Category: G. O. O. D.

Letter Re: Preparedness at Your Workplace

Mr. Rawles, As a regular reader of your blog, I have seen little mentioned about one obvious “bug in” solution that most people overlook, which would be their office or work site. This will not work for everyone but please allow me to provide you with my own experience. We have a small warehouse/office operation of about 2,000 square feet. There are 2 offices, a basic bathroom, and a small room previously used as a lunch room for the employees of the other tenant. These rooms take up about 400 square feet of space from the total 2,000 square feet. …


Three Letters Re: The Earthquake in Japan and its Aftermath

Dear James,   I just wanted to alert you to the possible impact of what is actually happening at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant.  The grid has gone down, and it appears that the emergency diesel generators have failed.  There is apparently no off-site or on-site AC power.  This is very similar to the scenario that I outlined in my article posted last September in SurvivalBlog (except for the precipitating event for my article described an EMP event).  We have a potential disaster worse than Chernobyl in the making.   In fact, even the mainstream media is now taking note.  Here is …


Letter Re: Minutes Mean Miles

Sir: Depending upon your vehicle, even a small sedan can have a tow hitch installed. If the need arises all you have to do is hitch up a trailer and go.  Think of it as the ultimate grab and go bag, on wheels.   Granted, depending upon resources and vehicles one can expand upon this any number of ways.  Our solution has been to remodel a horse trailer to hold an extensive amount of preps, provide for sleeping space if needed, propane cooking, lighting and heating capabilities, bench storage and fold down tables, etc.  The fact that it appears to …


Letter Re: Some Observations From a Texas Winter Storm

Jim, In late January-early February of 2011 Texas got hammered two weeks in a row by serious cold temperatures and dangerous ice. The cold was so severe that many power plants went offline and we had rolling blackouts that lasted up to 45 minutes in some places (not at the Super Bowl however!) Over 50 power plants in Texas shut down at some point because they could not take the record cold temps on Feb. 2. While my home seemed to have missed the rolling blackouts, the place where I work had to go to emergency generator power for a …


Minutes Mean Miles, by Jerry the Generator Guy

Most of us do not have the option of being able to live in our “bug out” location.  I have noticed that there are several common limiters for being able to quickly exit a locale; Time spent deciding on and gathering items to take. Time spent physically loading the vehicle(s). This sort / load time issue is the same regardless of the quantity of stuff to be loaded. The same issues apply whether this is “the big one” or if the need is strictly for a local issue. The “prep” time, if done now, is a no dollar or low …


Letter Re: Suburban Preps on Long Island, New York

Hi All, I’d like to contribute some details on my preparations in a region where tricky geography, difficult society, and extremely difficult legal issues can make planning difficult. As for tricky geography, Long Island is essentially a 100-mile long 23-mile wide (at its very widest) ‘no outlet’ roadway prison stuffed with nearly 8 million people. Take a peek at the Wikipedia page about the island to get the idea. We are east of New York City with its 50 million people in the immediate 35 mile radius. When things get Schumeresque – there is very little most residents will be …


Letter Re: A Vehicular Get-Me-Home Kit

I recently took a job that requires a short automobile commute of about ten miles into a nearby small city of 60,000. After a few months I finally got around to packing a ‘get home’ kit to store in my car. The city in question has very few routes out of it. My normal commute is on a highway that travels through a marsh/wetlands area. The other possible routes are along surfaces streets that lead out of the downtown area through very bad neighborhoods until breaking into suburban areas. In the event of a large scale emergency or ‘unrest’ in …


Being Prepared: A Tale of Two Hurricanes, by N.D.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita In August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina had slammed into the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.  I really don’t need to tell you the destruction and subsequent aftermath of that storm as it is well documented for all to see.  We had lived in New Orleans for sixteen years and had moved to Houston five years prior to Katrina so were used to living in hurricane alley. We thought…. September of 2005, a month later, the Houston area was threatened by Hurricane Rita.  Rita was the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. The paranoia at the …


Letter Re: Escape From New York

Dear Jim:   Dino’s home in Nassau County (Long Island) New York could prove to be where he will stay during the difficulties that “might” descend upon us. It might be impossible to bug out to his upstate property. Here’s why.   The only connections to the US mainland from western Long Island are the following: • The Throgs Neck Bridge to the Bronx • The Whitestone Bridge to the Bronx • The Triboro Bridge to Manhattan Island • The Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan Island • The Queens Midtown Tunnel to Manhattan Island • The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to Manhattan Island …


Two Letters Re: Prepping Pays Off in Midwest Winter Storms

Hello, I just wanted to write you about an experience I had recently. First of all I own a very dog eared copy of your novel “Patriots“ that was given to me by someone who I look up to a lot. This individual was the first person to expose me to the “bug out” bag concept. As a result I’ve always been a preparedness type of girl. In high school and college I always kept provisions for myself wherever went and as a result I’ve been able to rise to the occasion many times when things got tough. As a …


Prepared? I Hope So, by C.W. in Arizona

Those of us who wish to be prepared for whatever may lay ahead, are always faced with unique situations and challenges.  Those challenges may include such things as: lack of funds, a difficult location, non-supportive or elderly or disabled family members, your age or stage in life, etc. The list goes on and on. However, is it imperative to find solutions and make plans?  I think so!  While my situation is a little unusual, I count myself as truly blessed to be one of those individuals who knows the time to be prepared is now, rather than later.  I am …


Letter Re: Railroad Routes for G.O.O.D. Ways Out of Town

Jim, With regards to you advice on avoiding railroad lines except as a last resort, I will offer my observations growing up in South Dakota.  A good portion of the lines have been abandoned and but still have [de-railed] right-of-ways for horses or bikes.  We used to use these road beds to ride our horses or bikes to go play with friends one, two or three miles away. The main advantage was that they were abandoned and posed no threat to us kids, so it kept us off the roads.  The second was that the law prevented them from being blocked …


Two Letters Re: Big Rig Survival

Mr. Rawles,    I enjoyed reading R.E.V.’s letter on preparedness for truckers. My husband and I are truckers as well, and we have done a lot of thinking about what we would do in a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation. Being 500 to 1000 miles away from home means a whole different set of requirements for a “Get Home Bag”. R.E.V. did a great job, but I feel there are a few more points that should be touched on. The first is how quickly diesel can become scarce. Having seen how rapidly truck stops in a given area can be drained …


Letter Re: Railroad Routes for G.O.O.D. Ways Out of Town

Jim, While you and other readers have touched on some of the safety and legal concerns regarding the use of railroad tracks as G.O.O.D. routes, I’d like to add a couple of points.   My wife and I live in a city surrounded by major rivers, so my plan assumes that in an emergency situation it will be difficult – if not impossible – to get a vehicle across any of the bridges out of town.  Thus, we have to be prepared to travel roughly 100 miles on foot. A couple of years ago, as I was planning the route my …


Formulating a Get Home Plan, by Doug in Virginia

There’s plenty of talk on this and other internet sites and blogs about get-home-bags.  What’s in yours? What’s in mine?  What should be in there, what should not.    All of it good information and some quite thought provoking.   I really don’t understand the folks that need fishing hooks and line in their get home bag (GHB), but then again everyone’s circumstances are different.   Just like “bugging out” implies a sense of urgency, to me getting home is just as urgent and I’m probably not going to stop and do any fishing.  I have no plans to “bug out” without a …