, complete with shark's teeth, screamed through the air as Michael flew for the Haley ranch in the southern Freeholds and the columns of smoke roiling upward through the morning sky. Skimming the treetops he urged the tiny, ultralight plane to greater speed. Six minutes had passed since the first explosion and there had been others. We weren't ready for this, he thought. We've grown complacent. He wanted more speed but the throttle was wide open. Almost there dammit, almost there.

### He peeled over Twin Eagle ridge and snapped up the scene at a glance--flaming houses, scattered bodies, hundreds of men swarming around the burning buildings like ants on a corpse. His breath caught and his knuckles whitened around the joystick. God, there were so many of them. The Freeholds hadn't faced such a large attack in years! He reached for his radio to report in, then stopped. No comms. The last big storm had wiped out several repeater stations.

### A cannon roared and a section of wall erupted, scattering debris in a wide circle. The roof of a homestead collapsed, showering sparks and tongues of orange flame. Don Haley and his wife, Marsha, shoved their little girls out of the burning building. He and Marsha sprawled protectively across their daughters, bodies twitching as bullets slammed into them.

### Sour bile rose in Michael's throat, but he never slowed. If he did he'd have time to think about what he was doing and right now he only had time for one thought. Behind him his wife was marshaling the Militia while their son and the kids they'd adopted were being herded into the Community Center along with hundreds of other frightened children. The invaders in front of him were already regrouping to head that way. If they got through The Narrows before the militia arrived...

### He clenched his teeth and dove, shoved the Uzi out the open cockpit and pulled the trigger, stitching a line of death through the heart of a group below.

### Raiders hugged the ground as the Pegasus streaked by mere inches above them. A wheel brace struck a man in the head and Michael struggled for control, but he never stopped firing. Bodies jerked and twitched as slugs from the Uzi smashed them. Gaping mouths and wide-eyed stares followed the plane as it rose, banked and--Oh-My-God--headed back at them.

### They scattered like quail, dashing madly for the trees, only a few recovering enough to shoot back.

### Michael inserted a fresh clip and switched the Uzi to his left hand so he could target the largest group of raiders. With his right hand on the joystick and the Uzi braced against a cockpit strut he poured a burst into a cluster of men silhouetted against the Haley's burning homestead. Bullets thwocked through his plane. He flinched as one tugged at the hem of his jeans.

### They were getting the hang of this.

### He snatched a deep breath, held it and pulled up into the column of smoke rising from the house. They can't shoot what they can't see. Smoke-blinded eyes stung and watered and hot ash singed his hair before he broke through into clean air. He blinked twice and wiped his eyes to clear his vision--and there it was: the cannon. The Goddammed cannon.

### The sight was a red cape to a bull. Michael's eyes blazed gold. He screamed defiance and swooped like a hawk onto prey. He started shooting. Seven shots...eight...and the gun clicked empty. He glared at it, threw it behind him and pulled the .357 from his belt.

### An officer with a bushy black mustache and gleaming Captain's bars killed the first raider who broke and ran. The others around the cannon heeded the warning, stood fast and shot back, some resting their rifles on the howitzer to steady their aim.

### Six shots left. Eight soldiers. Damn!.

### Michael aimed carefully as he dove on them. Every blade of grass, every muzzle flash, every squint-eyed, clenched-teeth expression stood out in exaggerated detail as he entered their rain of fire. He squeezed the trigger gently. His bullet struck a man in the chest, knocking him back into the cannon. The body slid to the ground leaving a crimson smear on the shiny bright barrel. The .357 bucked a second time and another man fell. Michael fired again and again until the hammer fell on an empty chamber, then tossed the pistol behind his seat with the Uzi.

### He jerked back on the stick and veered into the sky. In the distance he saw Freeholders on horses and motorcycles pouring through The Narrows toward the enemy. Banking around, he dove at the raiders again. He was out of bullets but they didn't know that. All that mattered was to keep them ducking until the Militia could arrive. Zigging and zagging, he whipped the Pegasus across the meadow, flying so low the tall grass whooshed against the plane's wingtips. The Captain's mustached face appeared in front of him and Michael's landing gear smashed it to a pulp.

### Yes!

### He was climbing to clear the aspen that lined the meadow when the Pegasus jerked violently, slapped by a giant fly swatter. The shotgun blast tore a hole through his left wing and sent a pellet burning into Michael's thigh. The wing, already weakened by bullet holes, folded, its aluminum skin and tubing collapsing like a crushed kite.

### SHIT!

### Michael fought the controls as the little plane cart-wheeled into the forest.

### *

### Ellen Whitebear and Jim Cantrell burst through the trees sliding their horses to a halt in the small clearing at the base of an enormous spruce. Their faces were battle-grimed and Ellen's golden blonde hair was singed. Jim's left arm was in a sling, the left side of his face puffy with purple bruises. Gunshots popped like firecrackers off in the distance, but the invaders were fleeing and Ellen could finally spare time to look for Michael.

### Pieces of airplane formed a trail that led down from the top of the tree to the twisted pile of metal on the ground below. Michael stood, weak and shaken, propping himself up against the wreckage. Blood ran down his head, soaking into his graying beard. He held his left arm tightly against his side as if his ribs were bothering him. His nose was broken, already swollen shut and his breath whistled slightly through pain-clenched teeth. His deep-set eyes were already bruising into livid shiners. Dark blood trickled down from his nose mingling with brighter blood from a split lip. Assorted cuts on his shoulders and chest seeped, obscuring numerous old scars. More dark red blood welled from his left thigh, soaking his tattered jeans.

### Jim Cantrell veered away from Ellen, watching the surrounding forest for signs of the enemy. Gunshots still sounded as the Militia mopped up the invaders.

### "Hi, honey," Michael said with a lopsided grin, as Ellen vaulted from the saddle.

### "Hi, honey?" Ellen's face reflected the emotional gauntlet she was running--relief, worry, fear and anger. "Hi, honey?" her voice rose. "You could have been KILLED! You thoughtless..." She choked up. Tears welled in her eyes but she forced them back. She was President of the United Freeholds, a woman who had led cavalry charges and faced machine gun fire. Bullets didn't frighten her as much as her own husband's cavalier courage. And when she got scared she got mad. "Don't EVER do that again." Her voice broke as she stepped toward him. "Don't...ever..."

### Michael braced himself against the ruins of the Pegasus as she hugged him. What was he supposed to do? Wait around while that cannon pounded other homesteads? And he was alive, wasn't he? He glanced up gratefully at the spruce boughs that had cushioned the crash. Women! Hell, he was fine--just a little beat up. He took a step and passed out.

### Ellen caught him and eased him gently to the ground, cradling his head on her lap and wiping blood from his forehead. Damn him! He was so careless with his own life when others were at risk. She couldn't bear the thought that someday his headlong plunges into danger might take him from her. Then what would she do? Didn't he realize she needed his strength as much as he needed her cool head. Men!

### Michael's lips curved into a slight smile as Ellen dabbed blood from his nose; for his mind was back in the old days, before The Dying Time, when a man living in Colorado didn't have to kill others to defend his home.

### The Freeholds was just a small settlement then, its people devoted to living a self-sufficient life, producing their own power, growing their own food, preparing for what they believed to be the hard times to come. Though most thought they were prepping for an economic collapse or an EMP or some other end of the world event, none foresaw the magnitude of the catastrophic asteroid impact.

### Their post-industrial homesteads were unique enough to serve as the focus of a National Geographic television documentary on alternative lifestyles. That publicity almost proved to be their undoing, for after the asteroid strike destroyed the foundations of civilization they were invaded by hordes of people who looked upon the Freeholds as their last hope. Their passive solar homes, off-grid power supply and subsistence gardens had gone from being oddities to prizes that tempted good men and vicious outlaws alike to attack them.

### They formed a militia and mapped out a defense they believed covered every approach to their valley. Their greatest fear was that some day a really large, well-organized army would overrun them and destroy all they had rebuilt. So far that hadn't happened; but it was now obvious they could still be surprised, that there could be occasional lapses in their level of alertness and that...

### "Ugh," Michael grunted and opened his eyes slowly. A blurred image swam into focus. Ellen leaned back from cleaning his head wound--a nasty gash that needed stitches.

### "How do you feel?" she asked. Michael read the concern in her eyes and voice. He felt like a doormat for a herd of elephants. Everything hurt!

### "Better--I think." He shifted, grimacing as pain stabbed him from his cracked ribs.

### Ellen helped him sit up and went back to tending his wounds. He saw they were still in the clearing. Jim's tall, lean form standing guard, pacing the perimeter. Distant gunshots echoed from farther down the valley. Aaron Goldstein buzzed by overhead in the Freeholds gyrocopter, scouting out the enemy.

### "How're we doing?" Michael asked, wincing as Ellen dug a large splinter out of his back.

### Jim Cantrell, his lifelong friend stopped pacing and snapped, "They're whipped."

### Michael raised his eyebrows at Jim's angry tone. Surely a man he'd known since he was ten would understand. They'd been through this before, but Jim looked like a balloon about to pop.

### Michael flinched as Ellen's fingers probed his damaged ribs. "Spit it out before it poisons you."

### "Okay," Jim agreed, dark brown eyes flashing. He pointed a finger at Michael and said, "Man, you're a prize idiot. Staging a one man ambush against a battalion." Jim shook his head in disbelief. "That kind of stupidity will get you killed and you damn well know it. I don't suppose you stopped to think what Ellen and the kids would do without you, did you?"

### Michael frowned.

### "What?" Jim asked.

### But before Michael could respond, Ellen said. "He was thinking about us when he attacked them."

### Michael sighed and closed his eyes. She understood--usually did, after she calmed down.

### "I still think..." Jim began, then broke off and brought up his AR-15 as he spun toward a sound in the woods. Ellen grabbed one of her pistols and slapped the other into Michael's outstretched palm.

### Brush cracked and Dan Osaka, the tall, one-eyed, former Air Force Academy cadet, propelled a captive into the clearing. The prisoner stumbled over a broken branch and fell.

### A smile formed when Dan saw Michael, but his voice was dead serious. "I caught this scumbag hiding near the Haley place. They're all dead. May take us a day or two to finish mopping up around here. We've routed most of these bastards, but we've got a real problem."

### Michael and Ellen exchanged a quick, worried glance.

### "Tell her what you told me," Dan said, glowering at the man sprawled on the ground before him.

### "P...Private Carmichael, Royal Army," said the frightened soldier, glancing quickly from face to face.

### Ellen's eyes widened slightly. Royal Army?

### Dan read her look perfectly. He shrugged. "That's what he says--that he's a soldier in the army of some king. From what I've seen of his buddies they're all in uniform and well armed, so it could be true."

### Jim's lips compressed in a thin line. Ellen's brow furrowed and a shadow settled on her face. Her greatest fear...

### Michael took her free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. His back popped as he sat up straight. In the depths of his brown eyes a golden flame flickered to life.

### And now for a free preview of my terrorist thriller

### TAP DOUBT: YOUR NEXT DRINK OF WATER COULD KILL YOU

### Terrorists are poisoning America's water supplies using an Environmental Cleanup company as a cover. When ousted CEO Nick Kuiper hires a beautiful con artist and her legendary grifter father to get his company back they tumble to the plot and all hell breaks loose.

### "America will reel from this blow like she was struck by the fist of God."

### TAP DOUBT: YOUR NEXT DRINK OF WATER COULD KILL YOU (BOOK 1 of THE WAR CORPS Series)

Chapter 1

### 2002

### The Threat

### Moscow Institute of Chemical Studies

### Maria Elena Zelanskaya swallowed bile as she stood before the five men seated in the cramped laboratory. Her heart raced like a thoroughbred in the homestretch as she watched them eyeing her, each a picture of boredom, interest, patience or doubt. That they were all large men and she barely reached 5' 2 made her hands shake. That they were powerful members of the committee and soldiers had her near tears of self-doubt and worry.

### They could make her career if they liked her presentation.

### "Gentlemen," she said, almost stumbling on the word. Nothing about these five conveyed gentleness or warmth or any kind of human feeling. They were killers, all of them, trained in the fields of Afghanistan, veterans of campaigns too horrible for a chemistry student like her to comprehend. They were timber wolves roaming the frozen steppes and she was a lone hare trapped between them, offering them a tempting meal.

### Maria Elena couldn't feel more naked and exposed if she was one of the cheap slut dancing girls on display at the Western-style strip clubs that now flourished in Moscow—the result of the East/West clash insuring the worst of both cultures.

### She breathed deeply to calm herself and said, "There is a man in America named Nicholas Kuiper who owns a company called EnviroTech. This company is designed for one purpose, to clean up the most heavily polluted chemical waste sites in their country."

### Several of them stirred at this idea, shaking their heads or rubbing thick calloused hands through full beards in amazement at the concept. Mother Russia was still hiding its own poisonous wastes, burying them like they did at Chernobyl, covering up like a cat in a sand box.

### She rushed on. "This company has forty-three highly contaminated sites under contract with the American government in a project they call the Superfund." She stumbled a bit on the uniquely western word, having no equivalent in Russian. "They devise methods for how to turn their dangerous waste into safe, pure water."

### "So?" Ivan Petrovsky, a hard fat man in a gray coat and beaver hat, made his displeasure known—his body language clearly stating his desire to be somewhere else. "What does this misguided foolishness have to do with us?"

### "Let me explain. No, let me show you." Maria stepped behind a laboratory table and pointed at a large glass bowl filled with a yellow-green liquid. "This compound is the exact equivalent, in chemical composition, to a small lake in Pennsylvania, that EnviroTech is charged with cleaning up."

### Two men sat straighter in the student chairs, making them creak, a sound like someone dying, far away, in anguish. Maria Elena rushed on, trying to shake the image from her brain. If they decided she was wasting their time, she might be the next poor soul to make that sound.

### She picked up a beaker filled with a sickly rust-colored liquid, the shade of a long abandoned Zil. "And this is a formula I tailored to blend specifically with the chemicals in that lake."

### She paused. There was so much at stake. Her status as a student was in jeopardy due to the latest round of purges and decreasing funding of the university. She had to make them see.

### A voice spoke up and she saw Alexander Krakov, a red-bearded bear of a man sitting at ease in the too-small chair, his expression guarded. "How do you know the American chemistry?"

### "I...um...I asked for it. The Americans...I asked..."

### "You asked for it? What are you saying? Who did you ask?" Expressions turned hard against her and Maria Elena felt like crying in fear and frustration.

### "I sent a letter to a friend in America." An exchange student named Ron Driekman she had met last summer when he was a tourist. A science student—his major was particle physics—they shared a love for the classroom and had written several times to each other, long letters from worlds so far apart.

### "My friend asked the American government about the chemical composition and they gave it to him..."

### Loud grumbling and sounds of disbelief flowed toward her. "They gave it to him? What nonsense is this?" Oleg Mekelovsky, a skeletal old man with a reputation that made the others fade into insignificance—some say that he once worked directly for Stalin himself when he was young and hungry—snorted. The idea that someone could ask a government for anything and the government would simply hand over the information was so foreign to Russian experience that it sounded like a fairy tale. His derision made her hear that death-shriek again.

### But Alexander waved a paw of a hand, quieting them before they got too far out of control. "I want to hear this."

### Maria Elena, grateful for his interest, played the rest of her presentation directly to Alexander, ignoring the crude remarks and guttural barking of the others. Animals, she thought. But such dangerous animals. They reminded her of the massive sea lions in the frozen north.

### She said, "Perhaps you should put on the masks in front of you." Each man had a brightly colored plastic respirator. Gold, purple, red and blue, with green filters on the side, she had gotten them from her professor before staging this meeting.

### Holding the beaker clumsily in one hand she picked up a small cage with the other. In it several white mice raced back and forth, whiskers twitching, noses testing the air, sensing danger. She held the cage over the bowl for a full minute before setting it back on the table.

### "You see? The chemicals, which the Americans think are so deadly, are only a problem if they make direct contact with the skin. They cannot harm you through the air. However..."

### Gesturing like a Gypsy magician she held up the beaker for display. She could see their attention focus as she tipped the rusty brown liquid, letting it pour slowly into the bowl. The colors merged, swirled together in unholy patterns that reminded her of the cancerous cells she'd been forced to study in biology. Sick cells all of them, twisted and foul.

### She set down the empty beaker and grasped a long-handled spatula, using it to stir the mixture. With one hand she held a respirator to her own face. Then she picked up the cage and again held it above the bowl.

### This time the result amazed them. The mice began to thrash around in a frenzy, clawing at the cage in a desperate attempt to escape. Then they slowed, twitched and their bodies curled as the poison they were breathing overwhelmed their lungs. In seconds all of them were dead. Ventilation fans kicked in and removed the remaining gas.

### She had the men's attention now. All of them sat upright, wide-eyed and incredulous.

### "A chemical weapon?" asked Oleg, her harshest critic. "You have made a chemical weapon?"

### "I have done much more than that," said Maria Elena, her voice firm now that they'd seen her proof, her eyes glowing with triumph. "I have created forty-three chemical weapons."

### "Explain, please." This from an intent Alexander Krakov.

### "Instead of this small bowl full," she gestured, "each EnviroTech site contains millions of gallons of waste.

### "Imagine," she told the group of feral men facing her, "What would happen if we captured those pumps that are cleaning these places and pumped in our own chemicals to convert each site into a small factory of death?"

### An uproar. Four voices each trying to out-bellow the others. A cacophony of discord and dissent struggling for dominance, all directed at the idea that Maria Elena had proposed.

### "Madness!" cried one. "How could it work?" demanded another. Then, "Foolishness," and "Insane," and "The Americans would never allow us near these places. How would we deliver the poisons? It isn't possible."

### Finally, the verdict. "Belongs in an asylum," said Oleg, followed by angry glares as four men gathered themselves and clumped from the room.

### Maria Elena felt her shaky scholarship crumble and die, just like the dead lumps of mice lying in the cage. Her eyes stung with tears of failure but when she wiped them away she was surprised to see one man remaining.

### Alexander Krakov sat watching her. On his face was an expression Maria Elena could only describe as wonder.

### Chapter 2

### 2003

### The Plan

### Dacha of Mikhail Oleganov

### Alexander Krakov hated Mikhail Oleganov on sight. He hated his wealth and power, his appetite for all things—women, food, business; Mikhail gobbled them all like a glutton.

### After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many people tried to fill the vacuum of power and the country was transformed into a hideous caricature of itself. Mikhail Oleganov was the worst of them. He used his position to gain control of several oil and gas fields, two gold mines and at least three shipping companies. While he, wasn't a member of the Russian Mafia, he brokered deals between them and corrupt officials. Deals that made him even richer, his country poorer.

### He was, in Alexander's tightly controlled opinion, the worst of modern Russia, all greed and no conscience, a traitor.

### But Alexander was now standing in the huge man's foyer, hat in hand, begging for his help.

### The committees Alexander had met with, the Generals and Colonels and nameless clerks, all had said no to his plans. Most had ridiculed, some explained, all declined.

### "Madness," they said.

### "Couldn't be done," said some.

### "Shouldn't be done," explained on old man in a dusty office in the Kremlin. "This isn't the Cold War," he said. "Your Russia doesn't exist anymore. To attack the Americans is pure foolishness."

### Alexander had gone home to Maria Elena, in the tiny flat they shared, two small rooms on the twelfth floor of a common building, and seen the hope in her eyes turn to anger, then despair, finally resignation.

### "You did your best, 'Lexi," she would say, but her words were like lashes to him. He hadn't. His best was to win. So he went on, day after day, month after month, begging appointments, hearing rejections. And with each refusal, Alexander's stock among his military comrades fell until, finally, he was forced to resign his commission in the Spetsnaz.

### Until—

### Mikhail Oleganov, a corrupt overfed viper of a man Alexander would once have spit on, who now kept him standing in the entry of his sprawling mansion. The building was as large as a palace, not the typical vacation home formerly enjoyed by the party elite, but a sprawling estate encompassing hundreds, if not thousands, of hectares.

### Stolen artwork on walls covered in paneling of imported wood, ceilings twenty feet high towered over visitors, making them feel as small and insignificant as Alexander right now. Floors of Italian marble, stained glass windows; it was like being in a church dedicated to excess.

### After an hour, a servant finally escorted him down long halls lined with windows that showed the white-capped Urals, the thick trees of the Russian Steppes, the cold held at bay by the power of money.

### Mikhail greeted him in a rich study filled with more trophies. Animal heads high over a fireplace bigger even than Alexander's ambitions, pictures of the fat man with leaders of foreign countries, diplomats, kings, even a president, though not of America.

### "Alexander Krakov." the fat man's voice boomed like a jovial Satan as the servant bowed himself out and Alexander walked what felt like a hundred kilometers to the ultra-modern, all glass desk, behind which Mikhail Oleganov sat like a spider at the center of his web. The entire arrangement was carefully placed to make Alexander squint into the morning sun. There was no other chair. He stopped a few feet away.

### "Mr. Oleganov," he said. How had it come to this? He wondered. Had his entire country sold out to people like this obscene slug watching him with ill-concealed amusement? For a moment Alexander considered walking away, abandoning the plan, shooting this foul creature and leaving. But he considered what his country could become—would become again—once the Americans were crushed.

### This must be hard for you," Mikhail said into the growing silence. "Coming to me. Asking for my help."

### "You have no idea." Alexander felt the tendons in his neck tighten, his teeth grind. No idea. "Let me explain," he said, preparing, as he had a hundred times, to convince someone that his plan could work.

### Mikhail waved one fat hand to stop him. "I know," he said. "Everything." Seeing Alexander's confusion, he added, "Do you think I could have gotten where I am without sources of information? The Russian economy thrives on information. Besides Vodka it's our major industry. So yes; I know of your plan."

### "You...know," said Alexander slowly.

### "Yes, of course. And it may surprise you to know that I agree with it. I want to make it happen."

### "Why?" Alexander. He waved a hand to indicate the room, the wealth it represented. "Why would you want to hurt them." Unspoken was his belief that Mikhail was as much an evil as the Americans themselves.

### "Let me explain." Mikhail poured some drink from a crystal bottle, offering none to his guest. "How do you think I got all this?" He waved his hand, mimicking Alexander, who wanted to say, "theft, bribery, corruption," but remained silent instead.

### "Vacuum," said Mikhail. "When the Soviet empire collapsed, there was a vacuum. A huge gaping hole where power and money and influence once ruled, replaced by...nothing. No one knew what to do as the old ways fell apart and new ones emerged. The man—me—who could fill that vacuum became wealthier than a king."

### Alexander got it. "When I hit the Americans, poison their water and damage their country, there will be a power vacuum. And you will fill it."

### "Exactly." Mikhail beamed at him, eyes bright over the rim of his glass. "I have the resources to move in and take over entire sections of their economy, buy their politicians, change their laws. In one fast strike I can leverage the damage you cause into a way to drive the Americans to their knees forever."

### Mikhail pressed a button and the servant appeared, as if he'd been waiting. "Bring my guest a chair," he said. "We have things to discuss." To Alexander, he said, "Perhaps I'm not the demon you expected, yes?"

### Well, no; thought Alexander. You're worse. But a worse he could live with.

### Mikhail said, "How long will it take Miss Zelanskaya to prepare the sites?"

### "Two years." Alexander said. "To acquire the proper chemicals in the huge amounts required, to take over the EnviroTech labs and fill the ponds. To dig the trenches in secret and prepare each site for maximum effect while not being caught..."

### "So, perhaps by July of 2005?"

### "Yes, I suppose. Ideally on July 4th, their Independence Day celebration." He saw Mikhail's questioning look and added, "To delay their response time."

### "Good, and how much will this cost?"

### "Millions," said Alexander.

### "Many millions," agreed Mikhail. "But there is an aspect you've missed."

### "I haven't," argued Alexander. "I've thought his through. This will work."

### "Of course it will work," agreed Mikhail. But not in the way you describe. How will you trigger these sites when you are finally ready?"

### "Explosives," said Alexander. "We will have timers and detonator..."

### "And it will all be done by remote control," said Mikhail, his tone mocking. "You will somehow synchronize forty-three remote sites, scattered all across a three-thousand-mile wide continent."

### "It will work," insisted Alexander, though he knew this was the weakest part of his plan. Construction, he understood, as Maria Elena understood the chemistry. But how to set off forty-three custom bombs simultaneously? In fiction there would be people who could do this. In the ridiculous American movies there would be a hacker who could create a computer miracle. In real life, Alexander had no idea.

### "A chair," said Mikhail into a growing silence," requires four legs. You and Miss Zelanskaya are two of them. My money and support are a third."

### "And the fourth?"

### "People. I can send a team of soldiers, men who have no expectation of escaping what they have done. They can be brought secretly to America and be at your sites to set off the explosives. All forty-three will happen at once. America will never recover."

### "You would do this?" asked Alexander.

### "I would. But there are conditions."

### Of course there were. There were always conditions. "And they are?"

### "Secrecy," said Mikhail. "You must stop talking to everyone. Only I can know what we're going to do."

### Alexander nodded. "And?"

### "You will have one of my people with you at all times."

### "You don't trust me?"

### "Of course I don't trust you. He will be with you and report to me. His name is Sergei Kulagin. He's my nephew."

### Alexander considered the offer, wanting the money and support, hating the idea of Mikhail watching over him. "Yes," he said. "I accept."

### "Then have a drink," said Mikhail. "A toast." He poured from the decanter and offered the goblet to Alexander. The delicate glass made a tiny bell like noise as they touched.

### "Here's to America," said Mikhail. "Happy Independence day."

### Continue reading for a preview of Book 2 of The War Corps Series:

### AMERICAN JIHAD

### The American came to Fallujah to kill a man. When Aden Saud lost his parents and was injured himself during the 911 attacks he dropped out of medical school and learned to shoot. Now he's in Iraq, bringing the war to the terrorists one bullet at a time.

### American Jihad (War Corps Book 2)

### Chapter 1

### Fallujah, Iraq

### The American came to Fallujah to kill a man.

### Unarmed, he walked the dusty streets for two days dodging American patrols and Iraqi militia gangs, checking one mosque after another.

### American jets bombed a militia strongpoint at the other end of town and in spite of the distance the shockwave blew grit in his eyes. Battle-scarred date palms and olive trees shuddered at the blast. Small arms fire crackled at a helicopter launching rockets in support of some marines and black smoke billowed from the stricken bird as it whirled away and limped toward home.

### People flinched at a larger explosion and sought shelter in recessed doorways as the ground trembled and a choking, yellow dust cloud billowed up obscuring a molten sun. The daring few who shared the streets with him didn't speak, but scurried past, eyes averted; mice under the eyes of an owl. Most wore veils or scarves over their faces to block the pungent stench of uncollected garbage, overflowing sewers and burning rubber.

### War had come to this town where terrorist leaders were as common as sand fleas, where ancient dogma and religious zeal conspired to create chaos.

### Three cars smoldered less than a block away, remnants of some soon-forgotten shootout. He paused at a shrine to sip water from a plastic bottle and check his map. Insurgents had pulled down most of the street signs, or turned them, to confound American troops—a small action causing great confusion.

### Thirty minutes later he saw the Saad Bin Abi Waqas Mosque, named for a general who'd won the great battle of Qadisiyya in 636 AD, opening Persia for Muslim conquest. That was the thing about Iraq and its people—too much history. Blood feuds and religious strife originated centuries ago and no one was willing to forgive and forget.

### Several multi-story concrete apartment buildings nearby had been bombed, but the mosque was undamaged, its deep blue tile walls and gold-leafed spires standing in immaculate contrast to the ruins around it. A double row of pineapple palms lined the path to the arabesque doors and provided sparse shade.

### Two men wearing black headbands armed with AK-47's guarded the main entryway to the mosque.

### "Salaam alikeum." The American approached, right hand on his heart in a gesture of respect.

### "Alikeum salaam," the man nearest him said.

### Armed guards at mosques not being the norm, he asked, "Is it permitted to enter?"

### "Of course," the closest guard said, "after we search you for weapons." His eyes held a mischievous glint. "But once inside you may have trouble leaving."

### "Oh?"

### "Oh yes. Big war conference. Very secret. No peasants allowed."

### His grin was infectious and the American responded by pulling a thermos and cup out of his backpack. "Would you like some coffee?"

### He unscrewed the top with theatrical slowness, saying the word, "Moroccan," as if he was caressing a woman.

### The aroma wafting from the thermos tickled the guard's nose like a lover. "Aaaah," he sighed. "You know coffee!" He offered his hand, "Jamal Hazziri."

### "Walid," the American lied. "Walid bin Malat."

### He tipped the thermos and poured what looked like gooey, black sludge into the metal cup. "Thick enough to walk on and sweet as honey."

### The guard took a sip, savoring the thick, hot, delicious liquid tar.

### "That may be the best coffee ever. Talal!" He called to the other guard. "Come over here and taste this."

### Talal slung his AK over his shoulder and ambled over to them.

### "My brother, Talal" Jamal said, handing over the cup.

### Talal nodded to Walid and took a cautious swallow. His eyebrows rose. "It's good."

### "You sound surprised," Walid said.

### "If you were the butt of Jamal's jokes as often as I, you would be careful too. I half expected it to taste like camel piss."

### "A subject on which he is a renowned authority," Jamal joked.

### Talal glanced at Walid and sighed. "You see what I mean?"

### "I do indeed."

### "You are Saudi?" Talal asked.

### Walid nodded and launched into his cover story. "My father sent me here to look for his brother, my uncle Hakim. We haven't heard from him in more than a month and that is most unusual. He wasn't at his home and I know he often prayed at this mosque so I thought I'd try here." He shrugged.

### "Many of our Saudi brothers have joined the Black Banner," Talal said with a gesture to his headband. "What is his name? Maybe we know him."

### "Hakim al Malat," Walid said, "but he is old—too old I think to fight the infidels."

### Talal and Jamal looked at each other and shook their heads. They knew no such person. "Sorry," Talal said. "If he is old he may have abandoned his home and fled to Baghdad to avoid the violence. Many have."

### Walid nodded agreement. He'd been camping in abandoned houses since he'd hit town. So many inhabitants had fled that walking through Fallujah felt like walking through a Stephen King novel.

### Footsteps sounded from within the mosque and a tall thin man wearing a black hooded imam's cloak and surrounded by bodyguards stalked out and crossed the courtyard as a white Cadillac limousine pulled up to receive him.

### "Mustaqa?" Walid asked.

### "No," Jamal said. "I haven't seen that one before." He took another sip of coffee.

### "So," Walid changed the subject. "You two get stuck with guard duty often?"

### "Just since last week." Talal glowered at his brother.

### Oh, a sore point, Walid thought.

### "You know I was right," Jamal said. "You do!"

### Talal shook his finger at his brother. "I know that because you are stubborn as Uncle Mustapha's donkey I get to share your punishment. And I did nothing wrong."

### "Yes, little brother, you did," Jamal said, his tone that of a disappointed parent.

### Walid had quietly taken a step back so as not to intrude in what was obviously an ongoing family dispute.

### "The man was already dead, Jamal. It didn't matter."

### "It would not matter if we were savages," Jamal said. "But we are not. We do not dishonor ourselves or our enemies by doing such things to them."

### Bingo, Walid thought. Last week a group of Black Banner militia under the command of the imam Mustaqa al-Amad had ambushed an American patrol and grabbed the body of Lance Corporal Eric Jasavich before being driven off. At Mustaqa's command, the Lance Corporal's body was mutilated and dragged through the streets before being set on fire.

### "Why did you join the Black Banners if you refuse to follow orders?" Talal asked.

### "For the same reason you did, little brother. Our families need food, our country has been invaded, and the Banner pays cash money."

### Talal turned and stormed off and Jamal finished off the cup of coffee.

### "Forgive us, Walid." Jamal handed the empty cup back. "The bearer of gifts should not be burdened with family gossip." He looked at his brother and said, "Ever since we joined the Black Banners Talal thinks he is a soldier."

### "I understand. So, work is hard to find?"

### "Impossible. The only paying jobs in Iraq are policeman and construction worker and those who do either paint a target on their backs."

### M-16's and AK's popped in the distance.

### "A man can get shot fighting Americans too," Walid said with a grin and Jamal laughed out loud.

### "Yes, but at least we can shoot back."

### "Speaking of which," Walid said, "Being without a gun in this town makes me feel bare as a newborn." He stopped, hoping his new friend would take the hint.

### Jamal looked around as if checking for spies. "I think a man with such a talent for coffee should be able to defend himself and I believe Allah would agree. There is a shop that sells honey in the bazaar on Berber Street, down by the docks on the Euphrates. Ask for the beekeeper and tell him bears are bothering your hives."

### "Thank you, Jamal. Go with God." Walid slipped the cup in his pack.

### "Blessings be upon you, Walid, and good luck finding your uncle."

### Walid waved back over his shoulder as walked off toward the marketplace, less than a mile away.

### *

### "A rifle with a scope?" The beekeeper frowned, repeating Walid's request.

### "And a pistol."

### "Of course." The man pulled one from beneath a box of honeycomb and handed it over for inspection. "Semi-automatic Russian Tokarev 9mm. Shoots just like a Luger."

### Walid ejected the empty ammo clip and racked the slide to look down the barrel.

### "Not very clean," he said.

### The beekeeper shrugged. Take it or leave it.

### Walid replaced the clip and pulled the trigger to close the slide.

### "Yeow!" he yelled as the slide snapped shut on the web of his hand. He flinched so violently he would have dropped the gun if it wasn't still clamped to the flesh between his thumb and forefinger. Walid's eyes teared as he freed his hand and examined his new blood blister.

### "My apologies young man, but I told you it shot like a Luger." The shopkeeper's eyes gleamed.

### Walid had a sneaking suspicion he'd just been paid back for dissing the man's merchandise.

### The beekeeper took the Tokarev from Walid and demonstrated the proper grip. "See, you have to hold it lower on the butt so your hand is not caught, but I think you have already learned this lesson. No?"

### Walid sighed, "Let's see the rifle."

### *

### Six hours later, having sighted the Dragunov rifle in, he centered the crosshairs of his sniper scope on Mustaqa al-Amad's left eye. Sunlight glinted off the imam's gold-rimmed spectacles. The man's head filled half the space between dots on his Bushnell mil-dot scope, telling him the range was roughly five hundred yards.

### Walid hesitated briefly, knowing he was crossing his moral Rubicon.

### Mustaqa raised his arms above his head and his black Imam's cloak, slid down his arms to reveal the blazing white sleeves of his dishadashah and a gold Rolex. The man's face distorted as he screamed at the crowd, exhorting them to violence.

### A yellow dust devil whirled in the distance. The scope wavered and Walid took another breath.

### See a target, he thought, not a man.

### Heat waves shimmered off whitewashed buildings. He let part of his breath out and held it. The scope steadied.

### See a target, not a man.

### He squeezed the trigger between heartbeats, just like Kira taught him at the rifle range and for a split second Mustaqa's head bulged like a lop-sided balloon, then it burst, spraying hot, red blood and blueish gray brain matter over those closest to him.

### Almost a third of a mile away, in a darkened apartment, Walid saw his target's head explode and dropped the rifle.

### He recoiled and fell back against the cold rock wall, swallowed the bile that surged up in his throat and sucked in a deep, shuddering breath. The gray concrete of the bombed ruin, the dust motes dancing in a yellow sunbeam, the sage green lizard approaching a fly buzzing in a spider's web, all caught his eye, yet none registered. The horror of what he had done froze him in place. Murderer!

### He knew he should leave but couldn't force himself to move. And it didn't matter, because he'd planned this out carefully, knowing gunfire in Fallujah was passé so no one could zero in on him from the sound of his shot. So it would take the hunters a long time to find this site. He was sure of it. He'd taken everything into account—except for how he'd feel after killing a man.

### The lizard's tongue darted out and snared both fly and spider from the web and that broke the spell.

### The American, whose real name was Aden Walid al Malat bin Saud, pulled himself together and wiped his prints from the rifle and the shell casing he now ejected. He'd leave the rifle—too hard to conceal if he took it. Besides, now he knew how easy it was to buy guns in Iraq.

### He policed the room one last time, eyeing the cigarette butts he'd collected from the street nearby and ground into the bare concrete floor. That would give them some interesting DNA. Then he took a blood red card and laid it on the floor. The card contained a passage from the Quran.

### [4.18] These are they for whom We have prepared a painful chastisement.

### Any Muslim who found it would recognize the passage and get the message.

### Time to go.

### As he rose to his feet and shouldered his pack his emotional pendulum swung the other way. His head came up and his eyes brightened. He'd thought long and hard before committing to this action and convinced himself he was doing the right thing—that killing a terrorist leader like Mustaqa would save lives. And now that he was over the shock it felt good to hit back, just like back home in Kansas when he'd punched his first bully in the nose.

### "One man can make a difference, Kira," he whispered to himself as he stepped out into the hallway. "One man can make a difference."

### But he'd miscalculated a few things.

### Continue reading for a preview of MISSING AMANDA

### Chicago in 1958 is a very dangerous place. When private eye Lou Fleener and his friend Dion Monkton are tricked into helping a Chicago mob boss in his takeover of Mayor Daley's office, it makes the other mobs angry enough to kill.

### Through guns and bombs and the unsteady affections of Cassidy Adams, a blonde with a heart for pure gold, the scary attentions of a hit man who prefers a scalpel to a .38 and a baseball fan who'll kill them if the Cubs lose, Lou and Monk devise an amazing plan of vengeance against the mobs. All of them. At the same time.

### If it works, they'll be rich. And who knows—maybe even alive.

### MISSING AMANDA

### Chapter 1

### August 19, 1958 - Chicago

### "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go..."

### Paul E. Smalls, in a two-room flat near Bryn Mawr, frantically stuffed clothes into a battered leather grip. His tan cotton pants were dirty, the white wife-beater tee stained and his brown shoes were scuffed. Everything else went into the case or onto the floor.

### He paused at a picture of his sister, tossed it in the bag, scanned the room and decided enough was enough. He threw on a shirt, tails out and unbuttoned and slapped a fedora on his head, closed the bag and ran for the door.

### The mob, he thought as he dashed down the stairs two at a time. Jesus Christ, being chased by the fucking mob. A choked sound came from his throat as he careened from the wall, off balance, and legged it down the last flight at the back of the building. He looked both ways and dashed for the black Ford Fairlane convertible across the alley.

### He almost made it. The case was in the back seat, his keys in his hand and his mind already on the road when something heavy hit him between the shoulder blades. He went down like a wet sack of cement, his back screaming in agony.

### Feet came into view, black tie-ons, argyle socks, brown cuffs above them. Paul E. cringed and tried to scuttle backwards, crablike but hands lifted him not gently, to his feet.

### Paul E. felt the harsh acid of rising bile. So close, the thought, so goddam close. If only he'd rabbited sooner.

### The guy shook him, making Paul E's head roll around. From nearly closed lids Paul E. saw the goons' hard expression and knew there'd be no mercy here, no sympathy. The ox was low grade muscle, paid to beat people and bring them to his masters.

### The mob. Fear like he'd never known went through his gut, making him feel even weaker than he actually felt. The ox worked for Cermak. Guzman Cermak – _Cermak the Surgeon._ Stories of Sadism and torture attributed to the crime boss were legendary and if even half were true, Paul E. was in for a world of hurt.

### Cermak. They say he carried a scalpel in his lapel pocket...

### The ox shook him again and Paul E. pretended to be out, thinking of what he could do. He could scream but who'd listen? He could fight but why bother? It would be like hitting the brick wall behind him.

### But...Ox didn't have a gun, or didn't have it out, which was the same thing, In Paul E.s world, if you don't pull a gun you didn't intend to use one. So that was one good thing. And here was another: the guy was alone.

### Probably didn't expect trouble from a private dick with a camera, Paul E. thought. Good. There might be a chance after all. He willed himself to stop shaking.

### He groaned again, theatrically, making it sound worse than it felt. His right shoulder where the ox had hit him was numb and useless, maybe broken, but his left felt okay If he did this right he might live to see Wisconsin.

### He waved a hand feebly – no acting there – as if to ward off the goon.

### He heard a laugh like the braying of a not particularly bright mule, but the vicelike grip on his arm lessoned. Paul E. slumped against the Fairlane, across te open window and slid down as if falling inside. His left hand scrabbled for the gun...

### Ox said, "Hey! Get up," like a junk yard dog who could talk. He grabbed Paul E. by the shirt and yanked, expecting dead weight. The unbuttoned shirt ripped off. Paul E. came up fast and the goon overcompensated. Paul E. swatted at the horn in the center of the steering wheel and the Ford made a loud blatting noise, further startling the goon. Paul E. spun around with a silver .22 and pointed it straight into the guy's startled face.

### The ox stepped back suddenly, like he'd been stung by a bee, the alley exploded with sound and a bullet shattered the Ford's side mirror. There _was_ another ne, thought Paul E. as he ducked.

### Paul E. reacted with the Army training from the war not that many years ago. He pulled the trigger twice and the little .22 cracked wise in the alley. The ox went down bellowing in pain and Paul E. swiveled left and dropped to his knees, feeling a bullet flash over his head even as he heard the blast.

### Five more time he fired his pistol, emptying it. A shadow teetered over a garbage can and fell into a shallow puddle of muck. Just like at the target range Paul E. thought, blessing his foresight in keeping up with his training. What would a private dick be without it?

### Dead, that's what, and not pleasantly. He tossed the now empty gun into the back with the valise, opened the door and cursed. He couldn't just leave the dead guys, not with his apartment just across the alley and himself about to vanish. The cops would putt hat together like lightning and the search would be on.

### No, gotta do something else. With his left arm useless the chore would be difficult but not impossible he pushed and pulled and dragged the nearest thug to the car, thanking Ford for the size of the trunk. He fit neatly, just above the spare.

### Paul E. went to the other guy – ox – and was surprised to see him still breathing. Well, not for long. Paul E. went back to the trunk, took the gun off the body, a nice silver plated .38, went back and shot ox twice in the chest. The gun jumped in his hand and Paul E. flinched at the sound.

### Farther away, ox took a bit more effort to drag to the car but soon he was slouched in the back seat like he was sleeping off a drunk. Paul E. pulled the ragtop into place, lugged it down with some difficulty, rolled up the window and got in. he drove carefully down the alley, made a left on 54th and hightailed it to the safety of Baraboo.

### Hey Rube, he thought. I'm coming.

### Lou Fleener was admiring the White Sox coverage in the Tribune when a shadow darkened the frosted glass of his office window. The Sox were in second place, the Cubs in third. Louis Aparicio was hotter than the August weather. Was there a God? Could it happen?

### "It's open" Lou called to the shave-and-a-haircut rapping at the door. He set down the paper and watched with interest as a big guy in a new Poplin suit pushed the door and shoved it closed with his hip. He shuffled across the dusty green and white checkered linoleum and sat in the guest chair. If an elephant wore summer wright cotton, it would look like this guy. The chair creaked.

### "You Fleener?"

### "What it says on the door." _'Lou Fleener – Private Eye –'_ backwards in gold letters, painted on by a cousin of Monk's.

### "Smart guy," said the suit.

### Lou shrugged modestly. "It's true." He put his feet on the scuffed wooden desk and leaned back. "What can I do for you?

### "Word on the street is you're good."

### "Word's right."

### The guy cocked a jaw and bit his lip. His hair was cut short like a Marine, flat on top and razored on the sides.. He didn't look like a customer, but what does a customer look like? There had been so few lately that Lou lacked perspective.

### The suit fidgeted, took a pack of Lucky's from an inside pocket and lit one from a gold Zippo. Lou pulled an ashtray from the drawer and slid it across the desk, a thick chunky glass souvenir from the Palmer Hotel. The bottom said 'A handy place to stay,' in red ink under a pair of black dice. Classy.

### Lou studied the visitor for a moment as the smoke filled the small room. Nice suit, good cut, one of those new polyester fabrics, it covered the muscles as if tailored and concealed the gun under the left armpit. The guy was a blond with the features of a body builder gone soft.

### "Hey," he said. "I know you!"

### "No, you don't."

### "Yeah. Yeah I do." Lou snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute, it'll come to me."

### "It doesn't matter who I am. I've been sent –"

### "Got it! You're Milt Stiltmeyer." Lou slapped the desk in delight. "I'm right, right? Milt the Stilt?" Lou sounded like a fan at Comisky meeting Minnie Minoso. In a moment he'd be asking for an autograph.

### The guy made hands down motions, like quieting a rowdy dog. "It don't matter who I am," he said. "I'm here to bring you to –"

### But Lou wasn't balked. "I know I'm right. Millie the Killer they call you. 'Cause you killed that guy, what was his name? Stubbs, right, while you were wearing a dress.

### Milt looked pained.

### "Sure," Lou said, "I know all about you."

### Now Milt looked concerned. "How?"

### "I read about you. In the Trib. I got a scrapbook,"

### "The hell you mean, a scrapbook? You got a scrapbook of thugs?"

### "Sure." Lou didn't mention that it was Monk's idea and that he'd been against it. Monk said, "If you're going to do this – be a private eye – then the least you can do is be prepared. You've got to study, know your enemies." Monk talked like that, like he graduated from Loyola or someplace. "It could save your life." Then he'd gone off to his used book store down on Clark street and came back with this huge pile old musty newspapers and made Lou go through them every Thursday night. The company had been good, the beers cold and Lou had gotten into it, learning the names and nicknames and habits of the current Chicago mob scene.

### And now, here was one of them – in person! Lou could hardly contain his glee.

### "Bummer of a name, man," he told Milt with real sympathy, meaning it. "Other guys have cool names like Sammy 'the icepick' or Bugsy Siegel or 'Scarface' Al. But you got saddled with 'Millie.'" Lou shook his head at the unfairness of the world.

### "Coffee?" he asked.

### "The name's not important" Milt said through clenched teeth, like he'd been explaining this most of his life, which he probably had. "I'm here to take you to see –"

### "Due Braddock," Lou finished for him. "You're muscle for Duke Braddock."

### Milt looked uncomfortable with that, pursing his lips around the cigarette and puffing like a '53 Buick Roadmaster. He started through the growing haze until Lou thought he'd maybe quietly choked to death. But, "Okay," he said. "I work for Duke Braddock. You heard of him?"

### "Course," said Lou. He sat up straight and his office chair creaked. "Who hasn't?"

### Even without Monk's research Lou would have heard about Braddock. Pimp, prostitutes, marijuana, some said Coke and the big H – heroin. If it was illegal or killed you it was probably connected to Braddock.

### "The mob guy," he said simply.

### "The _businessman_ ," corrected Milt.

### "The businessman then," Lou agreed, smiling. No way, he decided, was he going to take this case. Duke Braddock was a major player. People who slept with Duke Braddock tended to wake up dead.

### Lou wasn't afraid – hadn't been for years, since those long months slogging thought the Pacific theater – but still. "What's a guy like Duke want with –"

### "A two bit gumshoe?" Milt grinned like he'd been waiting for the line.

### "A private investigator," Lou said with Dignity. His practice was small – just him – and the office wasn't in the best part of town, and the El did rattle the windows twice an hour, but it was approved by the State of Illinois. Said so right on the license.

### The mentioned El chose that moment to rumble by the window, shaking the glass and making conversation impossible. The tracks were second story, just like the office. It kept the rent reasonable and there weren't that many paying customers anyway.

### Mocking, the guy kept talking. Lou could see his lips move. Ha-ha, cute joke. Lou upgraded his opinion of the guy from hired muscle to idiot. No way would he take this case, whatever it was.

### When the train noise had faded to a muted rumbling he said, "Whadaya want?"

### "The boss wants to see you."

### Lou had maybe seven minutes before the next train so he rushed it. "No,"

### "You haven't heard what he wants."

### "Don't need to. If Braddock's involved, it's dirty."

### Milt actually looked offended. A cheap thug in a turtleneck – in this August heat; how was that possible? – offended for a boss who killed people. Honor among thieves, Lou supposed.

### Milt stared around the office; a short trip it was true – you could just about touch both walls if you stretched. "A punk like you," he said. "Turning down Duke Braddock?"

### "Amazing, isn't it?"

### Milt shook his head like he was clearing gnats. "A small time, no account piece of shit like you?"

### "Go figure," agreed Lou. He was actually enjoying this. Few enough people came here, an actual gangland celebrity was a treat. Since opening the office two years back Lou hadn't met anyone more dangerous than the bartender at Billie Goat's, steamed about the bar bill.

### Milt stood up, stretched, his fingers brushing the ceiling. "You gotta come with me."

### Standing he was bigger than he looked sitting, filling out the suit like a stuffed sausage. Worse, he balanced lightly on his feet and turned sideways like a fighter. A pro for sure.

### Lou's smile became a grin. This was getting better and better.

### "Get up." Milt motioned with the front fingers of his left hand. His right hand was resting on the edge of the desk.

### Lou stood. He exhaled through his lips, blowing out all the air, sagging as if resigned and Milt relaxed, seeing the expected obedience.

### Lou said, "Sorry," picked up the ashtray and slammed it down on Milt's fingers. Cigarette butts flew across the room in a spray of spark and ash.

### The glass broke, Milt howled and automatically stuck his injured paw toward his mouth, Lou grabbed the wrist and pushed along with it, the motion making Milt bend back to avoid slapping himself in the face.

### Once Milt was off balance Lou shoved him – hard – in the middle of that broad chest and kept pushing. Milt fell back, hit the door head first and the frosted glass shattered, the lettering gone with the wind. Monk was not going to be pleased, Lou thought, especially since his cousin hadn't been paid yet.

### Milt hung there, half supported by the remains of the door, then shrugged himself up and out. He brushed glass from his coat and glared.

### "Tough guy," he said.

### "Yeah," Lou agreed, He took a gun from the desk drawer and pointed it.

### "Okay," Milt said. "Okay, you're a tough guy. Maybe that's why the boss wants to see you."

### He stretched his shoulders around in a small circle and twisted his neck. Muscles bulged and bones cracked loudly. The heat came in through the open window and shimmered between them. The air hung heavy and expectant as if waiting.

### "I'll send Braddock a bill for the door," Lo said finally.

### Milt laughed, a short bark. "You do that." He pulled open the door and walked out, heavy shoes crunching on glass shards. He turned back, framed in the space where the window used to be.

### "I'll be back, tough guy. Depend on it. I'll be back."

### "Great meeting you," Lou said. Come back any time."

### Duke Braddock, he thought. Hot damn.

### Later, Mickey said, "Duke Braddock?"

### Mickey Jablonski was a stoolie, a paid informer who'd sell his dog to a butcher for pork chops. He was short and skinny and walked with a limp from a meeting with a very dissatisfied customer. The guy had actually tried to chew through Mickey's leg. Took three of Chicago's finest to pull him off and cuff him. Of course, the cops hadn't been in all that much of a hurry – nobody cared much for Mickey.

### "Braddock," agreed Lou. They were eating a late lunch at a corner booth at the Billy Goat Tavern at lower Michigan by the river. The Billy Goat's was a newspaperman's hangout and a bunch or reporters from the Trib were making noise at the bar. The place was old time, with dark wood crown moldings somewhere up there in the haze. If it weren't for political connections, the place would have bene closed down years before it ever opened.

### Mickey scratched a kitchen match on the scarred table and fired up a cigar, Acrid blue smoke surrounded him and he looked like an acned Satin until he coughed and ruing the image.

### "Still getting those expensive imported cigars?" Lou laughed.

### "Screw you, Fleener. These cost two bits for ten."

### "Two bits. Big spender."

### But Mickey seemed more interested in another subject. "Braddock, man. I don't know. He's about as big as this town gets anymore."

### "I know. He's very hot stuff." Lou read the papers: Duke Braddock arrested for drugs, for prosties, for arson, assault. Probably murder and bad breath. But he'd walked away on every count every time, the result of great attorneys or big money. Or both.

### "He lives in Evanston?" Lou asked. Where the old money hangs out?"

### Mickey laughed. "Sure. He's gone uptown for sure."

### Lou thought about old money and new money. He didn't have either but he picked up the tab for the beers with the last two singles in his wallet, still wondering what Duke Braddock could want with him.

### That's it for now folks but I'd like to invite you to visit my website

### www.RaymondDeanWhite.com

### I love hearing from my readers.
