Letter Re: Just Three Days to Relief, Post-Disaster?

Jim:
I read a good posting on the blog [by Bryan A.] that unfortunately made me chuckle. Those of us who are first responders (cops, firefighters, etc.) will confirm that the usual mantra of “three days” of preps is excessively optimistic. In fact, FEMA is quietly (or not so, depending on who you ask) telling folks a minimum of ten days. In a briefing last year by a major Puget Sound USAR director, he stated that in his opinion, 10 days is minimum. This is an actual Region 10 director, contrary to what the government says (who did respond to Hurricane Katrina). Three days for supplies to get to someplace is wholly dependant on the ability to get to the region. Far more days elapsed in Katrina affected regions due to the impassibility of so many roadways, especially into rural areas. In a briefing by a New Orleans, Louisiana police department SWAT officer, even their supplies were drowned by the toxic flooding, causing them to go well outside the area to acquire foodstuffs, fuel, etc. (and yes, causing some station houses to loot stores under the disgusting idea that it was for the greater good).

In the windstorm we experienced in the Seattle Metroplex area last winter, there were whole neighborhoods stranded and without out even power for anywhere from 3 to 14 days. Vehicles couldn’t even access some areas until power lines and trees could be cleaned up. One neighborhood in the city that I patrol in had power out for six days, and they were across the street from the city hall! They were the unlucky folks to be at the extreme end of a power grid.

When asked by folks, I warn them to plan for 15 days as a minimum. I get many shocked looks. A recent evaluation of the region showed that over 90% of folks didn’t even have the basic minimums (three days), as easily evidenced by the panic buys of the usual candles, matches, batteries, flashlights, fuel, etc. No wonder people seem shocked. Best Regards, – MP in Seattle

Odds ‘n Sods:

From the Wall Street Journal (by way of SKaiBlog): Crop Prices Soar Pushing Up Cost Of Food Globally

  o o o

GG sent us this article link: Diet of tarantulas saves hikers lost in jungle

   o o o

Until May 31, Safecastle Royal buyer’s club members can take 30% off the list prices on all Montague folding bikes and accessories (with a minimum purchase of $100). They are listing seven bike models, including the popular “Paratrooper.” Discounted prices range from $349 to $1,431, with free shipping.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“America’s abundance was created not by public sacrifices to ‘the common good,’ but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America’s industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance — and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way.” – Ayn Rand

Notes from JWR:

The SurvivalBlog readership in Europe is continuing to grow, particularly in England, France, Germany, and the Benelux countries. Thanks for spreading the word! BTW, simply adding a linked SurvivalBlog banner or logo to your e-mail footer and/or to your web pages greatly increases our visibility. Many thanks!

Today we present another article for Round 10 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I might again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. If you want a chance to win the contest, start writing and e-mail us your article for Round 10, which ends May 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

The Basics of Keeping a Small Flock of Chickens for Survival Protein, by Korey

A small flock of Chickens are not only fun to raise but also a good source of year round protein. They are good scavengers and can make high quality good tasting protein out of every day scraps. A little known fact about chickens is that they will eat almost anything and everything that grows or crawls on this earth. I have seen my small flock eat grass, seeds, bugs, flies, worms and yes I even saw the flock catch and eat a mouse one day. The mouse was stealing food out of the dish when one of the older hens grabbed him and ate him.

A small flock of chickens will provide protein in the form of eggs year round. The younger birds can be eaten in the fall. If you select the correct breeds and give them the right place to live they will hatch out their own young the next spring. The other good thing about chickens is that they are small enough that you can eat the whole animal at one or two meals. This will avoid the need to preserve the meat in the freezer and or refrigerator. These may be luxuries that are not around in the future. Eggs are very versatile and can be used in many many foods as well which will give you a great variety in your diet which may be missed in the future. The extra eggs can also be traded for other items and they will keep for over two months if stored correctly.

Breed Selection
There are a number of different breeds of chickens. The white hybrids are the best chicken man can make. The ones that lay eggs will lay more eggs than any other breed out there. The ones that are made for meat production can grow to over 9 pounds in just 8 weeks. The main drawback to these is that you cannot breed them yourself. You need to get the day old chicks from a hatchery. So for practice they are a good way to get started. They will save you money each year on feed costs and give you the best product that you can get out of your flock. But for the survival flock they will not be what you are looking for. They cannot reproduce with the same traits that they carry. This is done by the breeders to keep their work from being copied. So for a survival flock I would look at a dual purpose breed. Ones that are okay meat producers and still have hens that will lay quite a few eggs. I like the Black Australorps and Rhode Island Reds but there are many many different breeds available. The hens are good egg layers and the young birds are very well fleshed out at 15 to 20 weeks. The only other thing you may want to look at is getting a few dark Cornish boys around for making some really meaty young birds with a cross breed with some of the hens above.

Care
The most important part of getting started is to realize that the first month will make or break a small flock. You need to keep them warm and draft free. This is usually done with the use of a heat lamp or two and a draft free pen. Until they have feathers they will need an outside heat source. They like to have the area they live in at 90 degrees for the first week and then lower it 5 degrees a week until you reach normal out side temperature. It is best to feed them a high protein seed based diet. (corn, wheat, oats) You will need to crack the seed until they get to be 8 weeks old. Do not feed soybeans that have not first been cooked at 180 for 15 minutes. Some of the chemicals in Soybeans will destroy the stomach lining of poultry. Cooking breaks these down. You can boil the soybeans and that will make them safe to feed. Your hens will start to lay eggs at 18 to 22 weeks of age. The hybrids will lay a few weeks earlier and the really heavy birds will start a few weeks later.

Predators
You also need to keep them safe from predators. Almost every animal that hunts for a living will eat a young chicken. After about 8 to 10 weeks some of the predators will stop looking at them as food (cats, rats). But raccoons, skunks, mink, fox, coyotes, hawks, eagles and owls will eat them at any age. This means that if you want to keep your animals alive you should lock them up at night. Once they are about three months old they can be let out to forage on their own during the day and they will return to the coop to sleep at night. If you can close the door at night, this will keep most of the predators out and your hens safe. It is also a good idea to pick the eggs every night. Hens will usually lay an egg every 36 hours or so. They most likely will lay this egg early in the morning. If you can pick the eggs at noon and again as you close up for the night you will remove a temptation for predators. Not only do they eat the chickens they also eat the eggs as well.

Housing
In the southern U.S., chicken really will just need a place to get out of the rain and stay dry and warm on the colder days. In the northern states they will need to have a place that is not only dry but as draft free as possible. Chickens are really hardy animals and can take a lot of cold weather, but if the cold winter wind blows through your building you will end up with frozen combs and even some missing toes come spring. You will also get as many eggs as the house is warm. Once the birds start to use their energy to stay warm they stop producing eggs and just survive. Which is good because then in the spring you will have eggs once again.

Processing for meat
This is the hard part for many people. But when you are starving and or just sick of beans and rice this may be a lot easier. There are a lot of different way to put down your chickens. One way is to use a killing cone. It is really just an upside down funnel. You place the chicken in the funnel so the head comes out the small end at the bottom. You can then cut the throat until you get spraying blood. They will bleed out in a minute or two. Once the blood is all gone they will thrash around for a few minutes more. The cone will contain them and keep them from bruising the meat. One of the other ways is to cut the head off with a large knife or hatchet. Take an old stump and pound two nails in one side of it. Space them just far enough apart so they will hold the head of the chicken still. Hold the wings and legs with one hand and stretch out the neck. Them with one swift swing sever the head. Hold on to the wings and legs for the first minute or two. Once they have stopped thrashing around you can lay them down.
Heat your water between 150 to 160 degrees. Once the chicken has stopped all movement dip them in the water. You will need enough water to cover the entire bird. Use a small stick to make sure the water gets to all parts of the chicken. You should keep the chicken in the water until you can easily pull out the feathers. At that time I like to move to a plucking area. I keep this process separate from the rest. This will remove the feathers and the dirt from the birds. I usually remove the bottom part of the legs at this time. Then I move to a cleaning table where I remove the crop and then the insides. The crop is under the skin at the base of the neck and can be pulled away from the body once the neck skin is removed. Removing the insides can be done in many ways but usually I just make cut between the legs below the breast bone big enough for my hand to reach in and remove what is inside. You can save the gizzard, liver and hart if you want at this time. Rinse the inside with water and wash the outside as well. Now you can singe off the little "hair" on the body of the chicken. To do this you can use a torch or you can use a rolled up news paper. Once this is done get the bird into cold water to cool. Bury the rest with the feathers so you do not invite more predators to your area. Then enjoy the best chicken dinner you have ever had.

I have described just the basics of keeping a small flock of chickens for survival needs. There is much more to learn and much more to enjoy about keeping chickens. But this should get you started. From here if you listen to your birds they can give you clues of things they need. But for the most part chickens are one of the few animals that if left alone and given enough room to run they will balance their diet with out much help. Just keep them safe at night and enjoy fresh eggs and meat from your small flock. – Korey

Letter Re: Advice on Storing E85 Ethanol Fuel

Hi Jim:
I’m having a good time filling the tank on my [flexible fuel variant GMC] Yukon XL with E85 [a 85% ethanol / 15% gasoline blend] which is very cheap compared to regular in these parts. I was wondering if you had any storage information for E85? Given it’s high alcohol content, by default do you know if it would it require an additive for long term jerry can storage? Google searched return a lot of useless noise. Thanks, – Eric

JWR Replies: In retrospect, I’m glad that more than year ago I started recommending that SurvivalBlog readers buy themselves E85-compatible vehicles. The good news is that I predict that within a few years the price of E85 in the U.S. will be about half the price of unleaded gasoline. But the bad news is that by the time this happens, E85 will probably be $3 per gallon, and standard gasoline will be $6 per gallon. I am hopeful that within a few years E100 vehicles will become available. These will run on pure ethanol (grain alcohol) or methanol (wood alcohol). That would be ideal for a survival retreat, where you could presumably build your own still. But for now, E85 vehicles are highly recommended. They are still fairly scarce. (To find one for sale near you, do a search on “Flex Fuel” in the Edmunds.com vehicle search page.)

The E85 ethanol blend has a storage life that is longer than standard gasoline, but it is essential that it is stored in tightly sealed containers. Otherwise, the alcohol will absorb moisture. If enough water is absorbed, the alcohol separates from the gasoline and goes into solution with the water. (Read: Ruined fuel, and an engine that won’t start.) So keep your containers full, and tightly sealed. A special note to SurvivalBlog readers in damp climates: The higher the humidity, the faster that this will occur!

Pri-G (available from Nitro-Pak) or STA-BIL (available at your local auto parts store) brand additives can and should be added to E85 that is stored more than a couple of months, to protect the 15% of the blend that is gasoline. But of course you only need about 15% of the quantity per gallon that you would normally use to treat standard gasoline. (The alcohol component of the blend needs no special stabilization.) As with storing standard gasoline, it is best to buy E85 for storage during winter months, when you will presumably be buying a winter blend that has extra butane added for cold weather starting. (This also extends its useful storage life.)

Odds ‘n Sods:

The U.S. real estate implosion begins, in earnest: A house costs less than a car in Detroit. The recent shift in the real estate market (which I predicted two years ago) has led me to believe that the best way to buy land these days is to watch and wait for bargains, particularly bankruptcy sales and foreclosures. The foreclosure rate jumped 13% in the past two months. I expect this trend to continue, especially as millions of sub-prime ARMs reset. to higher interest rates. There will be a lot of foreclosures to choose from–including some good rural retreat properties–as the down-market in real estate unfolds in the next few years. By definition, a declining market is a “buyer’s market”, so you can afford to be both patient and picky. If you buy any land, you should assume that the market will go down in value at least another 20% in rural areas, and perhaps 40% in the coastal metropolitan markets. So it makes sense to only make offers that are well under the current prices. I see bankruptcy sales and foreclosures as some of the best venues to have “low ball” offers taken seriously. One good source for finding foreclosure listings in your intended retreat area(s) is Foreclosures.com. (One of our Affiliate Advertisers.)

   o o o

By way of blogger Teddy Jacobsen comes a news story on the now chronic ammunition shortage in the U.S. Parenthetically, our family intentionally stocked up on ammunition (“Ballistic Wampum”), starting in the early 1990s. All of that ammo is still in sealed military surplus ammo cans, ensuring that it will be sure fire, many decades in the future. Our small mountain of ammo was a pain to move (our last move to the new Rawles Ranch will hopefully be our last), but the moving expense was negligible, especially since a lot of the ammo that we moved had greatly increased in value (2x to 8x) since we originally purchased it. I still consider common caliber ammunition the ultimate post-WTSHTF barter item.

   o o o

Any SurvivalBlog readers in western Washington should jump on this bargain on Craig’s List: just $50 for a big stack of bee keeping equipment.

   o o o

The high bid is still at $425 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items (including an EMP-proof antique radio, four books, and a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course) that are being auctioned together as a lot:. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is ‘needed’ before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents ‘interests,’ I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can.” – Barry Goldwater

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 10 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I might again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. If you want a chance to win the contest, start writing and e-mail us your article for Round 10, which ends May 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Information and Communication Capabilities for Preparedness, by NC Bluedog

Dear JWR:
My wife and I use a “thinking process” concerning preparedness that I would like to share with you and your readers, as well as expand upon one of the items. We organize our thoughts and actions along the line of tiers of necessity for survival. This is analogous to the oft-quoted “beans, bullets and band-aids” strategy.
The first tier is absolutely critical for survival and consists of air, food, water, shelter and security. This not only includes physical items such as stored food and weapons for security but also knowledge such as gardening and tactical/strategic planning.
The second tier items, while not absolutely necessary for survival, strongly complements and expands upon the first tier items. This includes mobility, information/communication, power and illumination. This list is not exhaustive but it gives the general idea of what I consider second tier items.
Third tier items are more in line with comfort and enjoyment or “making life livable”. This includes entertainment or other simple pleasures of life. One might include tobacco and/or EtOH as third tier items.
Obviously, preparations should be planned in a top down priority. Air, food, water, shelter and security (say it again so it becomes second nature “air, food, water, shelter and security”) need to be “squared away” first and foremost, and has been well covered in your’s and others’ writings in this weblog. I would like to expand upon a second tier item, namely information/communication.
Notice that I make a distinction between information and communication. This is because communication is bidirectional but information can be unidirectional. Leaving smoke signals to someone else, I will only touch upon electronic means of information transfer.

Information
For information, every retreat needs some means of broadband radio receiver. I appreciate the utility of “EMP-resistant” shortwave radio receivers and in fact have several Zenith TransOceanic receivers in various states of refurbishment. This does not mean that I depend on them. The “tube type” receivers, while essentially EMP proof, are far from ideal. The power supply is difficult to replicate in the absence of 120 VAC grid power (needing separately an A voltage of 9 VDC and B voltage of up to 90 VDC), and the main oscillator tube (1L6) are getting exceedingly difficult to find. In addition, the paper capacitors are prone to failure and refurbishment is more of an act of love than necessity. The constant tuning required due to frequency drift is also something like a labor of love. For the price of one TransOceanic (refurbished with spare parts), you could buy several general purpose receivers and store some in an EMP resistant [Faraday Cage] container [such as a steel ammo can.] Modern radios are also able to be easily powered by a minimal photovoltaic system (i.e. foldable solar panel by SunLinq and 12VDC 7 amp hour SLA battery) and are much more power conservative.

Communication
This brings us to the area of communication or bidirectional information exchange. By necessity, this requires the ability to transmit as well as receive. VHF/UHF handheld transceivers are a necessity for tactical communication, but I also feel that every retreat should have the capability of beyond line of sight (LOS) communication and this will require HF capability. Having an HF rig and antenna is not enough. Becoming a “communicator” requires skill, experience and above all practice (same as with security/firearms). While by necessity getting an amateur radio license one will lose some anonymity, it is strongly recommended. Without experience and practice, one cannot hope to be an effective communicator in a TEOTWAWKI situation.
Amateur Radio Licensing
For US citizens, current FCC amateur radio licenses are divided into three classes, Technician (essentially VHF/UHF only), General and Amateur Extra (both including HF privileges, the difference being only expanded band privileges for the Extra). With the demise of the Morse Code (CW) testing, the only hurdle is a written test for each class of license. From my experience, there is only a very small increment in technical knowledge between the Technician and General class tests, but both have to be passed in order to get HF access. In other words, a Technician is licensed when one passes the Tech test. A General license is awarded as an upgrade to the Tech, and the Extra is an upgrade to the General. All three tests can be taken on the same day if desired.
I would strongly recommend the book “Now You’re Talking” as a study guide for the Technician license. From personal experience, I can tell you that if you know the Technician material cold, you will likely pass the General test as well, but the General study guide is also suggested. The Extra class test is much more technical and likely will require significant additional study. All three books are available from most on-line book stores as well as directly from the ARRL (amateur radio relay league, representative member organization for the US).
If you are of the “test taker” crowd who doesn’t care to actually learn the material, the entire question pool for all three tests are publicly available, with the actual test being a subset of the questions out of the pool. Thus you can “learn” the answers to all the possible questions you may be asked. I would however strongly suggest understanding the material rather than just “gaming” the test. It is not difficult, even for a non-technical person.
Locating a testing venue is also not difficult. The FCC licensing tests are given by a group of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VEC) of which the ARRL is a member. Simply go to the ARRL VEC site. The cost is nominal, approximately $10 per test. I would allocate one month of relaxed study time to prepare.
The entire process was relatively painless and the rewards of reliable communication independent of infrastructure are incalculable. In a future diatribe, I hope to expand on the utility of amateur radio in survival situations.

Re-Write of the Austere and Survival Medicine Book

Hi James,
I’ve decided to embark on a re-write of the Austere and Survival Medicine book. I know a number of MDs and other health professional read SurvivalBlog. If you think it appropriate would you mind posting a request for chapter authors on your blog. We will be starting with the existing book with the goal of adding more “how to” to the book and by popular demand also making some of the advice even more austere and primitive. The goal is to empower non-medical people to prepare medically for major medium and long term disasters. Once again the book will be available for free download or purchase for cost from CafePress. People who are interested can be directed to this link. – Dr. Craig in NZ

Letter Re: Fire Fighting Tools and Skills for Retreats

Dear Mr. Rawles,
Recently a fellow posted asking about firefighting options. If he wants advice about firefighting and resources to do so, he might want to look into joining his local Volunteer Fire Department (VFD).
Fire departments are the first ones (along with law enforcement) to be summoned to any natural or man-made disaster. For this reason, almost all fire departments (including the VFDs) prepare, trains themselves for disaster! 75% of the fire departments in the United States are manned by volunteers. All [of them] are always looking to add men to their rosters.
While one might think that all the local VFDs do is fight fires, they actually perform many services and have great training that would be quite useful for the average Joe.
One great advantage to being in the VFD is that you not only know what resources your municipality may have for dealing with a disaster, you know how they are going to use those resources and can make your preparations accordingly. Simply put, you know how the municipality is going to respond, so you can tailor your preparations to address at the personal level the areas where the municipalities preparations are lacking.
As far as training, pretty much everything is available: Basic First Aid, Advance First Aid, Certified First Responder, EMT-A, EMT-B, etc. All at no charge to the individual. Aside from first aid, there’s training on handling Weapons of Mass Destruction scenarios, Hazardous Materials, Mass Casualty Scenarios, Decontamination, etc. That’s in addition to firefighting training.
Many departments actually have retirement benefits even though it’s a volunteer gig; my department pays a $400 a month pension when I’m 62 if I stay active in the company for 20 years. May not sound like much, but that will pay my property and school taxes for the year! Also, after five years in the company I get a 10% break on my property taxes.
Since the departments are volunteer, a fellow can pick different jobs within the department. Not everyone is cut out physically to run into burning building or cut drunks out of car wrecks. Some folks are just drivers, some are Fire Police, others are scene support. There are different positions for different degrees of physical ability.
Another big plus is now that the Department of Homeland Security has implemented a standardized National Response Plan (NRP) and National Incident Management System (NIMS), there has been an impetus to standardize protocols between departments on things such as identification. In my company we receive county/state issued ID cards that have our name, photo, physical description and identify (in my case) the bearer as a Firefighter in the (name of town) Fire Department. On the back are the state seal and county seal. In the event of Bad Times, this ID can be a big help in getting around.
Also helpful in getting around can be the special license plates and authorized emergency vehicle lights. In a disaster when civilian traffic may be barred from the roads, such markings can be useful.
Since I’ve been in my company, I’ve learned the following things that can help my family and I in an emergency:
I know what the local municipalities disaster plans are. I know what resources are available and I know how long they will last. In short, I know how long before the refugees become a hungry mob.
At no cost to me I got credentialed as a Certified First Responder.
I learned all the ‘ins and outs’ of the county’s communication systems. I know where all the repeaters are, how much fuel they have and what frequencies all the local agencies use.
In the event of a smallpox or Avian Flu pandemic, I will be one of the first people vaccinated and will be assisting in the distribution of vaccine to others (meaning that I will make sure my family gets theirs in a timely manner!).
I persuaded my company to avail itself of Federal programs that allow for first responder agencies to purchase (for a nominal fee) surplus military equipment. Our company has pallets of MREs (ostensibly to feed the crews during wildfires), we have trailer mounted military generators (for when power to the municipality goes out and we need to power the local emergency shelter) and are currently looking at several other useful ‘dual-purpose’ items.
Probably the best thing is that I have learned how preparation pays off. It is one thing to prepare for social collapse; there are no rehearsals or try-outs. Society collapses or it doesn’t and you are prepared or you are not. In firefighting, I have learned first hand how being prepared before hand can affect things; I understand now that every night, without fail, my hat and keys go in the exact same place, that my boots, pants and shirt go in the exact same place, so that when I have 30 seconds to clear the building at zero dark thirty, I’m not frantically searching for my keys. My turnout gear is always painstakingly stowed in a very precise and careful manner so that when the call comes the 10 minutes I took to carefully stow it allows me to go from flammable to fire-proof in 60 seconds. My privately owned vehicle (POV) is parked with the radio off, electronics pre-set, etc. so that when I jump in to respond to a call and start the ignition, the tape player doesn’t come on blaring music that drowns out my fire pager leaving my in the dark about where I am headed. All little things to be sure, but tricks learned from repetitive experience.
How does this translate to preparing with my family? I have a much better understanding of how carefully thought out and meticulous planning can pay off in an emergency. – Regards, R.V.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Bigger than you think: The story behind the recent U.S. pet food recall.

  o o o

Political Correctness run rampant: Anti-gun zealots oppose Navy SEAL memorial statue.

   o o o

Reader Ben L. mentioned that he came upon a “do it yourself” solar-power web site. Ben says: “Personally, the 40 watt/Xantrex XPower 1500 rig (most all the equipment in a case with attached cart) looks darn good.” OBTW, similar pre-packaged systems are available from Ready Made Resources. (A loyal SurvivalBlog advertiser.) They even offer free consulting on system sizing and design!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, it’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is going to hit as hard as life, but it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward; how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done." – Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa (Rocky VI)

Notes from JWR:

Happy Easter, everyone. Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection have meaning for me. My prayer is that it does for you, too.

Today we present another article for Round 10 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I might again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. If you want a chance to win the contest, start writing and e-mail us your article for Round 10, which ends May 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.