How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [110]
I have repeatedly and strongly emphasized the importance of living at your intended retreat year-round, but I realize that because of personal finances, family obligations, and the constraints of making a living at an hourly or salaried job, this is not always realistic—except for a few of us, mainly retirees. If you are stuck in the big city and plan to Get Out of Dodge at the eleventh hour, then pre-position the vast majority of your gear and supplies at your retreat. You will most likely only have one—I repeat, one—G.O.O.D. trip. If there is a major crisis there will probably be no chance to go back for a second load. So WTSHTF, it will truly be a come-as-you-are affair.
We must recognize that in these days of rapid news dissemination, it may take as little as ten hours for supermarket shelves to be cleaned out. It make take just a few hours for queues that are literally blocks long to form at gas stations—or at bank branches in the event of bank runs. Worse yet, it may be just a few hours before the highways and freeways leading out of urban and suburban areas are clogged with traffic.
The come-as-you-are concept also applies to your personal training. If you haven’t learned how to do things before the balloon goes up, don’t expect to get anything but marginal to mediocre on-the-spot training after the fact. You have the opportunity to take top-quality training from the best instructors now, but you certainly won’t once the Schumer hits the fan. Train with the best—with organizations like Medical Corps, Wilderness Emergency Medical Services Institute, Front Sight (frontsight.com), Gunsite (gunsite.com), the RWVA/Appleseed Project, the WRSA, and the ARRL. Someday, you’ll be very glad that you did.
As for provisions and equipment, the come-as-you-are concept definitely applies. The demand for them during a societal collapse will be tremendous. How could you compete in such a scant market? Anyone who conceivably has spares will probably want to keep them for a member of their own family or group. Use the advice and lists in this book and take precautions.
Stock your retreat well. If there isn’t someone living there year-round, then hide what is there from burglars. Maintain balance in your preparations. In a situation in which you are truly hunkered down at your retreat in the midst of a societal collapse, there might not be any opportunity to barter for items that you overlooked. What you have is what you got. You will have to make do, so be sure to develop your lists of lists meticulously (see Chapter 2). If you have the funds available, construct a combination storm shelter/fallout shelter/walk-in vault. It would be virtually impossible to build something that elaborate in the aftermath of a societal collapse.
Don’t overlook the “you” part of the “as you are” premise. Are you physically fit? Are you up-to-date on your dental work? Do you have two pairs of sturdy eyeglasses with your current prescription? Do you have at least a six-month supply of vitamins and medications? Is your body weight reasonable? If your answer to any of these is no, then get busy.
With careful preparations, even if you have a modest budget you will have an advantage over the average suburbanite. Your knowledge and training alone—what is between your ears—will ensure that.
A Call to Action
If you are serious about preparedness, then it is time to get out of your armchair and start training and preparing. It will take time. It will take some sweat. It will take money. But once you’ve prepared, you can sleep well, knowing that you’ve done your best to protect and provide for your family, regardless of what the future brings. Don’t get stuck in the rut of simply studying preparedness. Unless the shelves in your pantry and garage are filling with supplies, and unless you are growing muscles and calluses, you are not preparing.
Learn the crucial skills for self-sufficiency and self-defense. Once you’ve mastered them, share them with others. Future generations need to learn these skills. Raise your children