Maybe a tad paranoid but...........

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Let's see......... the CDC wasn't it, did an article on what to do to survive a Zombie attack. It was done to get people's attention to be prepared for any catastrophic event, be it natural, warfare, civil unrest, epidemic, whatever. Supposed to have been done somewhat in fun......yet the facts they put there were very important.

Ok. This week History channel is running a thing about Zombies. Now one is just the history of zombies. The other I'm not sure what it's called because I didn't catch all of it, darn it. But it was doing the same thing the CDC did on a much deeper level.

They had things about storing food, learning to grow your own, hunting, skills that would be valuable to have and marketable, self defence, what types of weapons are best for people who don't normally handle weapons......

And I start wondering. Now I belong to a prepper organization. Some mighty good tips there though I don't go to extremes, couldn't if I wanted to. If nothing else, it's greatly helping me survive on no income. Both prepper organizations AND the sites where they get their supplies from are reporting shortages because the govt has been buying from them suddenly as well.

So I'm sitting in my chair crocheting a camouflage mitten for Darrin (he has a hat and scarf that will match) watching this thinking........wth is going on? Are certain sources attempting to get information out to the public without screaming "the sky is falling" and causing a mass panic or what?

I hang out on the history channels quite often.......because well, main tv doesn't have much on that interests me. They have a show Decoded that recently did an episode to prove or disprove that fort knox is empty. Now I'm not even a huge fan of this show, I think the host is a twit, but that one gave me chills.........and from what they turned up, I'd bet my house it's empty, has been empty since not long after Reagan demanded to see the gold to make sure it was there. (he was the last to see it by the way) Their employees say it's not there, the town it's in says it's not there.....exmilitary that "guarded" it says it's not there, they were guarding empty rooms and other top secret things but not gold.

Now the show was not dumb enough to state for a fact the gold is no longer in fort knox. They'd have probably been cancelled on the spot. But me? It's not there. The people they spoke with had no reason to lie about it.

Makes you really stop and think. And since I consider you all my family here, I'd like you all to stop and think too. Paranoia, maybe. But look at the news, read the paper, walk through the grocery stores and really pay attention to the prices (which have already begun to jump up) search for online news sources, get informed.

Something is hovering. I've no clue what it is.......could be anything. We've got natural disasters all over the place, govts all over the world are tanking economically, blah blah blah......But when the govt is preparing for the worst (whatever the heck it is) and not telling it's citizens to do the same......I get suspicious, and scared.

I know we've posted about this before.........but I'm suddenly seeing "specials" about this all over the place, and it's giving me a much more urgent feeling in my gut.

You don't have to go overboard. But when you shop, say you're buying canned goods on sale, pick up several extra cans, same with flour, sugar ect. Say they've got a sale on soda in 2 liters.....and you're soda drinkers......snatch them up, drink the soda, wash the bottle and put water or rice/beans/ect into the bottle for storage. Stock up on medical supplies and first aide items and stuff like cold medicine ect when you see a sale.

easy child and I have been doing this for months. Step can testify to my current stockpile.......and it's steadily growing. I watch for sales (I don't have a choice), I use my coupons, and I buy it whether I need it or not.....it then is added to the stockpile. I do what I can to keep the cost down as much as possible. I just bought a lot of soup for .49 cents a can. I'm not a big soup person, but if the power is out and I want to eat I can dump it into a can and cook it on my propane camp stove. No fuss, good food.

I crochet. I'm learning how to crochet things I'd never have bothered with normally.......like those mittens, hats ect. I'm perfecting my awful knitting skills and plan this winter to work on my sewing by hand skills.

We're doing canning and learned how so we can put up our gardens next year.......and any product ect that has a really good sale........And I had to laugh cuz we both thought what if our power went out and we had to throw out all the meat we have packed away in our freezers......ehh no biggie, we'll can it all. lol

We're learning to bake from scratch.....especially bread. Although I also know how to make Indian fry bread which doesn't require yeast.

We're always on the look out for new skills or items that with make life a bit easier should things go to pot for whatever reason.

The nice thing about prepping for a disaster? Is all of it is usable all the time. You're going to eat the food you put up, you're going to use the household supplies ect......I can wash clothes with my washboard and wash tubs hang them on the line and save money on gas and electric if I want......I can bake my own bread and use whole wheat flour I've ground myself and eat healthier bread with no preservatives. If the power goes out I can do stuff with my battery lanterns and my oil/candle lanterns ect. It just doesn't get wasted. If I just can't eat all the food as I rotate it in time, the food pantry would LOVE to have it. Know what I mean??

We've become a spoiled society. I think back at the things my grandma did at 70........and I'm like omg, I'd keel over and I'm only 47. I'm out of shape but I'm working on it.

We don't expect bad things to happen to us as a whole, and if it does we expect the govt to pick up the pieces and make it better. And maybe that worked for a while. But the govt is broke. Like it or not, don't care who's fault it is cuz it's ALL their fault regardless of party. And the govt doesn't have the funds to make it better in any real sense. We've as a whole forgotten what our grandparents and great grandparents knew so well.......you always prepare for the worst even in the best of times.

So yeah. I may be totally paranoid. But the way I look at it? I'd rather be as ready as I can, than being the person who suddenly realizes they can't see in the dark, they have nothing to drink, that week's supply of food in the cupboards doesn't last long even if you ration it...............

But seriously.............I can't be the only one noticing the sudden rash of This is what you do if things both online and on tv.......
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Lisa, I don't think you're necessarily paranoid. With all the doomsday media going around, I think a major catastrophe is almost expected! I often worry about how we'd survive a major catastrophe - and I'm not talking about a hurricane or earthquake, but like you I always seem to feel that the govt has something up their sleeve their not sharing with the rest of the class.

I love all the things you do to help make your family self sufficient. Thankfully, I have lived off the grid so I know what how to do 'things', but it's been a long while since those days. I am planning a garden for next year because I enjoy canning and I'd love to have some things off season to enjoy from my land. I also stockpile medications, always have, and other household supplies. H is also really good and knows the basics. Between the two of us, I think we'd be okay for a little while. My kids, on the other hand, clueless. Yours is a very good model, you're teaching your kiddos really well how to be self sufficient!
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
You know the song "A country boy can survive"? Well, I would probably be extremely upset without my diet coke and cigarettes but Tony could provide food for us I have no doubt. Now medication? That would be a problem. There just isnt a way to stockpile my medications. Tony can hunt and fish and when we first met, that is how we ate quite a bit. On his income at the time, feeding 5 of us and taking care of all the bills was hard so we ate a whole lot of fish he caught out of the ocean.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Medication would be a REAL issue.

Lisa, I, being Pollyanna of course, think that it's just the media not being original. Hollywood, for instance, rarely comes out with-original stories and screenplays, preferring to remake everything (aka moneymakers) 16X, from Superman to Jane Eyre. Magazines do it, too. It is no coincidence that the top interior decorating/home interior magazines all come out with-the same color schemes, same home tours and virtually identical stories every month. Sometimes they are in cooperation, others use corporate spies. Same thing with-ladies' magazines.
That's my take on it.
However, you do not have to be paranoid, just practical, to always keep extras on hand in case of disaster, be it tornado, hurricane, earthquake or nuclear fallout. Water, soap, canned goods, batteries, flashlights, candles, matches are all good things to have around. (by the way, water goes bad after a few mo's so it's a good idea to use it up and start over.)
I also believe that it is important for people to learn to do things by hand and not be totally specialized or rely totally on technology. It wouldn't hurt if we all knew how to sew, (at least, to repair rips), grow tomatoes and other vegetable, herbs and fruits, to fish and hunt if necessary. I like Thomas Jefferson's philosophy that every man should have a garden and be able to provide for himself, no matter his lot in life. But that's just me.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
I was thinking about this just the other day, after I found my great-grandmother's cookbook. They had 80 acres, and I have no doubt they were able to provide for not only their family, but the ranch manager's as well. By the time I was old enough to remember, they were mostly growing raisin grapes, but had oranges, tangerines, plums, pomegranates, and I'm sure there were other things I don't recall. The Aunties canned and preserved, did a lot of baking from scratch, and went out to pick what they'd planned for dinner. My Nana did the same thing as her sisters.

I don't have the room for a stockpile, but I stock up where I can, and we found a chest freezer at Kmart that we're getting on Friday. I can sew on buttons, and hem pants, but that's the extent of my sewing skills. I just started learning how to knit a few weeks ago. Hubby's project is to work on the back yard so we can put in a garden next spring.

medications would be an issue, of course, and I would be unhappy without my iced tea. Since we rarely have weather-related power outages, though, I don't know how long I'd last without tea and light to read by.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Okay, I surfed some survivalist sites. Whew. Gotta mop my brow after that!

Most of them think that we are going to be hit by a comet and the U.S. govn't is trying to cover it up. Some think comet yes, but gov't is using it as an excuse to expand the Emergency Preparedness System, incl cell phones, to further control us.
Others argued that foreign countries aren't that paranoid, so why just us?
Some consider it biblically based.
Others are worried about a nuclear disaster from terrorists, or war, much like WWII and the 1950s.

I have a former friend who went out and bought a gas mask after 9/11. She wanted them for her cats and dogs and I told her that no one made them that small, plus, why wasn't she carrying hers around with-her all the time? Did she think she'd have a few hrs to drive home from the mall and put on her gas mask? Plus, wouldn't she have to take it off to eat? Anyway, as I said, she's a former friend.

All-in-all, I don't see that much has changed.

Oh, except that since so many folks are armed and ready to hike to the mtns and forests, it reminded me to stock up on mosquito repellent. And I do need more water.
 

Steely

Active Member
Wow - I wasn't worried until I read your post - lol.... I tend to be a skeptical cynic though. If I really thought something was going to happen I would make myself crazy storing food, worrying about Matt, my animals, medications - I can only take life one day at a time anyway. lol
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
What was that quote (Carlin?) about it only takes being right once to make paranoia worth it?
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
We'd do okay for a while. Weird meals, but okay.

There was a big stink about the millennium, remember? And it turned out to be nothing. But... Rome didn't fall in a day, Know what I mean??

I don't necessarily think you're paranoid, but rather, smart.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
But... Rome didn't fall in a day, Know what I mean??

That's more my take on things.
Given where things are going... the more skills, tools and supplies I can acquire to provide independence... the better.
But I don't expect the world to fall apart overnight.
Although... the stockmarket crash of '29 came close.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and take what comes.
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
Speaking of, have you checked out the Foxfire book series? I know my parents had it (both adopted and bio), and I've seen it in our library, too. It's traditional old-timey ways to do things, would be handy info if civilization collapses.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I dont think the world is going to end but I am also not as cavalier as to think that we are not at a bit of a risk because we are so connected to everything world wide these days. We cant even get money if the power is out. At this point, cash is almost obsolete. Most people pay for things with checks or debit/credit cards or have bills paid online. Employers or government agencies are now using debit cards to send out benefits. Its like a big game of transferring wealth but what could be seen as a pyramid scheme if it all came crashing down. Do I think it will? No. I dont think anyone will let it because it isnt in anyones best interests. It would take down the world.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Economies are tanking around the world because when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold. We were fortunate in Australia to have a government do stuff which seemed crazy, but saved our bacon (and rice, and bank accounts, and other stuff). When all the survivalist stuff and government info in other countries was saying, "Save your money! Stuff it under the mattress!" or whatever, our government handed it out. To the poorest people first, the ones who would HAVE to spend it to survive.
Result - money flowing round the economy. People getting paid for services. People at the coal face of the economy, the grovers, the shopkeepers, all getting paid for their goods and services. They could then afford to buy more. And so it flowed on.

When times are tough, people talk about conspiracy. Paranoia is more common. "Maybe it's because of the ...[insert hypothetical catastrophe here]". This sort of emotional backlash then becomes a negative feedback loop and the situation worsens. "See?" the doomsday people say. "That proves my predictions were correct!"
Not, it doesn't. It is what is called a self-fulfilling prophecy.

My brother used to be a wealthy man. Then 25+ years ago we had a combination of problems - an economic downturn, plus his franchise got embezzled by the head office honcho who disappeared to Argentina with the proceeds. My brother had mortgaged everything to keep his business afloat, only to lose the lot and have to declare bankruptcy. Now, we have a law that says that a bankrupt person can't start a new business in the same state for a certain number of years. My brother's wife consulted a fortune teller (WHY? With what funds!?) who listened to the story and advised, "You will move interstate and he will make his fortune back again."
Now, that was perhaps a fairly safe bet. Someone like my brother who always did well in business (when not embezzled!) would of course want to get back on the horse immediately. So it made sense to say he would move interstate.

The fortune teller said they would move interstate, so that is what they did. Trouble is, he never had the capital it needed to get back into the black. No fortune re-made. They live in rental accommodation on a government pension and also work as cleaners. But the fortune teller said... only because the fortune teller was making a well-informed guess. Self-fulfilling prophecy.

Stocking up on bulk goods is a good idea if you need to save money, but avoid spoilage. If you're really concerned about possible catastrophes, drinking water is the most urgent concern. You can survive on no food for a lot longer than you can survive on no water. And stockpiled water needs to be used or it goes stale. Loaded with algae or bacteria.

We use large volume plastic juice bottles (well cleaned and dried) to store rice, sugar, etc. A large plastic drum to store bread flour. Rainwater tanks. Filtered water. Solar hot water. Vegetable garden. Hens. I cook from scratch, knit and sew. Not because we fear the end of the world, but because that is how I was raised and our environment needs people to consider the travel costs of what they use as well as the other environmental costs. We need to get away from our over-packaged, over-marketed society and back to a simpler and healthier lifestyle. If we don't, then the paranoia will become reality, one we have brought on ourselves by our own shortsightedness.

Marg
 

shellyd67

Active Member
I just read on a friends FB page that on 11-9-11, the EBS (emergency broadcast system) will be doing a NATIONWIDE test. I tried to post the link but it wouldn't work ...
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I don't necessarily buy into the whole world-coming-to-and-end scenario but I do applaud people who plan ahead and try to be more self sufficient. Maybe it is my age, or because I grew up on a farm, but I know how to do a lot of things that would come in handy. I can grow my own food, make my own stuff, to carpentry, fix simple plumbing, cook almost anything without opening a box or a can, etc. Although I have probably forgotten what I ever knew (and at one time I did know) about butchering pigs and cows, I can do a chicken or other bird in quick time. My cupboards are stocked, as is my freezer. I don't take any medications so that isn't a problem for me. If the worst happens, I would probably last longer than most. Is that a good thing?
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Good link Liahona :)

It's not that I necessarily believe the "world is going to end" because I don't. Change? Maybe. End? Doubtful. Unless like I said, some idiot decides to push a button.....but they'd have to really be an idiot.

I have always believed it's good to be prepared should something happen. I've always had a stockpile to a certain degree. I've just been able to increase it due to both couponing and space. That "something" could be anything.

Trust me, it doesn't take much. Like husband not getting his unemployment for 2 months........we lived off the stockpile and didn't really notice much. husband suddenly passing away and my income dropped to zero. Again, living off the stockpile while adding to it when I can. If it weren't for my stockpile I'd be in a heap of hurt right now. It lets me add to it when I can with sales / coupons while focusing what little income I have coming in from child care to bills. Over the years my stockpiles have gotten us through many an ice storm and blizzard pretty comfortably.

I do like the prepper sites because they can be helpful learning new skills and thinking of things to add to a stockpile that I might not even think of. (which has helped me quite a bit) Like I get feminine pads quite often for free these days, well, I have no real need for them.....but I get them anyway because they also happen to make a great dressing for a wound in a first aid kit, same with tampons....fabulous for nose bleeds.

in my opinion becoming more self reliant is always a good thing. Learning not to be wasteful.....well, everyone benefits and it also helps the budget. If you can garden you can have organic food with very little cost involved.......and a new rage is container gardening for people with not much space or who live in apartments. (pretty cool actually) Stockpiling and learning to be self reliant are win/win.

I do see bad times ahead for society at large. Especially if our elected officials don't wake up to the fact that the same old same old is how we got where we are now, and if they don't change how they view/handle things it's going to bottom out pretty quickly. Me? Well, I've got bad times right now, I don't really need to go "looking" for it...... I'd say it can't get much worse, but then I'm sure karma would feel obliged to show me it certainly can. lol

But yeah, like I said, makes me nervous when the govt is claiming all is honky dory basically while they're out secretly purchasing their own stockpiles. And I do have to wonder when the CDC does what it did with the zombie thing........and now I see shows following suit, especially when the percentage of people who actually do currently prep is fairly low to the population who think it's all silly like Y2K was "silly". I don't think Y2K was silly. The experts didn't know if it would happen or not, they weren't sure what was going to happen. I prepped for it.....not like now, but I did have a tidy lil stockpile going on. Nor did it hurt me to prep for it and none of it went to waste.......and I was tickled pink when Y2K did not happen like predicted.

Sometimes it's the subtle messages that save your fanny, not the shouts.
 
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