Category: Survival Mindset

Letter Re: Tactical Preparedness

Hugh, I would offer a short story to your readers: Some years ago a friend, who has been preparing for the fecal matter to hit the oscillator for some years, was at the house of another friend, who was his neighbor. He asked her to show him her pantry. She did this, and it contained about three days worth of food. He looked her in the eye and told her that when things really go south, “The first place I am going to go is your house, and I am going to kill you, your children, and any other threat …


Letter Re: Finding Other Preppers

Dear Mr. Latimer, I am struggling with an issue and hope you can give me some guidance. I recently made a purchase in a preparedness business that opened in a neighboring town. The owner of the store had several questions regarding my life and specific questions about my level of preparedness. His questioning was more than trying to sell his products. (What supplies do I have? Describe the location and terrain of my home. What water sources do I have? What are my neighbors like? Am I a member of a group? et cetera) I understand his reasoning, but I …


BOB(B): Bug Out Bag (Baloney), by R.S.

Many in the prepper community work hard to develop the skills and test the gear that they expect to rely on in a time of collapse. However, I am convinced that many more are “armchair” preppers. These “armchair” preppers are those who are actively involved in reading blogs (including excellent ones like this one, of course!) and purchasing supplies and equipment but never actually using them to verify that they will serve their intended purpose in a time of crisis. I am further convinced that this is nowhere more true than in the oft-discussed area of “bug out bags”. Preppers …


The Twelve Pillars of Preparedness: A Leap of Faith, by R.W.

Suffice it to say that much of this information is floating around in books, print, or cyberspace, and it may or may not be new and informative, but here is my outline for being prepared for possible difficult times and is kind of a value or mission statement that my wife and I have agreed to live by. It is by no means all inclusive or complete; rather, it is a work in progress for our group. Faith/knowledge. I am secure in my faith. I am a child of the most high God. I understand that God is good, holy, …


What I Learned From the Midwest Ice Storm of 2011, by J.M.

The three elements of nature that cause damage– sun, wind, and water. My bet is on the last one, especially the frozen kind. Preparing and acting upon it are two entirely different and opposite things. The rain started in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, without much concern at first. Although the weather report at first said the possibility of ice was real, it would stay south, in Ohio. Lesson #1: Nature is fickle, and even NOAA cannot always track the line between rain, snow, and ice. Predictive weather paths can give you a false sense of security, and margins …


Pulling the Trigger, When They Don’t, and After the Action, by K.B.

Are you prepared to take a life, and are you prepared to deal with the consequences? The answer is not as clear as you might think, but there are three very important concepts to understand that might make answering that question easier. First, in what situation would you take someone’s life? Second, how do you respond to someone not firing or freezing up during a firefight? Third, are you prepared to deal with the mental trauma associated with taking someone’s life? These are very real issues that need to be addressed, and this article attempts to show how to deal …


Letter Re: Revocable Trusts

Hugh, I am an attorney. I believe in trusts and have prepared many. A trust will not prevent estate taxes, but it can help keep them low. However, remember that you have to be rich to worry about taxes anyway. A well-drafted Will can do the same tax planning that a trust can do. The benefits of a trust are: Privacy. (You might need to give it to the title insurance company or the investment company, but it won’t be available to anyone who is just being nosy, as a Will filed at the Courthouse would be.) No probate. (There’s …


Letter Re: What Happens When A Spouse Dies?

Hugh, I’m responsing to the article “What Happens When A Spouse Dies?” by JEH. The author failed to mention getting a Revocable Living Trust (RLT) to distribute your assets. When a person contacts a lawyer for their will, they ought to ask if the lawyer knows how to prepare an RLT. Each state has different requirements for an RLT, but basically the RLTs are all the same. The RLT allows your assets to be distributed to your heirs TAX FREE and without having to go through probate. It’s a simple document that works along side your will (and in some …


Letter Re: What Happens When a Spouse Dies?

Hugh: The author of this article recommends a Living Will. These documents often express a patient’s wishes not to be kept alive by artificial means. Your readers should be aware that food and water are now considered medical care in all 50 states, rather than normal care of the sick. That means that people who sign Living Wills may be unwittingly authorizing their own starvation and dehydration. It is far better to express your wishes about medical treatment to a loved one whom you trust and instead sign a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. That gives your loved one …


Letter Re: A Tactical Plan for Surviving Major Disaster in the North American Suburbs, by A.M.

While much of the information suggested is useful, I take strong exception to a few ideals that reared their ugly head. The idea of forcing a less prepared neighbor to take menial tasks and give up what they do have contradicts my sense of morals. If they want to join, offer them conditions under which they join, and upon fulfillment of this commitment they are equal partners. To basically treat them like servants is unacceptable. You cannot save everyone; you will have to make hard decisions. If you take someone into your group that does not contribute, that’s on you. …


A Tactical Plan for Surviving Major Disaster in the North American Suburbs, by A.M. – Part 2

Water Water is essential. In Minnesota, water is not an issue. After all, this is the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. Every Minnesotan is within walking distance of a lake, pond, stream, or river– everyone. In the spring and summer, we get adequate rainfall. In the winter, we are blanketed in snow and ice. As if that isn’t enough, most of our forests are deciduous, which means we can use plastic bags to collect respiration (water) from those leafy plants while the leaves are green. Before you all change your bug out plans to include “running to Minnesota”, remember that we …


A Tactical Plan for Surviving Major Disaster in the North American Suburbs, by A.M. – Part 1

How would you survive a long-term disaster situation? I am talking about the worst case scenario– gangs of marauders, hungry people fleeing the cities, and/or soldiers storming through neighborhoods with no electricity, no grocery stores, no water, and no heat. The lead recommendation in this scenario is to bug out to a rural area. Ideally, you would own a self-sustaining property away from the population masses and get there before the chaos begins. Many people will attempt this approach. People from the urban areas will spread out toward the suburbs and ultimately to the rural areas. Those who are fleeing …


The Dead Don’t Bury Themselves, by M.R.

Let me be honest. Writing this was not pleasant. Researching the information on death and burial and reviewing what I already knew was depressing, to say the least. The topic of death is one that the living naturally try to avoid, but if any group understands that avoiding reality does not remove it from our lives, it is the peppers/survivalists. Modern management of death has removed the need to know from our current lives. A SHTF experience can quickly remove those modern death management services. I’m a grey-headed, stiff-jointed prepper, who is at that age when loved ones and friends …


The Prepping Fatigue and Dilemmas of a Middle-aged Housewife, by P.C.

I have often wondered how much I might have achieved if my personal circumstances had been different. By different, I mean better, in the sense of having the freedom to make better decisions about preparing for the future, whatever it might hold. I imagine myself as a fit, 50-something woman with a knowledge of bush craft, a seasoned firearms expert able to hit targets on the run, and a keen homesteader with full expertise in herbal medicine and food storage. I would be the ‘’head honcho”, leader of the pack, with sound plans for neighborhood defense, communications, and top notch …


Two Letters Re: The Weakness in Your Defense Plans

HJL, I want to say thank you to T.S. Your article helped reinforce the attitude I had to re-condition myself and the way I see and think. I completely understand because that is precisely what I had to do when I finally purchased a gun. That was five years ago. Further back in time (I am in my 50’s now), I worked in a retail store that sold pellet handguns. Once, alone in the back stock room I took one out of the box. The feel of the gun, the weight, and that sense of power was kind of exciting. …