Letter Re: Making the “Last Run”

Hugh,

This is excellent advice. You can’t prep for everything, but a black swan may arrive. A few thoughts follow:

The first decision is whether you need to bug-out, bug in NOW, or do a final run. If for whatever reason I lose electricity, it is bug-in. If Yellowstone blows and I’m looking at a Pompey/Herculaneum situation, it’s pedal to the metal. Prep for the white swans, bug-out for the black.

The gray swans? It depends on what the “last run” means. If you are a long distance from fuel and don’t have a large supply prepped, can you get there and back on one tank, and will it be empty if the journey is abortive or proves futile? If you are close to town, you can get there and top off everything, Siphon fuel into spare containers so you can refill your tank, or just refill your car or truck. In fact, you might just want to top off so, instead of the grasshoppers/locusts that haven’t prepped, you can insure your neighbors, friends, and church can be the recipients of your charity.

Remember to have cash. If you are going to do a last run, it will likely be after the financial or communication grid has gone down and in the twilight zone where the electronic cash has failed but barter or traditional money hasn’t reasserted itself. If everyone else only has a few dollars in cash and non-working credit cards, you will be the one-eyed man in the land of the blind. Remember banks and credit unions normally need the grid up to verify your account. I don’t know if there are any left that have their servers and all else to extract cash from your accounts local. Cash might only be useful in a “last run” situation. It will be the perfect time to convert it into something useful. I’m talking federal reserve notes, not silver pre-1964 coins.

Depending on the logistics, a convoy of sorts may be appropriate where some have cash, some have large vehicles, and some know the owners of the stores for access (or to offer defense). – T.Z.