Scot’s Product Review: Legacy Premium Food

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If anyone out there isn’t convinced that we need to store food for an emergency, then they might not have been paying attention to the news. With the need clear, the question we each must ask is, “What kind of food should we store?” Personally, I like a variety of foods– fresh, dehydrated, freeze dried, grocery store cans and boxes, and retort packed foods, which include MRE’s. I even think frozen foods are good to have, though if the power goes out, that’s the first thing to eat.

Each type has advantages and disadvantages, based on how easily and long they will store, how much space they require, what they weigh, the difficulty of preparation in a possibly awkward circumstance, and how palatable they are. Cost is also a very serious matter to most of us.

It is important to store food that we will actually eat for several reasons. First, it prevents waste because it has gone out of date before anyone was willing to eat it, and second, if it turns out we don’t want to actually eat it, it may present morale problems when that’s all there is to eat. This can present particular problems in some families, and mine is one of them. There are three sets of taste buds in our home. Mine are probably the most tolerant. I truly enjoy good food, but in the end I regard it as fuel and can subsist with a degree of acceptance on most anything, save raw tomatoes and mushrooms. My son shares my disgust of raw tomatoes and adds a few feared foods, like onions and carrots. He has also begun to view vegetables in general with suspicion. He can concoct and devour a number of things I can’t stomach, like peanut butter mixed with marshmallow cream. My wife is the gourmet of the household, which we attribute to the French genes that passed through Normandy to Canada and finally to the U.S. She will eat what she has to in an emergency, but she isn’t happy with things I can stomach pretty easily. What she wants are meals made from fresh food, and she likes to cook them herself.

All this plays into what I can store for an emergency. It has to be something that will help with family harmony. It is also predicated on not wasting food, should everything stay hunky-dory. I have, over the years, stored quite a bit of food. Some of it turned out to be stuff no one would eat unless they were truly starving. This isn’t a good plan, as it means when it goes out of date, you have little you can use it for. Luckily, we have chickens, and I have also donated some of it to food banks, but it is expensive chicken feed, and who knows what the food bank did with it. It is better to store food you are happy to eat at any time. It prevents waste, saves money, and will make life more pleasant, should things go north. With this in mind, I upped the quantities of canned and boxed grocery store food we keep on hand by quite a bit, since my wife and son generally will eat it, but it complicates the rotation factor, since it has a relative short life expectancy.

MRE’s last longer than the grocery store bought stuff and can be eaten without prep, but they are pricey and generally fail the family taste test. My son will eat about a third of them, while my wife generally rejects most of them. I can handle two thirds and always like at least part of every one of them. That said, when it is time to rotate the MRE’s, we give away some expensive food.

Freeze-dried and dehydrated foods are interesting, as they offer long storage life (up to 25 years or more, depending on how they are stored and packaged), which solves most of the rotation issues. I’ve also had some that were actually quite tasty; even my wife admitted to that fact. Long storage food is where Legacy Premium Food products come into play. They use both dehydrated and freeze-dried food, saying they select which is the best for a particular application. Their line features a number of prepared meals and sides in pouches that hold four servings. They also have drinks in eight serving pouches. I like the serving size, as it is more economical that the single packs I often see for camping products, and it is a size that will feed my family a meal with little leftover. The #10 cans that this stuff is often found in can leave a lot of food that should be used more quickly than we sometimes want to repeat a meal.

The packaging is a sturdy Mylar pouch, and Legacy says they are nitrogen flushed to protect the food during storage. An oxygen absorber is also included and must, of course, be removed before preparing the food.

The pouches are well labeled with nutritional content and note that the foods are not genetically modified. They also indicate the date of manufacture and the plant where they were made. Preparation instructions are also on each pouch. They use sea salt and the meals are vegetarian with soy protein in place of meat. I’m personally not crazy about soy protein for flavor or nutrition and would have preferred meat. They do sell freeze-dried chicken and beef, which has been cooked before drying, so all you need to do is soak it for a minute before serving. I did not sample any of the meats.

Most of their items come in tough, sealed, plastic buckets with an assortment of different foods. Only the sides appear to be available on their own.

All of the meals I tried required simmering and not just rehydration. I assume this is due to the dehydrated vs. freeze-dried items. Many of the freeze-dried food I have encountered are pre-cooked, so all they need to do is sit in some moisture for a bit to be ready to eat. In fact, a number of freeze-dried fruits and some vegetables are tasty without rehydration.

I purchased some of their meals, and Legacy provided four more for the review. The samples they sent were older than the ones I purchased, which is a good sign; it means the freshest food is going out for sales. The purchased ones were all about one month old, and the oldest two of the four samples were not quite a year old.

They have 19 entrees for lunch and dinner, four breakfasts, six sides, and five drinks, including coffee and chocolate milk. They cunningly throw a French press into the coffee bucket.

We tried six items with mixed approval rating:

1. Loaded Baked Potato with 440 calories per serving.

I thought this was tasty, though the texture of the potatoes was a bit chewy. I found later, with the chicken and rice dish, that more cooking helps with the texture of some of the items in the meal and wondered if it might have helped this one. It comes out like a creamed soup or chowder. My wife said it was okay, and my son initially liked the way it smelled, but by the third spoonful was losing his taste for it. I suspect he would have to be really hungry to eat it.

2. Enchilada Beans and Rice with 350 calories per serving:

This was my second favorite entree, and my wife rated it her third favorite. Again, my son liked it at first and then lost his taste for it. It also comes out with a chowder or cream soup consistency. I think, like the chicken and rice dish, it would have been better cooked longer, as the rice was slightly chewy. My wife added hot sauce and cheese to it, while I was thinking about how nice it would be with some soft tacos. The pinto beans were precooked and quite pleasant.

3. Spicy Corn Chowder with 300 calories per serving:

This was the biggest hit of everything we sampled, though once again, the child unit protested. As with some of the other dishes, extra simmer time helped get the vegetables to a nicer texture. The wife pronounced it tasty and suggested serving it with a grilled cheese sandwich. I also enjoyed it. Both of us thought it needed salt and would have been better with less pepper flavor. While the flavor was good, it limited the choices of how to serve it; it was too strong for either my wife or me to want it as a main course. You could easily spice it up, but it is hard to spice down. We thought it was good that the salt level was low, which allowed us to season it as we desired. We will be happy to add this one to our preps.

4. Chicken a la King with 380 calories per serving:

This was the meal that failed all of us. I can’t handle mushrooms, and this one had enough for me to be unable to overlook them. My son rejected it, and my wife, despite her love for mushrooms, didn’t like it either. I cooked it almost twice the recommend time when I discovered the rice was still chewy and that made the rice quite nice. There were tasty carrots and peas in it, but the mushroom flavor and the soy ersatz chicken put me off.

5. Classic Chili Mix with 340 calories per serving:

My wife, after adding Tobasco sauce and some shredded cheese, pronounced this her second favorite and said it would do, especially if served over a baked potato. My son, predictably, was not happy with it. I found that it has a vinegary tang to it that I don’t like, but I could definitely make a meal of it. I mixed in saltines and had it for my dinner.

6. Old Fashioned Pancake Mix with 350 calories per serving:

This is a “take one part and just add water” sort of mix. I’m the one who generally makes pancakes here, and this is not my favorite type of mix, despite its convenience. I think real milk and real eggs make for better pancake batter than one made with all powdered products. This mix fit in with my preconceptions, and it isn’t as good as my usual mix or the one I make from my scratch mix. My son was a bit disappointed with them, though he ate them. My wife wasn’t home, so she didn’t get to try them. I thought they were acceptable. The mix is serviceable, which means you can have pancakes in the absence of real milk and eggs, and that’s a good thing. Given a choice of no pancakes or these, I am sure my son would want pancakes, particularly if there is a good supply of maple syrup. I could, of course, probably just let him drink the syrup, but that’s not a good idea.

All of the pouches seemed to deliver four healthy servings. I’ve had this sort of food before, where people were left hungry, so Legacy’s good-sized servings was a big positive.

The web site does a good job of telling you what you are getting, which I greatly appreciated.

I think all of the meals could use more vegetables. The carrots, in particular, were tasty, and I would have been delighted to have more of them in every meal, though my son would have objected and eaten around them. I would have strongly preferred real meats, rather than soy-based stuff. I think that might have been a factor in my son’s rejection of some of the meals. He is a serious carnivore these days and can be kept happy with lots of beef and chicken, which he didn’t find in these entrees.

Some of the sides, breakfasts, and drinks that I didn’t try look good, and I will probably sample them at some point. I don’t think, however, that any non-fat powdered milk will go over well in our household for drinking, although we do use it for cooking. I did note that they add creamer to the chocolate milk powder, which will probably help make it more palatable to young ones.

My end opinion is based on my family’s tastes and a keen desire to buy food I know we will eat. Some of the items on this menu simply won’t work for us, while others will. My son is the main problem, which surprised me a bit. He actually is willing to eat an amazing variety of food from an assortment of cuisines, though there are things he runs from, mainly vegetables. He would flee from a couple of these entrees and whine about the rest. My wife was more accepting than I expected, and there was only one she said she simply wouldn’t eat, though the only one she completely approved of was the corn chowder.

All this reaffirms something I already knew– it is important to sample the foods you intend to store for a rainy day. If you don’t try it, you will have no clue as to what it is. Most of the Legacy entrees come in assortment packs, so if I buy their food I will be careful to avoid getting one that has too many of the items we don’t like. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor, Scot Frank Erie

Recipe of the Week: Breakfast Pizza, by L.H.

This is another 25+ year-old recipe, tried and true. I see many variations of it online, but I swear by this one being the easiest and tastiest of them all. For many years we called it “Christmas Pizza”, as it was tradition for me to pre-make it to a point the day before and then finish it and let it bake Christmas morning while Christmas presents were being enjoyed. Your children will love this.

Ingredients:

  • 1 favorite-style pizza crust (I favor a pizza crust box/packet mix as being the perfect middle ground between time-consuming homemade and an expensive premade one. Both Jiffy and Wal-Mart’s Great Value make an affordable and good mix that requires nothing more than hot water and a few minutes.)
  • 1 lb. bulk sausage
  • 1 c. frozen loose-pack shredded hash browns, thawed
  • 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/4 c. milk
  • 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
  • 2 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. In skillet cook and crumble sausage till done; drain grease.
  2. While sausage is cooking prepare pizza crust on a lipped pizza pan (do not use a flat pizza stone).
  3. Sprinkle cooked sausage over crust, sprinkle with hash browns, and top with cheddar. (If pre-doing for next day, stop here, wrap well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.)
  4. In mixing bowl or measuring pitcher whisk together eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Carefully pour over pizza.
  5. Top with sprinkled Parmesan.
  6. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Makes 8 slices.

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Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: Your Friends

Good day,

DD’s post was full of stark and poignant remarks and possibilities which resonate with me greatly. It was much like “Why I Won’t Be Charitable When SHTF” by Chris Carrington. I have previously discussed preps with close friends but in hindsight regret this, given that loose lips costs lives. To redress the balance, when opportunity is arising, I’m backtracking by stating that I got a little over interested in the subject and have since come to realize that such a situation is highly improbable (while still emphasizing the importance of preps) and have been compelled to give a lot of the stocked goods away to food banks on the basis that “it was silly to have it going unused when people were in need NOW” or my household used it without rotating/replenishing. This not being a complete falsehood, as some have indeed gone to food bank collections and rotation has slipped of late *slapped wrist*.

In my letter responding to “Why I Won’t Be Charitable…”, I emphasized the importance of knowledge being the asset we can share (prudently of course) and it be a possible increase in OPSEC and not create liability. DD does have a good point, amongst many, concerning time management when he says, “Now they’ll want to be taught. Do you have the time and supplies to teach them to shoot, hunt, build a fire, and so forth?” and what a drain on such a valuable resource they will be. However, this again could be lemons into lemonade. Teach a gal to fish….ask for fish in payment! Teach a guy how to raise rabbits and ask for something in exchange and so on. They’ll be no shortage of extra hands and plenty to occupy them with. Make yourself valuable to those around you, not your physical possessions/preps but you as a person, your skills and intellectual property and if the acquisition of your know-how ever arises in conversation, perhaps it could go something like this:

Other: You seem to know your stuff, how’s that?

You: Oh, it’s started out as a bit of fun. I found it all rather interesting after reading some novels/watching some movies about everything going to hell in a hand-basket. I never had any spare cash to buy the innumerable amount of “stuff” one needs to be ready for something bad but still found it interesting as a subject. Never thought something like this would actually happen and sure wish I’d leveraged some money to get a few important bits and pieces now, that’s a huge regret. Just some extra food at least. I’ve got several novels, they probably cost me enough for two weeks of groceries. Boy, do I feel stupid, ‘cos I can’t eat fiction! (The other person hopefully comes away thinking you are a handy guy to have around and perhaps compelled to look after your interests but also doesn’t see you as a viable target for harassment, theft, ransom and/or blackmail. Hopefully, the grapevine will work its magic by letting others know you’re just as needy as they are and a waste of time and energy for looters and the like but worthwhile in getting to know. Then you can possibly network and barter your time in exchange for anything they have to offer.)

You: Shucks! I’ve got so much to do and no time to do it. I’d love to help you with your food/water shortage problem (security issues, sanitation worries, lack of skills, concerns over transport and so on), but I’ve got a dilemma wrapped in a quandary stuck between problem and a nightmare to deal with myself. Perhaps you could help me with something to free up some time so we can talk?

This is theory of course, and one thing I strongly encourage anyone who intends to integrate with community is to study body language and physical “tells” to detect the underlying intent of people. Additionally, the “grey man” directive/techniques to place upon yourself during such interactions, including those DD outlines with unprepared friends. Grey man considers his words, dress, actions and mannerism carefully and avoids unwanted attention, by all accounts he’s an actor, distorting his true persona and status. If you discuss preps with others, stop this instant; every word could be the equivalent of giving away a #10 can. Find joy in “keeping mum”, just like you do with account passwords and the location of valuables.

Good post DD.

Kind regards survivors.

RD

Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog Reader G.T. informs us that the “non-inflation” has affected his chicken raising: “I went to the local feed store here in Spokane and went in to purchase some chicken feed. I was told that the price is the same, but I get 10 lbs. less for the same amount of money. Instead of 50 pounds the feed bags now come in 40 pound bags for the same price. Ouch! The wife and I are now inclined to give the critters more scraps from the kitchen on a regular basis.”

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Germany’s Third Largest Political Party Sells €1.6 Million Of Gold In Two Weeks

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Video: Dow 6,000 by end of 2016?. – B.S.

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“I just took your advice and ordered some silver eagles. It’s a good time to buy! The UPS delivery guy was unnervingly curious about what he was delivering. He first asked “What you got in here? Gold bricks?” to which I could convincingly answer, “Don’t I wish!!” The next comment was: “It’s as heavy as ammunition.” I agreed. This was all just probably innocent conversation, but you don’t want ANYONE knowing what you got. So, if anyone out there is expecting a delivery, it would be good to have a story at the ready. The delivery guy’s comment about ammunition is a good one for those living in free states. Just say it’s “special ammo”. For those living in NY, CT, and such places, think of something that you’re allowed to buy that weighs that much.” – M.F.

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US regulators close small California bank. – G.G.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Obama’s New Medical Snooping Program – D.S.

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‘Kissing bug’ disease infects OVER 300,000 people in the US…most of whom don’t know they have the parasite referred to as “the new AIDS” – P.M.

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Those of us with equines know straight-up what to do and how to act when we have the issue of a potential disease outbreak. Step #1-ISOLATION, Step #2 Physical Exam and Collect History, Step #3 Reporting, Step #4 QUARANTINE, Step #5 Biosecurity & Commo, and Step #6 Lifting Quarantine.

I guess the dolts now in our federal government, who are facing Ebola, have absolutely no common “horse sense” like most common farmers or ranchers in the real world have. Plus, we ranchers and farmers are accountable for all of our actions or inactions and all at our own expense, not the taxpayers. From Incident to Outbreak. – K.W.

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During Blackout Day, Academy of Richmond County students learn to live without technology. – M.B.

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Asian Students Outperform Americans on GMAT, So B-Schools Demand Separate Ranking of U.S. Students. – PLC

Notes for Sunday – November 09, 2014

November 9th (1938) was Germany’s “Kristallnacht” Be forewarned, folks: Once a group in any society has been singled out, they can be systematically attacked. Someday it may be “Constitutionalists” who are targeted.

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Ready Made Resources is running a Veteran’s Day sale. For every $100 in Mountain House Food ordered, they will send you twenty (20) silver dimes, rather than just the 15 they usually do. – JWR

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JRH Enterprises is also running their annual Veteran’s Day sale on full military specification AN/PVS-14 3rd Gen Autogated Night Vision monocular/weapon sights.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.
  12. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Prepping from a Wheelchair, by The Petite Prepper

Howdy, friends. I am a 57-year-old, pint-sized, handicapped, widowed prepper. My awakening happened in 2011, when Congress voted yet again to raise the debt ceiling. I had desperately hoped that our elected leaders would do the right thing and get our government spending under control. When they didn’t, it dawned on me that they probably never would (was I right?) and that our nation was on a collision course with disaster. I started asking God to show me how to get off this runaway train before it goes over the cliff. Well, friends, there is no getting off. Not only that, I have since learned that there are other threats, like EMP and cyber attack, that could dramatically change our way of life in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, there is much that can be done to lessen the damage on a personal level for myself and maybe a handful of loved ones.

For me, the first step in prepping was deciding that my primary goal is not physical survival but remaining faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ in all I say and do, regardless of the circumstances. If I don’t survive the troubles that are coming, that’s okay. Death means leaving this troubled world behind and being with Him forever. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)

After establishing my top priority, my second step was to recognize that no one can do everything but everyone can do something. I have physical, financial, and relational limitations, but I have learned to do what I can do and to trust God to take care of the rest as He sees fit. I also recognize that there are some scenarios for which it is pointless for me to prepare. For instance, if a crisis requires fleeing to the woods to live, I’m dead. With my handicap, I would not be able to survive out there. I might as well stay at home and die at home. Swing low, sweet chariot.

My Circumstances

I have been confined to a wheelchair for almost 30 years due to a neurological deficit, but I am healthy overall and was able to work as a teacher for several years. I live alone in an accessible two bedroom, ranch-style home with a metal roof. My 30something-year-old son, my only child, lives across the road from me with his two large dogs and seven chickens. He is an unmarried ex-military outdoorsman with law enforcement training. He is also a prepper. We live in a northern state on a main highway more than a few miles from the nearest small town, 60 miles from the nearest city of 40,000+ people, and at least 150 miles from the nearest city with 500,000+. I get Social Security benefits, and my son has a job. The mortgage on my house and several acres is my only debt. He inherited his 40 acres from my late husband’s family. His little house needs a lot of work; the acreage includes about 20 acres of farm land, two small ponds, and a woodlot. Many of our neighbors are retired.

Preparations

There are several things that I have been able to do over the past three years to prepare for the numerous threats that we are all facing. Although there are inadequacies in my preps, it is the best I can do for now. I am trusting the Lord for the rest, and I’m not losing sleep over it. Whatever I have done has put me ahead of where I was and where most people still are.

WATER: I have a rain barrel now that can be used during the warm weather months, along with several large tubs that can be set out when it is raining. I have six large water cans filled with water, which we refresh periodically. I have a generator that we will use for pumping water when the grid is down. We will use it for that one main purpose and little else. That way we can get by with running it for just a short period every few days, filling every available container, which will make our 20 gallons of stored gasoline last much longer. We refresh the gasoline, too. There are many ways to make a limited amount of water go a long way through double usage. For example, water used for cooking can be cooled and then consumed by humans or animals, providing a little nutrition with the hydration. Also, water used for washing clothes, dishes, and bodies can be used to flush the toilet.

FOOD: Little by little I have increased my supply of stored food. I follow the first-in-first-out rule with store-bought canned goods, and I keep a close eye on best-by dates. I have a fair supply of wheat, beans, rice, flour, and sugar along with about 30 #10 cans of dehydrated foods. About a year ago my Mennonite friends blessed me with 135 pints of their home-canned foods. This year they are replenishing what I have used. This is a perfect example of how God can provide in unexpected ways. Those wonderful sisters in the Lord knew I couldn’t can for myself, so they shared some of theirs. I do have a small raised-bed garden around my back patio that provides me with some fresh vegetables each summer, plus it’s an enjoyable outdoor activity. I have several books on gardening and country living, and I have basic garden tools, which will be used by others here when living and working together become a necessity.

HEALTH: Tucked away in a bedroom, I have stored quite a few medical supplies—several OTC drugs, some Rx drugs, lots of alcohol, peroxide, bandages, gloves and masks, a minor surgical kit, blood pressure cuff, hot water bottle, a bed pan, and more. I have five books on medical care, including The Doctors Book of Home Remedies and Where There Is No Doctor. I have watched some YouTube videos by the Patriot Nurse and several others on childbirth. I also have plenty of dish soap, laundry detergent, bar soap, hand sanitizer, Wet Wipes, toothpaste, shampoo, et cetera. (I prefer to be both well fed and clean, thank you.) Also, then, there are the comforting extras, like hand lotion, baby powder, and lip balm. For our emotional health, anyone’s complaining and hand-wringing will be countered with thanksgiving and praise to God for providing for our needs. I have learned that speaking negatively about my circumstances only intensifies negative emotions and makes hardships even more difficult to bear. Speaking positively lightens the mood and therefore the load. Putting on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3) really does make a difference. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:” (Proverbs 17:22a)

HEAT: My main source of heat during the long, cold winters here is a natural gas furnace. I also have a wood stove and use it as much as I can. My garden cart doubles as a wood wagon in the winter. I fill it with firewood in the carport, pull it into the great room, and park it next to the stove. It’s a lot of work in a wheelchair, but it’s doable. My son also carries wood in for me when he stops by, which is often. Guests love it when I have a fire burning for them to cozy up to. The wood stove will be used for cooking when the grid is down; I cook on it occasionally even now. I also have a small grill and several bags of charcoal for cooking outdoors as well as a campfire grate and a solar oven for summer cooking.

LIGHTS: There are two oil lamps sitting out and ready to use at any time, and I have three more lamps and lanterns in storage, along with 10 large bottles of oil, spare chimneys, and extra wicks. I have lost count of the candles. Needless to say, I also have a good supply of matches. There are four battery-powered tap lights in strategic locations for emergency use, not to mention flashlights and extra batteries.

REFRIGERATION: Without the grid, forget the fridge. Think pioneering. Two of the best natural-cooling agents are water and earth. If it were feasible for me to put a tub of water in a hole in the ground to keep food cool, I would. Instead, my approach during a long-term power outage will be to either: a) cook only enough for one meal at a time, whenever possible, or b) if the need for cooling food is unavoidable, I’d put it in a sealed container, place it in a camping cooler that is half-filled with water, and then eat it with the next meal.

LAUNDRY: If we have to do laundry by hand, I have three large plastic tubs and two smaller galvanized tubs that can be used for washing regular loads of clothes and several basins for frequently washed small items, like undies and hankies. I have a wash board, a breathing washer, three drying racks (one in use on a regular basis), a retractable clothesline, and a bunch of clothes pins. Most people today wash their clothes too often. Go ask your grandma how many days she wore her clothes as a child before they were considered “dirty”. My late husband used to joke that he wore his jeans until they could stand up in the corner by themselves.

COMMUNICATIONS: I have a hand-cranked radio for getting information and a set of two-way radios for my son to use. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.

MONEY: I have several hundred dollars in small bills and coins in the house. Awhile back I invested $2,000 in pre-1965 silver coins and hid them in an unusual but convenient location. I have a few items for barter, such as bar soap, feminine products, and baby supplies. The only substantial skill I could market, post-TEOTWAWKI, would be as a teacher for the neighborhood children, which include four boys, as far as I know. Then again, we could also provide basic medical care to the neighbors, using my supplies and maybe sell or barter some hand-crocheted hats and scarves, which are essential here is “Freezerville”. (Hmm . . . I think I’d better stock up on yarn.)

LIBRARY: I have The Little House series of books, the Foxfire series, the Encyclopedia of Country Living, and many others, including books on root cellaring, wood burning, and latrine building.

GUNS: I have none. Did someone just say “sitting duck”? Don’t worry; my son is well armed. Besides, when I envision the combination of my poor hand-eye coordination and the high anxiety of a life-and-death scenario, I think I would probably accidentally shoot myself in the leg before I could even raise a handgun to aim it at an intruder. I have focused on the beans and Band-aids of prepping, while my son has focused on the bullets. My #1 weapon is prayer. I have asked God to put angels of protection around my house when needed. He can do that, you know.

GROUP: My son and I are a team of two. We occasionally talk cautiously with relatives, neighbors, and friends about world events and being prepared. Only three get it; one is my elderly father, who is in a nursing home. Most seem unconcerned and/or too preoccupied with their lifestyle. We know we will need more people here when things get rough, and there will be plenty of volunteers to come and live with me. I anticipate “Guess who’s coming to dinner!” times 100. The selection process will be brisk and brutal but necessary. Most candidates will never be allowed to set foot through the door. Loved ones, like my sister (a nurse), will need my help as much as I will need theirs, so I have prepared for company, beginning with my dad who will be brought home from the nursing facility, if at all possible. I have enough beds and bedding to sleep four other people, comfortably, and more than that uncomfortably. I have two bucket commodes and a camping potty, if we need them. I have a “House Rules” list ready for them, plus a chore list and several packages of heirloom seeds for them to plant in the little field behind my house. Only God knows who’s coming and when, but my plan is to be a benevolent dictator and hope they don’t mutiny. If I can make it clear to them the need for the structure, teamwork, and frugality that I will insist on, then they will cooperate. If not, my son can keep them in line just by showing them his 50 cal.

DEFENSE: There are materials here for blackening the windows and blockading the doors. There are knives, hammers, and garden tools for group members stronger than I to use as weapons. There is also my son’s arsenal, although no one but he will have had any prior training. I have zip ties for handcuffs and handkerchiefs for blindfolds and gags. I’m serious! We will work with whatever we have. If God will enable us to hogtie an intruder or two, we will then share the Gospel with them before deciding their fate.

ACTIVITIES: Once the chores are done, we can unwind and relax with table games, cards, puzzles, singing, reading, and aerobics. I plan to have a Book Club once our group is complete. They can choose from anything I have here—fiction or nonfiction, humorous or serious—and then share what they have read with the rest of us, but I will strongly encourage them to read the survival books first. The fortunate few who are allowed to stay here will face a steep learning curve. I also have extra Bibles and plan to have a regular devotion time.

MISCELLANEOUS: There are other things that I have done to be better prepared. Regarding possessions, I have a small water filter, a non-electric food dehydrator, cast iron cookware, tarps of various sizes, sandbags, a roll of black plastic, duct tape, ropes, a camping shower, LOTS of toilet paper, and more. Hey, there’s more to prepping than just stuff; there’s lifestyle. I disconnected cable TV about three years ago, I stopped listening to recorded music a while back, and I have now stopped watching movies on DVD. Is it quiet around here? You bet! However, this is the way our ancestors lived, and they built this country. It’s amazing what you can learn to live without when you set your mind to it. We don’t need to be sitting passively while others entertain us with movies, concerts, sports, and the like. We need to be learning, doing, creating, and producing as a way of life.

Perspective

Am I ready for any crisis that comes my way? No. Should I be worried about it? No, again. Anxiety doesn’t help; action does. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something, and I’ve done a lot of “something” over the past three years. It is vital to maintain a calm, steady demeanor, both before and after our world does a somersault. The changes that are coming will be devastating and will cause a lot of panic, depression, and suicide. I have already experienced loss and adversity and, with God’s help, have persevered. In case you’re wondering, I became handicapped at age 27 due to a medical mistake and I became widowed at 39 due to cancer. I know what it’s like to lose, grieve, and start over. Accepting a new “normal” can be done. Oh, I’ve had my times of self-pity and depression, and it felt AWFUL! It produced nothing good; it just drained the life out of me. People occasionally ask me how I have managed to maintain a strong faith in God and a positive attitude through all of my trials; I tell them, “I don’t like the alternative.” The admonition to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) can be applied to emotions as well. It is a choice, my friends. When the going gets tough, we can handle it like warriors or like nincompoops. Which will you choose?

Two Letters Re: Your Friends

Hugh,

Take 25 minutes and watch the old Twilight Zone episode called “The Shelter”. It is a great example of the behavior described by DD in his/her article. – P.S.

o o o

This is an excellent insight into the mentality of the sheeple, but I did find some flaws about the tactics of those who would lay siege to a well-stocked house or retreat. How would these besiegers maintain a siege very long without starving, or in winter without freezing? I don’t think such predators could afford to play a long game like that, nor disable equipment or kill livestock that they would need to benefit themselves. – R.S.

Hugh Replies: While I can agree with your statement in theory, much of the attitude I see now is: “If I can’t have it, neither can you!” It may be difficult to lay siege to a place to take its resources in whole, but a scorched earth policy is much easier to implement. In any case, OPSEC is still the name of the game.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” – Matthew 2:16 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – November 08, 2014

Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.
  12. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

“Yuppie” Turns Prepper, by J.T.

My conversion to become a “born again&rdqu o; prepper started in the summer of 2011, when I was settling down to bed and surfing the net with my iPad. Performing some calculations on the national debt, as a Certified Public Accountant, I understood one thing– all the money in the world from every country wouldn’t or couldn’t be enough to even make a dent in its reduction, let alone a complete pay off. At that time, I had even calculated that approximately 18% of the Gross National Product (GDP) was used to pay just the interest on the national debt… just the interest! Then I did another calculation and came to terms that the Federal Reserve Rate, at that time, was just about 1%, which essentially means that the interest on money that our government borrowed is at that interest rate to pay back. Finally, the whopper came in performing the above calculation, but instead of the 1%, I substituted it for the normal Federal Reserve Rate, in normal economic times, which is leveled off at approximately 6%. That calculation, with a 6% federal reserve interest rate, concluded that it would require 77% of GDP be consumed to pay the interest on the national debt; that, again, is merely the interest. I knew at that juncture that “We The People” were enslaved beyond turning back of indebtedness of a benevolent government that the world economies couldn’t even afford, let alone the American people. This, without some safeguards on a governmental embodiment gone wild, will cause severe cataclysmic economic hardship, such as printing money to cause super inflation overnight.

So as a citizen of the glorious, wonderful State of Californication, I did some research on obtaining a gun. (An economic hardship of that magnitude will most likely bring down the walls of the Castle, ushering in evil to create chaos in the streets of America in some form of looting. Then, it will likely usher in the largest bandwidth of Martial Law– one that would make Adolph Hitler look like a Cub Scout in comparison– to quell freedoms of her citizens with more governmental decision making.) Well, to my dismay, you can’t own a firearm in the State of California, as almost every firearm sold in other states are illegal in the State of California. Other states are even barred from shipping firearms into this U.S. Constitution-abiding state. Yeah, right; I am being religiously facetious here. About that time, I started probing around the Internet to do research on good “gun states”– states that do not tread on the 2nd Amendment. (As a sidebar, whoola, James Wesley, Rawles book How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It graced my hands, through mail order.) After a fervent reading and re-reading (as I, of course, like to immerse myself into the study of topic threads), I purchased my first firearm. Psych! It was utterly stupid to hold a driver’s license from the State of California.

No more. I purchased a home just a four hour drive east of Orange County, California, where I was currently residing and driving my convertible Jaguar up and down the 405 freeway working for the “man”– ME! I immediately obtained a Nevada’s driver’s license, claimed my home state as Nevada, and purchased two AR-15 assault rifles manufactured by Colt. Now for you military veterans, you must understand that I only ever owned a B.B. gun as a child and didn’t have a clue on gun ownership. However, I purchased two five-hundred round batches of ammunition as any good prepper would do, and I obtained tactical training in targets, moving targets, positional shooting, obstacle course shooting, and night shooting. I learned a very important lesson in the art of gun cleaning– your guns need oil, just as your Orange County blonde girlfriend needs money. (It’s just a joke, if anyone is offended.)

This leads me into my next topic– more due diligence in the understanding of the need to prepare for this catastrophe. The fancy sports car was the first to go and then the condo on the beach. (I exchanged it for a five bedroom home in Nevada, and I had some change left over for prepping.) Lastly, the financial drain of a “Blonde Bimbo” (as some females have called her) went. Actually, I didn’t even have to break up with her. Once the sports car and condo left my possession, she automatically drifted off into a new relationship with a new found financier, who provides that fancy, dancy lifestyle. It’s not me! At this point, I am a full-time, “born again” prepper. As in the story of Animal Farm, or from the Old Testament of Belshazzar, “I saw the writing on the wall.”

Back in Nevada, I purchased a year’s worth of freeze-dried foods in #10 cans from The Ready Store. I got over 75 cans in all, containing everything from freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, powdered milk, and nuts and oats to grains and full meals, such as beef stroganoff and spaghetti dinners. I also got butter, white and brown sugars, and MRE’s, which are all stored in a newly hollowed out portion of my stairwell. Then, months went by. After more research, the gadgets started to arrive through mail order from gun shows and discrete purchases; these included things like flashlights for my AR-15, night vision scopes, thermal/night vision binoculars, the inferred light bulbs James speaks of in his book (in which you can turn your outside lights on and no one can see any difference, but your night vision can see your yard lit up like daylight), an assortment of all types of batteries galore with rechargeable kits, bulbs, solar panels to charge a DC car battery, stock of car batteries, electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, coils, soldering irons, circuit boards, and more.

As the time passed on, I started reading more and purchasing all under a new budget just for prepping. For instance, it took me four months of budget to purchase the full army surgical bag complete with an Operating Room capability for up to four surgeries, medical supplies, dental supplies, hand sanitizer, gloves, masks, tyvek suites, et cetera, et cetera. The most important was the training. Learning C.P.R. for the first time was a humbling experience, and I realized how unprepared I was in life not even to come to the aid of another in a crisis. How selfish was that? I now have four community college classes completed in microbiology, general biology, human anatomy, and physiology, which the later course was taught with a real “human cadaver” to dissect and understand how it all works. It’s great knowledge to now have for an emergency situation.

As an electrical engineering undergrad, I set up an entire electrical/electronics shop to repair and upgrade any electronics, even the Apple things, which need special tools to unlock their potential and of course voiding any warranty at that moment. I am now the amateur Radio calls sign KB2—. The three dashes are left off my complete call-sign, for concerns of anonymity. I have purchased a Kenwood “rig” of TS590SG and setup myriad configuration of antenna around the home. In which I can reach the far reaches of the world talking to other Hams in Siberia, Russia, or in the next county over. James Rawles once illustrated to have a parcel map of your neighborhood and write the names of the neighbors on them. However, I did that for frequencies, in all States and counties as a compilation of all military, police and rescue, maritime, air traffic control, Ham Radio, Racing, and weather stations are printed off and stored in a safe, fireproof location. (Your guns needs a safe of their own, but an additional Fat boy gun safe will store your family documents, non-paper money, neighborhood parcels, frequency listings, and much more.) I did not mention it, but receiving and transmitting Morse code in five-words a minute speeds is extremely fun. No more do I go out for $200 dinners with girls that I didn’t even want to spend time with anyhow, and no more am I purchasing “bling” to impress people that are not going where I am going in life and really don’t care about me anyway. So much for the corporate status; an outfit of camos and a discussion on prepping at the shooting range suits me just fine.

With more years and more due diligence in knowledge accumulation, I added a well stocked library in the home with all the essentials of medical surgery (Emergency War Surgery is an excellent read), gardening, seed planting (I found out the difference between heirloom seed and generic hybrid seed; wow, start experimenting with heirloom seed now), tactical training (such as the Navy SEAL handbook and SAS from the British Special Forces, a well stocked Christian genre of books on marriage, God, faith, finances, and of course James Rawles’ fictional books which really demonstrated how to use all your prepping stocks in a grid down, or world crisis, approach. I must add, a great read is In Pursuit of the Free Pass by John Howard, which illustrates the ideologies of the Liberal agenda as a battle plan to overtake America’s Christian foundation and turn it into a rewritten liberal existence. (Church and State is a big part of the book. Please read it.) Furthermore, as a man of God now, and of three college degrees, I really understand the value of learning and having good knowledge. Not only do I have the U.S. Constitution in hardback book form but also an authentic copy of the Declaration of Independence, along with the Bill of Rights, Emancipation Proclamation (written by Abraham Lincoln), and the Federalist Papers, laminated and plastered on the walls in the library.

The Ten Commandments are the cornerstone of the entire library! I can’t live with moral relativism any longer, where everyone does right in their own eyes! It’s best to keep it simple, with one creed that ALL follow and uphold, which equates to “One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice For All”. We are a divided nation, today, and it’s only going to get worse with this liberal leftist agenda being forced into mainstream and freedoms eroding minute by minute. God’s word has never changed, not even in Heaven (when we get there), so why do we need a “new doctrine” from a heathen populous who are going to Hell anyway?

I’m still continuing the prepping as a few more quarters tick by. (As an accountant, I tend to keep track of time in quarters of years.) Then I am continuing on through this journey of divorcing the “worldly statuses”, right up to the past few years, when I purchased many, many more firearms– a 12 gauge shotgun, 45 ACP handgun, .22 handgun, 9 mm handgun, .50 cal BMG sniper rifle, and 308 long range rifle with sniper scope. I still have the two AR-15 assault rifles and almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition stored in an undisclosed location. I have a compound bow and cross bows for silence. I even obtained those tax stamps for a full automatic conversion of the AR-15 and stamps for suppressors. (Yes, I used to call them silencers, but they do make some noise.) I acquired these all within an eight month waiting time period, as the BATF illustrates they are backed-up (though I am not sure if that government agency is being entirely truthful or not). It’s better to have those items in the hands of law-abiding, Constitution-believing contrivance, than with the militarized police force located in a city near you that will eventually have the Final Solution for you to adhere to for their financial collapse.

I then went through the study and purchased equipment, such as camouflage, ghilly suites, boots, gloves, backpacks, tents, and tarps. My bug out bag is packed and ready to go at a moments notice. I even keep ten magazines stocked with 30 rounds each of 5.56mm ammunition for the assault riffles. I have all this because I stay out of the first non-Constitutional-abiding state– California. I also purchased body armor to wear everyday, even to work as an accountant, and the more resilient ceramic plates, which I use on weekends when I go out and train with other professionals in tactics and maneuvers. I even have essentials, such as Tyvec, chemical/biological, and radiation-resistant military suits with gas masks. Even still, to train in all of that heavy equipment in order to become comfortable is the key to withstanding a governmental mishap (whether foreign or domestic).

Within the past year, I have been married to the love of my life. It just so happens she is a foreigner from a communist country– the Peoples Republic of China. Being a mixed race family is all the more better with the understanding of each other and the difference in the cultures. She is all into being a wife and a mother, which is something I have not EVER found in this feminized American culture. (A special note to you, women: my mother and grandmothers never needed women’s rights. A person taught to sue the establishment to be equal to something they never can be [another man] is destroying the home of the brave. Let’s face it; I am not even equal to other men and I am a man, so how are women supposed to be?) I thank God for my China Doll. We are into target shooting, learning, praying, and stockpiling. I must admit, I would have never found my soul-mate if it hadn’t been for this prepper movement. I might still be out with the bimbos! Luckily, we both are in love with each other and with prepping and living in a well-stocked home of beans, bullets, and band-aids, with looking to brighter days ahead knowing we have the peace of mind to not become part of the problem in a crisis but become part of the solution through preparing. We hope to see you all in the American Redoubt, as our next move will be to an undisclosed location west of the Rockies. God Bless!

“In the year of our Lord of 1776, the most famous year in all of world history, in which an entire nation was birthed on the precepts that God alone doles out human rights and that men and women are to safeguard that precept even against tyranny confiscating the right to protect our nation’s freedoms.”

Letter Re: SurvivalBlog Advertiser Safecastle

JWR,

I just thought I’d send you a quick note about one of your sponsors, Safecastle. I placed a $200 food order with them, based on them being one of your sponsors. A month later, it still hadn’t arrived, so I called, just to check on the status of the order. I figured with the Ebola panic, everything was back-ordered.

I called, and it was answered by… gasp!… an actual person. She pulled up the order and “oops! we blew it. You should’ve gotten it a long time ago. No excuses. You’ll have it in two days, and we’ll throw in a bonus for your trouble.” None of your hem-hawing, “are you sure you didn’t get it, it’s our supplier’s fault; the shipper didn’t pick it up, etc” bull you get with so many other companies.

Two days later, it did indeed arrive, exactly what I ordered and packed well. Oh, and the bonus was a $60 knife.

Yeah, sure, it would’ve been nice to get it right to start with, but it was refreshing to have something fixed quick without the usual runaround! – Papa in Mississippi