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1. Critically important article as the vast majority of preppers do not have military or similar experience. It is important to establish, or begin to used these ideas to help the group to grow. If all one can do is find one person you can pass along one of your skill sets, the process has begun. Crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. If you have an skill that is necessary for security, passing that along to another person is very important. If I am into radio, I will try to give an even mildly interested person, some of the basics that can make a difference. I would also want them to have specific information they can disseminate it to others, and refer to it themselves. Write it down for them, so it isn’t lost. Ideally, I would train my replacement. The Special Forces model is the one that works best for smaller groups, and a Chairman approach for larger groups. Security should work for the group, and not run it. As the world looks and feels more unstable, people are becoming more attentive and willing to learn. Use this time to begin or speed up the process.

   1. Sleepless in the Redoubt!! 😉

      To explain. I was up around 3:30 AM with a painful toe that had to be soaked, and checked the comments. TR had just recently posted. So that is why I said “Sleepless in the Redoubt” 🙂

      I hope you catch up on your rest TR.

      1. Lily

         The following is not intended to be medical advice and is provided in the interest of sharing information.

         Sometimes gout can cause terrible pain in various joints, in particular the big toe. Uric acid from the metabolism of purine amino acids are converted to uric acid which is not very soluble in blood plasma. As a result it can precipitate out in joints. The classic is the big toe, which can be VERY painful. Joint involvement can occur in many other joints. Purines are found in highest concentration in organ meats (heart) high in meat from wild game, rabbit, seafood (lobster, shellfish), various red meats. To a lesser extent vegetables are a source of purines, in particular cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower. Don”t forget spinach. The kidney filters out uric acid. As we age the ability to clear uric acid decreases, so as we age the chance of having a gouty attack increases even if we have no change in our diet.

         I had a gouty attack after a lobster meal. I enjoyed broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and a lot of spinach. The lobster pushed me over the edge. I have not needed colchicine or allopurinol. Diet adjustment to aviod these foods was sufficient to bring down my serum uric acid to mid to high normal levels. Caffeine in coffee also has helped since it is slightly uricosuric, enhances removal of uric acid through the kidneys.

         1. The toe in WAS an infected ingrown toe nail, I think… I soaked it four times yesterday and today it feels much better, today No problems here! 🙂

2. Most outstanding message and content. Thank you, KB.

   From your article: “Learning is a privilege. It helps us hone our craft as well as how we can assist the future generations to do it better than we. Be competitive in your focus and perfect practice, be better than you were the day before….”

   In philosophy and practice, the application of this will carry us all a great distance forward.

3. Learning is a privilege….yes, sir! Let’s make sure we are passing on our knowledge and skills and craft to others. God will surely bless us, by bringing others into our lives to teach us as well…

4. Great article! My favorite line was,
   “I was able to lead by example on the lowly details.”
   Since this pandemic hit, I’ve had more calls from my children than ever before. One of them said, “Mom knows stuff”. LOL.
   I finally, with much hesitation, decided to urge my adult children to review their BOB’s (Bug Out Bags) and their GOOD (Get Out of Dodge) plans. I hated to do it because I don’t think anyone needs encouragement to panic further. But, to sit at home and wait for the next shoe to drop is not in anyone’s best interest either. Planning actually can help to calm anxiety because it is an Action, and with action we feel more control. We will follow up with a virtual family meeting. We used to have them regularly. Skills identification within a family or chosen group is important. Thank you for your article.

   1. From your post: ““Mom knows stuff”.”

      LOVED THIS. Really smiled…

5. Great article. It brings out the point… “We assume most everything, be believe many things, we know very little.”…..but what we know we need to share!

6. Hey K.B., this was a great article. I read it twice today and was ruminating and cogitating throughout the day as I was working on various projects.

   You mention a lot about learning and it really strikes me from time to time how our children who grew up with the internet and smartphones have a harder time retaining knowledge the way us older folks do. When knowledge is just a few key clicks away, it’s harder to convince our brains to hang on to it. In a SHTF situation, those of us who have actually retained much of that kind on knowledge “on board” will be a huge benefit to those around us. Ditto for those of us who possess those old-fashioned hard copies called books.

   I hope your article encourages a lot of the quiet kids in class to share some of their skills and experiences with the rest of us in the form of article submissions.

   Another thing your article made me think of was that we just never know exactly how our experiences and knowledge that we share are going to help someone. We can share with ten people and they will be helped in ten different ways. And five more people may be helped when they share with others around them.

   “If you can put forth the effort to prep, you can combine that passion and effort with your parenting.” Amen! While I wasn’t a prepper when I was raising my children, I was still trying to live a self-reliant lifestyle so there was a lot of overlap. Most of the time there was never a set “lesson” trying to teach my kids something, it was just part of what we were doing anyway and the lesson was part of it. We spent a lot of time in the outdoors so it was only natural to learn to use a compass, build a fire without matches, and to learn to identify all the plants and critters. Perhaps that’s why my kids enjoyed it so much, they didn’t think they were being “taught” anything.

   “You have more you can learn, and it is a privilege. Learning is a privilege. It helps us hone our craft as well as how we can assist the future generations to do it better than we.” I think I could write an entire article on this topic. I was so blessed to get the DNA that I did, along with the home environment, that made learning not just a priviledge, but something more than that. Passion isn’t quite the word either, it’s closer to a Need. I can’t imagine a life without being able to be learning new things on a constant basis. And I have to know things from experience too. When all the wisdom in the beekeeping world says don’t keep your swarm traps out longer than June, well, I gotta know WHY! lol. So I left one out all summer long. Now I know why and I learned some expensive lessons in the process, but now I can speak as an expert instead of just quoting “they say.”

   “You have selected like-minded folk for your reasons. Don’t lose that just because “things just got real”. That is a cop-out that you cannot afford…and is likely to come back to haunt you later.” Somebody could write another entire article (or marriage manual!) on that part of your article too.

   One more thing about kids. I’m always so amazed that my kids all came from the same two parents and yet they all turned out so differently, each with such an amazing set of talents. And that they have so much to teach me. I have so many experts right in my own family I can call on for an amazingly wide array of topics from computers to herbal remedies to designing a book cover. I hope parents allow their children to be experts and draw on them as resources.

   I better stop here. Again, excellent article K.B. Lots of food for thought!

   1. From your post: “You mention a lot about learning and it really strikes me from time to time how our children who grew up with the internet and smartphones have a harder time retaining knowledge the way us older folks do. When knowledge is just a few key clicks away, it’s harder to convince our brains to hang on to it.”

      This is the truth… The neuroscience of learning is a fascinating study, and your comments are supported in what we know about how learning takes place from the standpoint of physical uptake of information, assimilation, and memory or retention.

      Remain steady. Be safe. Stay well everyone!

   2. St. F,

      I sure like your commentary on the article.

      You picked up the ball and moved it forward: “I hope your article encourages a lot of the quiet kids in class to share some of their skills and experiences with the rest of us in the form of article submissions.”

      Then your acknowledgement of your talented children. I seldom hear or read people saying such kind things about their children.

      Carry on in grace

7. I spent several years as a schoolteacher living on one of the Lakota Sioux reservations and spent a great deal of time with the traditional people. If you want to meet some ultimate survivors, that’s one place to go. Dysfunctional though their living situation may be, they get by in the most disadvantageous situations imaginable. I attribute it to several things which I would like to share here.

   One is a deep respect for practical knowledge. They would eagerly inquire for more knowledge on “how to” topics, for instance if you knew how to do something faster or more cleverly than they were doing it, they eagerly adopted the new way and were not at all egotistical about letting go of their way, and then they would inquire what else you could show them. This is inherently a survival technique and seems to be built into their culture.

   Another notable quality was a deep sense of pride and self confidence and great good humor, in spite of poverty and oppression. The men particularly are encouraged to display pride and strength, to share stories of their exploits and even brag good-naturedly about their conquests. The women had a fierce sense of dignity and self worth. These qualities give an advantage in trying times, as attitude is so important in survival situations. Our western culture tries to subdue pride as a negative quality but we may want to re-think that attitude.

   They also have an immediate and sincere connection with the Creator and feel their own place in the creation on a real time basis. They don’t see themselves as separate from their environment, at all. Many times they clued me in to my own mental or emotional state long before I was consciously aware of it. Their senses are extremely highly attuned to their environment, to a degree that was almost spooky. Like the proverbial dog who goes to sit at the window a half hour before Pop’s car pulls in, they feel things coming. Best survival skill ever! This quality improves with use and practice. They teach their children constantly to pay attention to their environment, to notice things. Great skill set!

   Imagine a culture living for thousands of years through the South Dakota winters in a buffalo hide teepee. Yes they are ultimate survivors!

   1. Didi,

      That is incredibly interesting! Thank you for sharing about the culture of the Lakota Sioux. I agree with learning to observe everything around one’s environment. 🙂 Remember in the Little House series, how some “Old” Indians went to town to warn the white men that the “Hard Winter” (Laura’s original title) was coming? Pa Ingalls had already been observing some things, himself, so when he heard their warnings, he believed them and proceeded to put his winter preparations into higher gear than before.

      Blessings,

      Lily

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