Letter: TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experience

 Print This Post Email This Post Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Google LinkedIn LinkedIn

Hi Hugh,

Just did the TEOTWAWKI weekend prep. As a background, I live on an Army base. (And, yes, I have places to go in the Country as well.)

The Schedule went like this:

Morning prayers is how it started. It was just my Son and I. (My Wife is an atheist, so she doesn’t pray. She does get heard in our prayers.) We gave thanks to our Savior, the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Activities:

Morning PT or Physical Training. My son and I wrestled and boxed. I personally have very well respected credentials in this, for most. My son is very safe.

We also did some strategy training. My son and I played “Army Men” together. He has a castle made out of plastic, along with a bunch of figures. It was a good time. We discussed “castle strategy” and defense in groups. No offensive measures were discussed; that meant going outside defensive perimeters was prohibited. There was lots of laughter and discussion.

Food Time: Meal 1

At Breakfast we had oats and yogurt. We discussed how these foods are made. Farming and livestock was the discussion at the table that morning. We used an electric burner to cook; it can be hooked up to batteries replenished by solar power.

Daytime Activities:

My son helped me scrub the bathroom with more laughter and jokes again. We got it done. It was a semi-respectable bathroom. Also, a neighbor’s kid came over. Snow forts and digging was the theme of the hour. Fun and laughter was had.

Food Time: Meal 2,

Stored pasta and tinned tomatoes with some fish thrown in. I believe my four year old might have eaten more than his grown up dad, at this meal incidentally.

We went for a hike to the local Farmer’s Market. Fresh produce and some toys were had. We made connections and had some laughter and fun.

Food Time: Meal 3,

Outdoor propane grill that can be converted into wood burning was used to cook meat and snacks. Another neighbor joined in. I let the kids cook the snacks. We talked about how to use fire safely. Chicken raising talks were a must as well.

Inside the house:

We did picture books, talked about plants, predators, as well as game. So much laughter.

Evening Prayers:

Giving our thanks; and then we got some rest. There was no TV or electronics.

It started out long, and at the end we wanted more. We had so much fun and laughter.

Final Thoughts

That night my child cried for milk. I went to the store earlier in the week. Fresh milk was available. We even have powdered milk enough to last six months or more. Beyond that, well…

I told my son what is was like to raise a cow, to care for it, and feed it and how much work is put into that cow for the milk it provides. It dawned on me that we have no cow.

I let him cry for milk because I was tired. It was only for a few minutes until I got up and poured him a hearty glass of milk to fill his belly and help him grow strong. I will never forget him crying, for in those moments I wondered what I would do if there were no stores and we had no cow. How many fathers and mothers will hear those cries in the coming future? I thought of all the smiling, carefree faces of parents that I saw today, and I wondered what they would do for a glass of milk when their child has been crying for hours at sometime in the days ahead when they have no milk and have no cow.

Food Production

I reminisced about my life and the decisions I made to get me to this level of self sufficiency with 180 days of food. After that, well… I have a rifle, many in fact. I can hunt and fish. We will eat deer and scrounge the forest for wild raspberries. That’s delusional thinking.

“The successful places in the years are those tied to meaningful relationships to food production”. -James Howard Knustler

The vast majority of friends and family are so under-prepared in every way. Some of them are unaware of a country called Venezuela. It’s south of the border. You and I could drive there in less than a week, provided you have enough gas in your pickup. Last I heard, people of that place have killed animals in their local zoo. I even heard they are killing their own cats and dogs to feed themselves sometimes. It’s called hyperinflation. That means current monies used by them have no buying power. They need to do what they have to.

Summing it up

It’s time to spread my and your wings and build ties in a small farming community. That’s how I see it. Milk has value. Paper does too, especially to start a fire. As for other things of “value” right now… well you can decide on your own.

The way of the future is the warrior-farmer, in no particular order. It’s the new vocation for the future. There ain’t no two ways around it, by my estimation.

These are some of my thoughts after spending a weekend in “The End Of The World As We Know It” scenario with my family.

I look forward to your comments. God Bless,

Sheepdog and Son


16 Comments

  1. You make no mention of your wife’s involvement, level of ability or willingness to become proficient at anything in the scenario…consequently, would she become a liability in a real world situation?

    I am more troubled by the fact that you would let a four-year-old cry for milk because “you were tired.”
    It sounds as though you are trying to teach him to “appreciate things” even though the child is four.

    I see the wave of the future as small, yet defendable enclaves of like-minded people who have each others back…the lone wolf scenario, with a small child and a partner who is not all in…doesn’t seem like it will bode well.

  2. I have been reading a book called Keeping a Family Cow, by Joann S. Growman. It has been an excellent resource in knowing how to care for my cows. She talks in there about the fact that throughout history, a cow was a producer of wealth. Today, it isn’t so, because the powers that be in our country have screwed up the economy. But one day it will be again. In the meantime, I keep several cows so I always have raw milk for us to drink. And I can make butter and cheese and whatever else I want from the milk. Milk is a beautiful thing. I love my cows. I have a few meat goats, but I don’t believe that a goat will do what a cow can. The goats eat different weeds, but they don’t produce enough milk to support a family. I have them as a support of the ecosystem, along with the chickens, to fertilize the pasture for the cows.

  3. It starts with the individual–good for you. You are showing your son, by your actions, the way of the Lord. Your wife is not on board as of yet, but by your actions and love she will see. It’s not easy but your shoulders are broad and with Christ you are strong. Keep on keeping on my brother.

  4. If you live on an Army “base,” then I assume it’s your spouse who is in the military (the rest of us who have served call them “posts.”).

    If your spouse ever leaves the military, then you need to worry about the current trends (lower wages, homelessness, drug addiction, suicide etc), or what “Peak Shrink” psychologist Kathy McMahon calls the “the sucky collapse” because after all, we are collapsing as we speak, in a trend that began in the early 1970’s.

    If you’ve read James Howard Kunstler, then you’re probably familiar with his buddies, like John Micheal Greer (my favorite collapse theorist). You may want to read his “The Long Descent: A User’s Guide to the End of the Industrial Age.”

    In other words, nothing of significance may happen for the rest of your lifetime, other than what’s already happened: 9/11, central bank control of the global economy, two losing imperial wars, etc. However your son’s (or grandson’s) life may turn medieval (they may not even notice anything unusual in their lives).

    While I prep for the collapse of industrialized civilization, I also try to keep one foot in the present: Yes, I’m one of those people you read about at Zero Hedge who trades volatility (however, I’ve been doing it for a number of years).

  5. I think him a fine figure of a man and father, doing the best he can, and raising a good son. So the boy cried a little to get some milk, so what? If he avoids becoming a snowflake thereby, doubly good. My Pa walloped me frequently, and it was a good thing he did. A little crying won’t endanger a person. Who among you thinks steel is only warmed and not tried in a fiery furnace until it becomes something that can be used? I’m a firm believer in that G*d does the same with us, to produce someone of steel for the use which G*d intends. Note he and the boy had quite a few laughs along the way. One of the best ways to teach.

    1. Hi Sean,
      Thank you, I really appreciate your comments. I will reread them for inspiration.
      I hope the boy turns Good and Strong, with A large family that has freedom.

  6. Scouts for me in the late 70s and early 1980s was instructive and helpful when I was a soldier. I knew about knots knives and hiking and changing clothes at night before bed. I think Boy Scouts likely has good to offer the earnest youth. A family should teach about groceries meal preparation and what happens if proper meals run out. Someone must be honest with the young. Best that parents teach facts and truth.

  7. Good article,glad you had a good time with your son(laughter is good for everyone). FYI you can’t drive to Venezuela,the dream of the Pan-American highway stopped in a Very rugged area of Panama that would of cost exorbitant amounts to even make a dirt road through. A few adventure riders on dirt bikes have made it through by having the bikes carried through by local tribes.

Comments are closed.